Director Chidambaram’s unique mother-son drama captivates your imagination. You just can’t take your eyes off Farzana Palathingal and child artist Adhisheshan.
Rating: 
( 4 / 5)
By Mayur Lookhar
147 minutes later, you just can’t fathom what you’ve seen. It’s likely that you’ll also be intrigued by the many stories within a story. Do you believe in every story, or do you discard some? Maybe in the end it doesn’t matter. All that matters is a mother-son emotional ride. In a nutshell, that’s Chidambaram’s Balan – The Boy (2026) for you.
Story
A woman walks free after serving her sentence at Kannur Jail. Her son was born during her imprisonment. Now around 5, he’s grown up on the story that his mother has drilled into his consciousness. Once free, they roam from one place to another, changing identities to avoid being detected. Sometimes the mother is Indu, sometimes Mary, and now Sherly. The little boy has memorized the names and stories that his mother has told him. In the end, the names don’t matter; you simply identify them as mother (Farzana Palathingal) and son (Adhisheshan). Just when they seem to have settled in a quaint countryside, a figure from the mother’s past resurfaces, threatens to ruin their lives, and eventually leads to a parting.
Screenplay & Direction
Primarily a mother-son drama, but it’s their unique relationship that has a psychological impact. This constant wandering, changing identities, different stories – what led the mother onto this path? The primary story that the mother told her son as a lullaby was how an evil man ruined a poor woman’s life, and she eventually killed him. Not before that: she carried his child, who would be born in jail. Is that really our mother’s story? Now free, the mother simply doesn’t want the world to enter her space; there’s only room for two. The mystery stems from the different identities and the mother almost creating a bubble around her son. Momentarily, you do wonder: is there something supernatural to this mother-son duo? Like the few good Samaritans around, a viewer too would feel empathetic towards them, but the mother simply doesn’t want people to care. To her, that is a time to move on. Sympathy here comes at a heavy price and that is what makes Balan – The Boy a unique psychological drama. It plays with your mind yet pierces the soul. Seldom have we experienced this feeling before.
First, it was Jan.E. Man (2021), then Manjummel Boys, and now Balan – The Boy. Chidambaram S. Poduval has made a career so far with out-of-the-box plots. Fair to say that Balan – The Boy is the most thought-provoking film. At 147 minutes, Balan – The Boy holds your attention for long periods courtesy of a gripping screenplay by Jithu Madhavan. Post the interval, the film moves ahead by 5–6 years, then takes you on a life along the coastline, where our grown-up Balan (Muhammed Zinaan) is searching for his mother. From life in the woods to life on the coastline, it’s like two different worlds, but the emotional core remains the same – a son longing for his mother. How can this emotion not move you?
Acting
Though the dubbing is of fine quality, it’s Chidambaram’s brilliant actors who steal the show. Farzana Palathingal, who played a small part in Anurag Basu’s Metro… in Dino (2025). Just reading about her, you are fascinated by her journey so far. Born in Kerala, she went to school in Dubai, graduated in Occupational Therapy from Manipal University, and got accolades in theatre. She won a poetry competition in IIT Mumbai and won beauty pageants in Kerala, even once worked as a Pediatric Occupational Therapist with children with autism, ADHD, and developmental needs. Balan – The Boy is undoubtedly a big career break, and Palathingal grabs it with both hands. A natural beauty, leaving you awestruck by her simplicity and an emotionally gripping act. Few words spoken, but she conveys a lot through her eyes, especially when they carry fear.
For all her (Palathingal) talent and brilliant effort, Balan – The Boy would have felt empty without the presence of this child prodigy, Adhisheshan. The innocence in his eyes, fear of his mother, obeying her commands to the T – what is essentially a difficult role – but young Adhisheshan stuns you with the intensity, the fear, and the sense of longing in his eyes. Largely quiet, Adhisheshan only speaks a bit in his mother’s presence. Then he has brilliantly memorized the stories that his mother taught him. The unique mother-son bond is the emotional quotient of the film. It will only be in years to come that Adhisheshan will realize the magnitude of his magic in Balan – The Boy. Muhammed Zinaan, too, is equally efficient and looks on par as the 12-year-old Balan.
This trio is ably supported by terrific acts from Dolly June, Jean Paul Lal, and a virtuoso performance by Tovino Thomas. The Lokah (2025) actor plays Abbas, a thief, whose promised to help this boy search his mother,
Technical Aspects
Kerala and Mangalore’s natural beauty is a treat for the sore eyes of citizens from the concrete jungles like Mumbai. Shyju Khalid’s splendid cinematography contributes to the film’s rich visual storytelling. Sushin Shyam’s BGM adds great depth and tension to the drama.
Final thoughts
Chidambaram’s been through a tough period in his personal life, but Balan – The Boy helps to bring back the focus on his craft, and his maverick style wins over the audience again. Malayalam cinema has long been a torchbearer of quality, human-interest films, and this Balan wonder adds to its esteemed reputation.
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