The talents behind two of Malayalam cinema’s recent hits join forces for Balan The Boy.
Directed by Chidambaram (Manjummel Boys) and written by Jithu Madhavan (Aavesham), Balan The Boy offers a variation on the survival drama.
A former convict and her son go to great lengths to stay under the radar. They assume various names. Every time it appears that the woman’s past is going to be discovered, they flee.
When they turn up at the house of a cranky old invalid (Dolly June), it appears that mother (Farazana Palathingal) and son (Adisheshan) can finally stop running. But the woman’s previous deeds have a way of catching up with her.
Originally in Malayalam and dubbed into various languages, Balan The Boy is very good with building up the web of necessary deception and unshakeable love that binds the main characters. 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.
The theme of prisons within and without is eased into the storytelling without being explicitly spelt out. Some of the nicest scenes are at the rambling estate where the fugitives make a home for themselves.
Cinematographer Shyju Khalid and editor Vivek Harshan make excellent use of the tight composition that protects the plot and the smooth transition that keeps viewers guessing. Sushin Shyam’s background score is suitably unsettling.
But having built up ample intrigue by simmering away rather than hurrying up the pace, the 147-minute movie gradually runs out of steam. A late-narrative subplot appears to go on for a fair bit simply because of the charismatic actor involved. Balan The Boy cops out in its climax, which comes off as gimmicky, rather than a fitting end to a long and arduous journey.
Farazana Palathingal and Adisheshan not only create a convincing screen relationship, but also beautifully bring out the subterfuge and anguish involved in holding on to hard-won freedom. The boy, portrayed by Adisheshan and later by Muhammed Zinaan, is heart-tugging in his innocence, resourcefulness and despair.
Adisheshan especially handles the burden placed on his knee-high character marvellously, putting his large eyes and knack for stillness to highly effective use. The movie is never more convincing than in its set-up of a woman and her son moving mountains just to stay together.
