| File:Balettan.jpg
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| Directed by | V. M. Vinu |
|---|---|
| Written by | T. A. Shahid |
| Produced by | M. Mani |
| Starring | Mohanlal Devayani Nedumudi Venu Innocent Harisree Ashokan Jagathy Sreekumar Riyaz Khan |
| Cinematography | Anandakuttan |
| Edited by | P. C. Mohanan |
| Music by | M. Jayachandran (songs) C. Rajamani (score)
|
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
| Budget | Template:INRConvert[1]
|
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. The film was released on 28 August 2003. Balettan was a blockbuster at the box office and the highest grossing Malayalam movie of the year and ran for more than 200 days in theatres.[1] It won the Kerala Film Critics Association Awards for Best Popular Film. The film was remade in Telugu as Rajababu (2006).[2]
Plot
Template:More plot Athaniparampil Balachandran (Balan) is an ordinary family man, living with his wife Radhika, two children, his younger brother, younger sister and parents, with his father being a locally respected retired postmaster. Balan struggles to balance his professional life amidst his multiple interests, which include amateur theater and a penchant for helping others, including strangers. Nevertheless, he leads a cheerful life, with the support of his loving family, and is a respected figure locally, earning the 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 secretly, and asks him to take care of them, without letting the rest of his family or villagers know about the matter.
After his father's death, Balan 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
- Mohanlal as Athaniparambil Balachandran Menon (Balettan), the film protagonist and a good samaritan
- Devayani as Radhika, Balachandran's wife
- Nedumudi Venu as Gopalan Menon, Balachandran's father(Mookambika Star)
- Sudha as Lekshmi, Balachandran's mother
- Sudheesh as Sudheendran Menon , Balachandran's younger brother
- Lakshana as Nithya, Balachandran's younger sister
- Riyaz Khan as Bhadran, the main antagonist who ruins Balan’s life and constantly harassed Balan
- Jagathy Sreekumar as K. K. Pisharadi
- Harisree Ashokan as Manikandan
- Nithya Das as Devaki, Balachandran's younger half-sister
- Innocent as Achuthan / Achumama
- Indrans as Koya
- Nandu as Sukumaran
- Kalasala Babu as Raghavan, Radhika's father
- Bhavani as Sreedevi, Balachandran's father's second wife
- Salu Kuttanadu as Neelandan
- Vimal Raj as Basheer
- Gopika Anil as Vidya, elder daughter of Balachandran
- Keerthana Anil as Aarya, younger daughter of Balachandran
- Kalabhavan Mani as Musthafa (cameo appearance)
Soundtrack
The film features songs were composed by M. Jayachandran with lyrics by Gireesh Puthenchery. The background score was provided by C. Rajamani. Template:Track listing
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,[3] becoming the highest-grossing Malayalam film of the year. Made on a budget of Template:INR1.75 crore,[1] the film grossed Template:INR14 crore.[4] It ran for over 100 days.[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 | Template:Abbr |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 2003- Malayalam Cinema Going Bust?. Sify(24 December 2003). Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- ↑ Rajababu – Telugu cinema Review – Raja Sekhar, Sri Devika. idlebrain.com. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
- ↑ 25 years, 25 landmarks, Warrier, Shobha. Rediff.com(2003-09-03). Retrieved 2025-06-05.
- ↑ Mohanlal: The star who blends acting brilliance with box office might, Sreedhar, Sajil. OnManorama(2025-04-11). Retrieved 2025-06-05.
- ↑ A Not So Happy Coronam: A Brief History Of Malayalam Cinema’s Big Onam Clashes, Menon, Vishal. Film Companion(2020-08-29). Retrieved 2025-06-05.
- ↑ Dileep's stroke of luck(1 November 2003).
- ↑ Film critics' awards announced. The Hindu(2004-02-01). Retrieved 2020-10-20.
- ↑ 50th Kerala State Film Awards: Winners list. The New Indian Express(2020-10-13). Retrieved 2020-10-13.
- ↑ Balettan (2003) – IMDb.