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Balan: The Boy

Play trailer Poster for Balan: The Boy Jun 2026 2h 30m Drama Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 7 Reviews Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
A woman walks out of prison with her young son and a past she'll do anything to hide. When their wandering leads them to an unlikely refuge, peace begins to feel possible; until it isn't. Years later, the boy comes back looking for answers.

Critics Reviews

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Sreeju Sudhakaran Rediff.com Jun 27
3/5
A riveting mother-son drama with a superb first half, Balan: The Boy loses some of its grip after an ambitious but uneven turn. Go to Full Review
Santanu Das Hindustan Times Jun 23
3.5/5
Balan The Boy is both ambitious and ambiguous. Like the best of films, it continues to linger and grow long after it is over. Go to Full Review
Vishal Menon The Hollywood Reporter India Jun 22
It doesn’t feel engineered or constructed; instead, you gradually dip your two feet straight into its flow. Go to Full Review
Rohit Panikker Filmfare Jun 22
4/5
The film occasionally mistakes obscurity for complexity, but its willingness to embrace uncertainty ultimately feels more rewarding than frustrating. Go to Full Review
S. R. Praveen The Hindu Jun 22
With his supremely crafted third film after Jan-e-Man and Manjummel Boys, Chidambaram yet again proves his mastery over telling a story without missing a beat and by not treading the same paths that proved successful for him. Go to Full Review
Nandini Ramnath Scroll.in Jun 22
Until the plot development that ties together the boy, police inspector Pavithran (Jean Paul Lal) and the thief Abbas (Tovino Thomas), Balan The Boy is a suspenseful, gripping, plausible and often moving character study. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Vineeth Jun 25 Excellent cast, honest performances, haunting music and a simple storyline rendered and delivered creatively. Not a mainstream formula, but not entirely art house kind either. Perfect balance. See more Ritvik M @Ritviikmuralidhar Jun 28 #Balan is cinema in its purest form—a hauntingly beautiful experience that seeps into your soul with quiet confidence. Every frame is crafted with remarkable precision, every moment carrying an emotional weight that lingers long after the credits roll. It’s the kind of film that doesn’t demand your attention; it earns it, slowly wrapping itself around your heart and refusing to let go. Some films are watched. Others are felt. #Balan belongs firmly to the latter. Hauntingly unforgettable. 🎬✨ Thank you @KvnProductions. 👏👏 #Chidambaram, take a bow. What a vision. 🙌 @SushinShyam, your music is the soul of this masterpiece. ❤️ See more arvind S @Arvind100 Jun 26 The story of a parent and their child always ends up as an emotional one. For a mother and son who have no permanent place to call home nor an identity of their own, it touches upon a more complex, dangerous moment in their lives. There is a lot to praise in Balan. May it be the technical prowess with shyju khalid 's frames or Sushin Shyam 's soulful score & music, it captures the mood of the movie in a very effective way. The performances are the finest you are going to see this year. Farzana Palathingal as the mother, Adhisheshanactor /Muhammedzinaan as the kid & Dolly June as the grandma are pitch perfect in their respective roles. May it be those expressive eyes, their body language or their dialogue delivery; these (almost) debutants nail every scene. The established actors on the other hand prove how they can make even the smallest roles memorable. Lal jr. as the cop, Tovino Thomas as the thief, Artiste Beena Antony as Shamna are all wickedly good. See more Stephen C @bob25009 Jun 19 Success in 2.5 hours. The worldwide gross is $29,596.00. See more Nandhu R @Kingmaker___6 Jun 19 Despite some lengthy portions in the second half, it's a good watch. They maintain the technical quality throughout the film, especially with the music. The performances were good. Overall, it's good theatrical stuff... And the most interesting part was the voice over they gave for the statutory warning... 👌😅💕 See more Read all reviews
Balan: The Boy

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Movie Info

Synopsis A woman walks out of prison with her young son and a past she'll do anything to hide. When their wandering leads them to an unlikely refuge, peace begins to feel possible; until it isn't. Years later, the boy comes back looking for answers.
Director
Chidambaram
Producer
Venkat K Narayana, Shailaja Desai Fenn
Screenwriter
Chidambaram, Jithu Madhavan
Distributor
Phars Film
Production Co
KVN Productions, Thespian Films
Genre
Drama, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
Malayalam
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 19, 2026, Limited
Runtime
2h 30m