Balettan

Balettan is a 2003 Indian Malayalam-language family drama film directed by V. M. Vinu and written by T. A. Shahid. It stars Mohanlal, Devayani, Harisree Ashokan, Riyaz Khan, Nedumudi Venu, and Jagathy Sreekumar.[1] The film was released on 28 August 2003. It won the Kerala Film Critics Association Awards for the Best Popular Film of the year. Balettan was the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year at the box office.[2][3] The film was remade in Telugu as Rajababu with Rajasekhar.[4]

Balettan
Directed byV. M. Vinu
Produced byM. Mani
Written byT. A. Shahid
StarringMohanlal
Devayani
Nedumudi Venu
Innocent
Harisree Ashokan
Jagathy Sreekumar
Kalabhavan Mani
Gopika Anil
Keerthana Anil
Music byM. Jayachandran
Rajamani (Score)
CinematographyAnandakuttan
Edited byP. C. Mohanan
Production
company
Aroma Movie International
Distributed byAroma Release
Release date
  • 28 August 2003 (2003-08-28)
CountryIndia
LanguageMalayalam

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. His father bails him out of the problems with his pension savings, and expects Balan to become more responsible towards his family. An unexpected cardiac arrest leaves Balan's father in the hospital, and right before his death, he confides in Balan about having another wife and daughter, and asks him to take care of them, without letting the rest of his accepted family or villagers knowing about the matter.

After his father's death, Balachandran tries to realign his life between the two families and struggles in 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 composed by M. Jayachandran with lyrics by Gireesh Puthenchery.

The title track "Cholakkiliyae (Balettaa...)" is allegedly inspired by Boney M's "Rasputin"

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

No.TitleArtist(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. Balettan was a commercial success at the box office and became the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year.[2][3][5]

Awards
Award Category Winner Ref.
Kerala Film Critics Association Awards Most Popular Film Balettan [6]
Best Music Director M. Jayachandran
Asianet Film Awards Best Actor Mohanlal [7]

References
  1. "Family entertainer". Screen Weekly. 10 October 2003. Retrieved 1 April 2009.
  2. Moviebuzz (24 December 2003). "2003- Malayalam Cinema Going Bust?". Sify. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  3. 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. "Film critics' awards announced". The Hindu. 1 February 2004. Archived from the original on 20 August 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  7. "50th Kerala State Film Awards: Winners list". The New Indian Express. 13 October 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
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