Manjummel Boys filmmaker Chidambaram’s next directorial, scripted by Aavesham filmmaker Jithu Madhavan, has been titled Balan: The Boy. The film's title poster, unveiled through social media, shows a young boy walking barefoot while holding a stick, seen from behind. He is shirtless and wears dark shorts, set against a light background adorned with colourful, illustrated flowers and vines. Production officially began on Sunday with a traditional pooja ceremony in Kovalam, attended by the cast and crew. The project was first announced at the beginning of this year. The project was first announced at the beginning of this year.
Interestingly, Balan is also the title of the first sound film in the Malayalam language, released in 1938, and the third feature film in Malayalam cinema after Vigathakumaran and Marthanda Varma.
Balan will feature a completely new set of actors, all chosen through auditions. While details of the storyline and genre of the film remain under wraps, the collaboration has already generated attention due to the director’s and writer’s reputations. Chidambaram has retained his core technical team from Manjummel Boys, with Shyju Khalid wielding the camera, Vivek Harshan on the editing table, Sushin Shyam composing the music, and Ajayan Chalissery overseeing the production design. Chidambaram’s brother and actor-writer Ganapathi serves both as the its executive producer and casting director.
Balan is produced by KVN Productions, in association with Thespian Films, marking the former’s debut in Malayalam cinema. Notably, KVN Productions is also backing other anticipated pan-Indian biggies such as Vijay's final film Jana Nayagan and Yash's Toxic, directed by Geethu Mohandas.
Meanwhile, Chidambaram had previously announced his Hindi debut with a gangster drama, backed by Phantom Films. The project was unveiled last year, though its current status remains unknown.
On the other hand, after his planned film with Mohanlal was shelved, Jithu is in active talks to direct Suriya’s 47th project, which will mark his Tamil debut.