May 29, 2026 7:00pm IST
‘Manjummel Boys’ Director Chidambaram on ‘Balan The Boy’: ‘The Subject Had Universal Appeal’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Following the enormous success of “Manjummel Boys” in 2024, Chidambaram returns to direction with the upcoming Malayalam movie, “Balan The Boy.” After its screening at the recent 79th Cannes Film Festival, the movie has captured the attention of film critics and international audiences. In an interview with Variety India, Chidambaram begins by describing “Balan The Boy” as a tale of a mother and her child who are on a journey to discover their purpose and experience the world for the first time.
“Manjummel Boys” became the highest-grossing Malayalam movie of 2024, with both the audience and the critics praising Chidambaram for his storytelling style in the survival thriller. The young filmmaker shares that, as a result of the film’s enormous popularity and his subsequent access to numerous stars and industry professionals, he decided to work on a more ambitious project. “It took me a while to identify the right script since all of these achievements were overwhelming. I had to rid my mind of the pressure of high expectations to treat ‘Balan’ as my first film and a new challenge in my career,” he states.
That is when “Aavesham”-fame actor Sajin Gopu urged him to read a script written by director and writer Jithu Madhavan. “As soon as I heard the narrative, I could relate to it because the subject had universal appeal and transcended both language and geographical boundaries.” He chose to work on “Balan the Boy” because “every filmmaker would love to work on such a project.”
The director is all praise for Adhiseshan, who plays the child, and Farzana, who plays his mother in the film. Chidambaram remarks that he wants to create a mystery factor for the audience, which is why he has not revealed the rest of the film’s cast.
“Balan The Boy,” produced by KVN Productions and Thespian Films, releases in Malayalam, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada on June 19.
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