Balan - Offers mainstream pleasures in an offbeat platter!

Bharath Vijayakumar

Chidambaran's Balan starts with a mother narrating a story to her son (a kid). This story is also depicted as drawings on a wall. From the nature of the drawings, it is clear that they are the handiwork of the kid. And since the drawings are already there as the mother is narrating the story, we assume that this is not the first time the kid is listening to this story (This becomes clear later in the movie when we learn the importance of this/these stories to the mother and the son). And now the camera zooms back as we get to know the place where this is happening. It is a revelation and sets the ball rolling for Balan: The Boy! 

The first half of Balan has these two characters interacting with various people using various identities. 'Why?' is the question. And we get the answer, again, through a story in a superb scene. This entire first half of Balan is terrific. There is tension, there is emotion and then there is also laughter. There is a genuine 'What next?' question that is hovering over the screen and in our minds. The treatment is realistic but there is also a sense of watching/imagining a 'story' as someone is narrating it to us. Chidambaram gets this mix spot on in the first half of Balan. 

The mixture of eeriness, laughter, an emotional core, superb performances and pleasing as well as haunting visuals is top tier stuff! 

A major event happens around interval point and we get to know only a part of it. We and also a major character in the film are kept in the dark about the remaining part. We are desperate to know about it. But the second half of Balan isn't going to answer it immediately. We watched the entire first half through the POV of two major characters. But essentially it was one. And now we are seeing the film through one of those two major characters. What happened to the other is the question that the second half answers. Not immediately, but towards the end of the film. The lead up to this answer isn't bad but there certainly is a little dip in our investment for a while. The portions involving a star actor are a mixed bag. They work on and off. We ought to have been more emotionally invested in the equation between the boy and this actor for these portions to have worked much better. I assume it also has to do with the fact that in the first half we actually see the mother and the son from close quarters as they go through their daily life for a brief period. But in the second half, events covering many years are condensed to less than an hour. So while things are actually happening at a more rapid pace in the second half, unfortunately the emotional investment takes a hit. But the impact of the first half helps us sail through these portions before the film uses its trump card in the climax.

The performances are terrific. Both the actors playing the mother and the son get it spot on. Their performances are neither 'art cinema' realistic nor 'mainstream cinema' performative. It occupies the middle space. The treatment of the movie too occupies a certain middle space. It has a fairy tale look and feel to it. Even the characters such as an old lady have a sense of eeriness. But these aren't overdone and a mainstream sensibility is very much apparent. The film remains accessible and entertaining.

Bottomline: 

Rating: 3.25 / 5