LaRoseDermaAgeDefying at 16:24, 3 April 2026

2026-04-03T16:24:46Z

New page

{{short description|2019 film directed by B. Unnikrishnan}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2019}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakkeel
| image = Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakkeel film poster.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[B. Unnikrishnan]]
| producer = [[Ajit Andhare]] B. Unnikrishnan
| writer = B. Unnikrishnan
| screenplay =
| story =
| based_on =
| starring = [[Dileep]] [[Mamta Mohandas]] [[Priya Anand]] [[Harish Uthaman]] [[Vamsi Krishna]]
| narrator =
| music = '''Songs:''' [[Gopi Sundar]] [[Rahul Raj]] '''Score:''' Gopi Sundar
| cinematography = Akhil George
| editing = [[Shameer Muhammed]]
| studio = [[B. Unnikrishnan|RD Illuminations]] [[Viacom18 Motion Pictures]]
| distributor = [[Viacom18 Motion Pictures]]
| released = {{Film date|df=yes|2019|2|21}}
| runtime = 160 minutes
| country = India
| language = Malayalam
| budget = 
}}

'''''Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakkeel''''' ({{Translation|[[Advocate]] Balan present before the court}}) is a 2019 Indian [[Malayalam]]-language [[action comedy]] film written and directed by [[B. Unnikrishnan]] and produced by [[Viacom18 Motion Pictures]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/news/dileep-b-unnikrishnan-movie-titled-kodathi-samaksham-balan-vakeel/articleshow/66389099.cms|title=Dileep-B Unnikrishnan movie titled Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakeel – Times of India|website=[[The Times of India]] |date=27 October 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.moviebuff.com/kodathisamaksham-balan-vakeel|title=Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakeel on moviebuff}}</ref> The film stars [[Dileep]] in title role, with an [[ensemble cast]] of [[Mamta Mohandas]], [[Priya Anand]], [[Harish Uthaman]], [[Vamsi Krishna]], [[K. B. Ganesh Kumar]],[[Siddique (actor)|Siddique]], [[Suraj Venjaramoodu]],[[Aju Varghese]] and [[Saiju Kurup]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.filmibeat.com/malayalam/movies/kodathi-samaksham-balan-vakeel.html|title=Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakeel on filmibeat}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/malayalam/2018/dec/24/kodathi-samaksham-balan-vakeel--to-release-on-feb-21-1915625.html|title=Dileep's Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakeel to release on February 21 – New Indian Express|date=24 December 2018 }}</ref> It follows Balakrishnan, an advocate with a stutter.

This movie was a commercial success at box office.<ref name=":0" />

==Plot==
A raid takes place on the car of a huge businessman, Ronald. {{INRConvert|3|c}} is found in the car and taken away by the police.

The story then shifts to Balan, an advocate who hasn't made much in life due to his stutter. He is finally successful in a case that granted bail for his client, Anzar. After Anzar offers a house in a crooked colony for Balan instead of his fees, he is kicked out of the house by Babu. He leaves for his house in his hometown where his father and mother stay. After some unfortunate events, Balan's brother-in-law entrusts him with a complicated case.

Balan solves the case due to his love for Anuradha. The police chief was part of that cash of {{INR Convert|3|c}} confiscated by police. His nexus with Ronaldo and Tina is filmed by the intelligent father of Anuradha who asks {{INR Convert|5|c}} but DG gets him killed. Anuradha's father kept the secret in a bank locker. Since he has taught his daughter to solve puzzles, Anuradha helps Balan with major leads in the case, and the rest of the story is how they solve this mystery.

==Cast==
{{colbegin}}
*[[Dileep]] as [[Advocate|Adv.]] Balakrishnan Pillai
*[[Mamta Mohandas]] as Anuradha Sudarshan
**Niveditha as Young Anuradha
*[[Priya Anand]] as Teena Shankar, Third Antagonist
*[[K. B. Ganesh Kumar]] as [[Assistant commissioner (police)|ACP]] Vincent Thomas [[Indian Police Service|IPS]], Balakrishnan's college senior and advisor
*[[Aju Varghese]] as Ansar Ali Khan, Balan's client
*[[Suraj Venjaramoodu]] as [[Sub-inspector|SI]] P. Mohanan Pillai, Balakrishnan's brother in law
*[[Harish Uthaman]] as Ronald, businessman, Secondary Antagonist
*[[Vamsi Krishna]] as [[Assistant commissioner (police)|ACP]] Ratnavel [[Indian Police Service|IPS]], [[Tamil Nadu Police]]
*[[Siddique (actor)|Siddique]] as Somasekharan Pillai, Balakrishnan's father
*[[Renji Panicker]] as [[Director general of police|DGP]] K. E. Eappan [[Indian Police Service|IPS]], The Main Antagonist
*[[Bheeman Raghu]] as Irumbu Babu
*[[Saiju Kurup]] as [[Judge]] Vidhyadharan, Balakrishnan & Vincent's friend
*[[Bindu Panicker]] as Vishalam, Balakrishnan's Mother
*[[Lena (actress)|Lena]] as [[Additional director general of police|ADGP]] Indulekha Marar [[Indian Police Service|IPS]]
*[[Rajesh Sharma (Malayalam actor)|Rajesh Sharma]] as Sudarshan, Anuradha's father
*Veena Nair as Beena
*[[Thesni Khan]] as Anuradha's stepmother
*[[Kottayam Pradeep]] as Chacko, Court Attender
*[[Shobha Mohan]] as Vidhyadharan's mother
*[[Arjun Nandhakumar]] as Adv. Pramod
*[[Sajid Yahiya]] as Stranger
*[[Dinesh Panicker]] as Chief Minister Radhakrishnan
*Uma Nair as Public Prosecutor Adv. Radhika
*Poojappura Radhakrishnan as Tea Shop Owner
*Priyanka as Tea Shop Owner's Wife
*Sharika Menon as Balan's sister
*Nandu Poduwal as Thaddeus
*[[Aparna P Nair]] as Lady Seeking Divorce
* [[Prabhakar (Telugu Actor)|Prabhakar]] as a goon send by Irumbu Babu to attack Balan
*Baby as Colony lady
*Mary as Colony lady
*Neha Iyer as herself in the song "Babuetta"
{{colend}}

==Production==
Unnikrishnan initially visualised the story with [[Jayaram]] in mind for Balakrishnan, which he conceived in 2014.<ref>{{cite news|author=Meera Suresh|title=Everybody loves an underdog story: Director B Unnikrishnan on 'Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakeel'|url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/malayalam/2019/feb/20/everybody-loves-an-underdog-story-1940960.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222135939/http://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/malayalam/2019/feb/20/everybody-loves-an-underdog-story-1940960.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=22 February 2019 |accessdate=22 June 2019|work=[[The New Indian Express]]|date=20 February 2019}}</ref> When he told the one-line story, Jayaram replaced [[Dileep (actor)|Dileep]] would better suit the character.<ref>{{cite web|title=Kodathisamaksham Balan Vakeel releases on Feb 21|url=http://www.sify.com/movies/kodathisamaksham-balan-vakeel-releases-on-feb-21-imagegallery-malayalam-tcwlDxceeagjg.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222084810/http://www.sify.com/movies/kodathisamaksham-balan-vakeel-releases-on-feb-21-imagegallery-malayalam-tcwlDxceeagjg.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 February 2019|website=[[Sify]]|accessdate=22 June 2019}}</ref> The film was produced by [[Viacom18 Motion Pictures]] and marks their debut in Malayalam cinema.<ref>{{cite news|title=Dileep's Upcoming Movie With B Unnikrishnan|url=https://www.asianet.in/entertainment/dileeps-upcoming-movie-with-b-unnikrishnan.html|accessdate=22 June 2019|work=[[Asianet (TV channel)|Asianet]]|date=11 September 2018}}{{Dead link|date=June 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==Music==
[[Rahul Raj]] was initially signed in as the composer. But as the project was pushed to October, he had to opt out after composing two songs, "Then Panimathiye" and "Thaniye Itha" as he had to be in Berklee, [[Spain]]. The other two songs, "Babuvetta" and "Onnum Mindaathe", were thus composed by [[Gopi Sunder]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/news/have-a-look-at-the-new-poster-of-kodathi-samaksham-balan-vakeel/articleshow/67975111.cms|title=Have a look at the new poster of 'Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakeel' – Times of India|website=[[The Times of India]] |date=13 February 2019 }}</ref>
{{Tracklist
| extra_column = Singer(s)
| title1 = Then Panimathiye
| extra1 = [[K. S. Harisankar]]
| extra2 = [[Shashaa Tirupati]]
| title2 = Onnum Mindathe
| title3 = Thaniye Ithaa
| extra3 = [[Yazin Nizar]]
| title4 = Babuvetta
| extra4 = Pravanam Sasi, [[Sithara Krishnakumar]]
}}

==Marketing and release==
The [[teaser trailer]] video of ''Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakeel'' was released on 27 December 2018 and the [[theatrical trailer]] on 24 January 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://english.manoramaonline.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/2019/01/24/kodathi-samaksham-balan-vakeel-.html|title='Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakeel' trailer starring Dileep released – Manorama Online}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/news/dileeps-new-movie-trailer-out/articleshow/67723221.cms|title=Dileep's new movie trailer out – Times of India|website=[[The Times of India]] |date=28 January 2019 }}</ref> The film was released on 21 February 2019.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/news/2018/dec/24/kodathi-samaksham-balan-vakeel-to-release-on-feb-21-9336.html|title=Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakeel to release on Feb 21 – Cinemaexpress|website=[[Cinema Express]] |date=24 December 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.manoramaonline.com/movies/movie-news/2019/02/15/Kodathi-Samaksham-Balan-Vakeel-censored-with-clean-u.html|title=ബാലൻ വക്കീലിന് 'ക്ലീൻ യു സർട്ടിഫിക്കറ്റ്'; റിലീസ് ഫെബ്രുവരി 21ന് – Manoramaonline}}</ref>

==Reception==
===Box office===
The film was a commercial success, grossing over {{INRConvert|25|c}} from [[Kerala]].<ref name="Keralagross">{{cite news|author=Sanjith Sidhardhan|title='Star power still drives Mollywood'|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movies/news/star-power-still-drives-mollywood/articleshow/69690133.cms|accessdate=22 June 2019|work=[[The Times of India]]|date=8 June 2019}}</ref> It grossed around $47,728 from the [[United States|US]] in its lifetime.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-overseas/kesari-collects-approx-2-mil-usd-rs-13-83-cr-in-overseas/|title=Kesari collects approx. 2 mil. USD [Rs. 13.83 cr.] in overseas|website=[[Bollywood Hungama]]|accessdate=22 June 2019|date=26 March 2019}}</ref> It grossed $8,546(NZ$12,484)(₹5.91 lakhs) from [[New Zealand]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakeel|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/intl/?page=&country=NZ&id=_fKODATHISAMAKSHAM01|publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]]|accessdate=22 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/box-office-overseas/badla-collects-3-7-mil-usd-rs-25-32-cr-overseas/|title=Badla collects 3.7 mil. USD [Rs. 25.32 cr.] in overseas|website=[[Bollywood Hungama]]|date=19 March 2019}}</ref>

===Critical response ===
''[[News18]]'' rated 3.5 on a scale of 5 and wrote that the film "blends all the right ingredients of populist cinema and emerges victorious".<ref>{{cite news|title=Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakkeel Movie Review: Dileep's Film Emerges Victorious|url=https://www.news18.com/news/movies/kodathi-samaksham-balan-vakkeel-movie-review-dileeps-film-emerges-victorious-2044449.html|accessdate=28 June 2019|work=[[News18]]|date=21 February 2019}}</ref> ''[[The New Indian Express]]'' critic also rated it 3.5 out of 5 and commented: "The film makes it obvious from early on that it was not designed to provide any sort of intellectual stimulation, and any attempt to seek the same would be an exercise in futility. It's more interested in playing to the gallery and should be approached in the same way as you would any commercial entertainer".<ref>{{cite news|title='Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakeel' review: Dileep and a few good laughs keep this afloat|url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/entertainment/review/2019/feb/22/kodathi-samaksham-balan-vakeel-review-dileep-and-a-few-good-laughs-keep-this-afloat-1942316.html|access-date=28 June 2019|work=[[The New Indian Express]]|date=22 February 2019}}</ref> ''[[The Times of India]]'' critic rated 3 out of 5 stars and wrote that it is a "run-of-the-mill thriller made for you to like and be in awe of the hero. It is demanding you to like him and root for him, sometimes out of sympathy and the other times for his intelligence. It is a story entirely revolving around that need to urge you to like him and appreciate his Sherlock-ian intelligence".<ref name=":0">{{cite news|title=Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakeel Movie Review {3.0/5}: Critic Review of Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakeel|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/malayalam/movie-reviews/kodathi-samaksham-balan-vakeel/movie-review/68094256.cms |accessdate=28 June 2019|work=[[The Times of India]]|date=21 February 2019}}</ref> [[Sify]]'s critic called it an "average thriller" and rated 2.5 in a scale of 5 and said the film "ends up as an okay one time watch, packaged for those who don't need much to be thrilled".<ref>{{cite web|title=Review : Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakeel review: The script is shaky (2019)|url=https://www.sify.com/movies/kodathi-samaksham-balan-vakeel-reviewthe-script-is-shaky-and-has-too-many-loose-ends-review-malayalam-tcwjCdjgdjfid.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222084651/http://www.sify.com/movies/kodathi-samaksham-balan-vakeel-reviewthe-script-is-shaky-and-has-too-many-loose-ends-review-malayalam-tcwjCdjgdjfid.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 February 2019|website=[[Sify]]|accessdate=28 June 2019|date=22 February 2019}}</ref>

==Remake==
In late February 2019, Unnikrishnan said that Viacom is considering remaking the movie and discussions are in the initial stages. We are talking to both [[Akshay Kumar]] and [[Shah Rukh Khan]] for starring in the movie.<ref>{{cite news|title=Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar in talks to star in remake of Malayalam film, Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakeel|url=https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/shah-rukh-khan-akshay-kumar-in-talks-to-star-in-remake-of-malayalam-film-kodathi-samaksham-balan-vakeel-6163431.html|accessdate=22 June 2019|work=[[Firstpost]]|date=27 February 2019}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Viacom18 Studios}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb title|tt8962472}}

[[Category:2019 Malayalam-language films]]
[[Category:Indian courtroom films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Rahul Raj]]
[[Category:Films scored by Gopi Sundar]]
[[Category:Films directed by B. Unnikrishnan]]

Kodathi Samaksham Balan Vakeel - Revision history

LaRoseDermaAgeDefying at 16:24, 3 April 2026