Not an “Award Film”: Director Chidambaram on Balan | Star Jam Ft. Chidambaram | RJ Rafi

Star Jam Ft. Chidambaram | RJ Rafi

In this episode of Star Jam, director Chidambaram sits down with RJ Rafi to talk about his new film Balan, why he insists it is “not an award film,” and how he balances festival buzz with making a movie that truly works for the theatre audience. He opens up about the pressure after the massive success and multiple State Awards of Manjummel Boys, his collaboration with composer Sushin Shyam, and building an emotional thriller around a mother–son journey through Kerala.

Chidambaram also shares candid stories from scripting with Jithu Madhavan, casting choices like Jean Paul Lal, the challenges of making a star-less but big-scale movie, and what it really felt like to take Balan to Cannes and show it to an international crowd. If you love Malayalam cinema, behind-the-scenes creative process, and grounded conversations about “award films” vs commercial cinema, this conversation is for you.