There’s a reason why Balan: The Boy was a frustrating watch, and that’s exactly what adds to its brilliance.
There has been a welcome influx of genuinely good stories lately. Every once in a while a movie comes along that feels necessary, as though it fills a space you didn’t know was empty. Balan: The Boy is one of those films. Not everyone has walked away loving it, and that’s precisely what makes it one of Chidambaram‘s most fascinating works. It’s a film that demands different readings because it refuses to reward its audience with the comfort of a conventional character arc.
At its heart, Balan follows a mother (Farzana Palathingal) and her son (Adhisheshan K R and Muhammed Zinaan), drifting from place to place, choosing impermanence over attachment. Every move is driven by fear of not just the past catching up with them, but of familiarity itself. Home, having a daily routine, and relationships become luxuries they cannot afford because staying in one place means risking everything. Naturally, you as audience, will expect that to change. That’s what cinema has taught us to anticipate. Even though Chidambaram breaks that illusion right at the start by showing the duo run away from the tea stall owner who showed them kindness, the hope as audience to see the characters to settle down, heal, and finally find a place they can call home never dulls down.
