‘Balan’ opens in a prison cell, telling a story of shifting identities

The film Balan by Chidambaran begins with a camera panning over a child’s crayon drawings. The sequence feels like a pleasant opening until viewers realize the drawings are on the walls of a prison cell, where a boy is lodged with his mother. That scene sets the tone for the film, which places audiences in uncommon situations with characters rarely seen in mainstream cinema, including a trigger-happy but bedridden grandmother.

The wall drawings present a sanitized version of the mother and son’s traumatic past. The film expands on their background as the narrative progresses. Another version of their story appears as a bedtime horror tale narrated to a grandmother.

The mother, played by Farzana Palathingal, and the son, played by Adisheshan K.R. and Mohammed Sinan, remain unnamed in the film. They live under different identities as they try to escape their past. Throughout the film, the boy repeatedly asks his mother, “What is my new name and what is our new story?” Each time, she gives a different answer.