Balettan
VCD cover
Directed byV. M. Vinu
Written byT. A. Shahid
Produced byM. Mani
StarringMohanlal
Devayani
Nedumudi Venu
Innocent
Harisree Ashokan
Jagathy Sreekumar
Riyaz Khan
CinematographyAnandakuttan
Edited byP. C. Mohanan
Music byM. Jayachandran (songs)
C. Rajamani (score)
Production
company
Aroma Movie International
Distributed byAroma Release
Release date
  • 29 August 2003 (2003-08-29)
CountryIndia
LanguageMalayalam

Balettan is a 2003 Indian Malayalam-language family drama film directed by V. M. Vinu, written by T. A. Shahid, and produced by M. Mani. It stars Mohanlal in the title role, along with Devayani, Nedumudi Venu, Harisree Ashokan, Riyaz Khan, Innocent, and Jagathy Sreekumar. The film's songs were composed by M. Jayachandran, while the background score was provided by C. Rajamani.[1] The film was released on 28 August 2003. Balettan was the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year at the box office and ran over than 200 days in theatres.[2][3] It won the Kerala Film Critics Association Awards for Best Popular Film. The film was remade in Telugu as Rajababu (2006).[4]

Plot

Athaniparampil Balachandran (Balan) is an ordinary family man, living with his wife Radhika, two children, his younger brother and father, a locally respected retired postmaster. Balan struggles to balance his professional life amidst his multiple interests, which includes amateur theater and a penchant for helping others, including strangers. Nevertheless, he leads a cheerful life, with the support of his loving family, and has earned the status of being a major figure in the local society, earning the pet name Balettan (Balan, the elder brother).

However, his good samaritanism, amateur interests and carelessness leads to circumstances that leave him deep in debt and he even gets arrested for cheating on false charges. His father bails him out of the problems with his pension savings, and expects Balan to become more responsible towards his family.

One day, an unexpected cardiac arrest leaves Balan's father in the hospital, and right before his death, he confides to Balan about having another wife and daughter from an illicit relation, and asks him to take care of them, without letting the rest of his family or villagers knowing about the matter.

After his father's death, Balachandran tries to realign his life between the two families and struggles with it. His family starts suspecting him of having an affair, as he is spotted with his half-sister. Amid the chaos, a stranger named Bhadran comes into Balan's life with sinister intentions, and blackmails him, with an eye on his half-sister. The rest of the story tells how Balan manages to solve his problems, including Bhadran's threats and getting his second family accepted in the society.

Cast

Soundtrack

The film features songs were composed by M. Jayachandran with lyrics by Gireesh Puthenchery. The background score was provided by C. Rajamani.

All lyrics are written by Gireesh Puthenchery; all music is composed by M. Jayachandran

No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Innale Ente" (Kapi (raga))K. J. Yesudas 
2."Cholakkiliye"M. G. Sreekumar 
3."Karu Karu Karuthoru"Mohanlal 
4."Chilu Chilum"M. G. Sreekumar, Sujatha Mohan 
5."Innale Ente" (Kapi (raga))K. S. Chithra 

Box office

The film was released on 28 August 2003 during the month of Onam festival. Balettan was a commercial success at the box office, becoming the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year.[2][3][5] The film gave box office success to Mohanlal after a gap of almost two years, which according to Rediff.com, "helped him regain the No.1 spot". It was also the first major box office success of director Vinu.[6]

Awards

Award Category Winner Ref.
Kerala Film Critics Association Awards Most Popular Film Balettan [7]
Best Music Director M. Jayachandran
Asianet Film Awards Best Actor Mohanlal [8]
Vanitha Film Awards Best Actor Mohanlal [9]

References

  1. "Family entertainer". Screen Weekly. 10 October 2003. Retrieved 1 April 2009.
  2. 1 2 Moviebuzz (24 December 2003). "2003- Malayalam Cinema Going Bust?". Sify. Archived from the original on 27 January 2004. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  3. 1 2 C., Maya (12 September 2003). "Mohanlal pulls it off". The Hindu. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  4. "Rajababu - Telugu cinema Review - Raja Sekhar, Sri Devika". www.idlebrain.com. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
  5. G., Krishnakumar (20 January 2004). "Scripting new success stories". The Hindu. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  6. "Dileep's stroke of luck". Rediff.com. 1 November 2003.
  7. "Film critics' awards announced". The Hindu. 1 February 2004. Archived from the original on 20 August 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  8. "50th Kerala State Film Awards: Winners list". The New Indian Express. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  9. Balettan (2003) - IMDb, retrieved 29 August 2021
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