The film was produced by T. R. Sundaram, a Salem based producer under the banner of Modern Theatres. German cinematographer Bado Gushwalker handled the camera while Varghese and K.D. George did the editing. The film's music was composed by K. K. Aroor, himself, with lyrics written by Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai. Balan is the first Malayalam film to have a soundtrack. The sound of the film was recorded using German-made technology[citation needed]. The film features a total of twenty-three songs. Balan was shot in Madras and on the sets of Powerful Studios. The filming of the film was done in five months.[7]
Balan was released with high expectations on 19 January 1938. It was the only Malayalam film to be produced and released that year. Despite numerous technical flaws, it received critical acclaim, with praise for the film's social theme unlike the earlier films with sound in the other South Indian languages, which chose episodes either from history or mythology.[8] The film was a major box office success, becoming the first commercially successful Malayalam film.[4] Because only a few stills from the film and the songbook are known to survive, it is a lost film. K. K. Aroor and Alleppey Vincent also starred in the second Malayalam talkie Gnanambika two years later.[9]
Balan (Master Madanagopal) and Sarasa (Baby Malathi), are children of Dr. Govindan Nair (M. V. Shanku) by his first wife. Meenakshi (K. N. Lakshmi), the second wife, tortures Balan and Sarasa. She even hatches a plot to kill them and take over the entire wealth of Nair. Meenakshi is severely punished by Nair when he comes to know of her motives. Nair dies of heart attack. Meenakshi marries a wicked city wastrel Kittu Panicker (K. Gopinath). Balan and Sarasa flee from home as a result.
Barrister Prabhakara Menon (C. O. N. Nambiar) gives refuge to Balan and Sarasa and brings them up as his own children. In the will executed by Nair before his death, all his wealth is assigned to Meenakshi on condition that she take care of his children.
When Meenakshi and Kittu Panicker come to know about the stipulations in the will, they trace out the children. Kittu Panicker kidnaps the children from Prabhakara Menon’s home. Shanku (Alleppey Vincent) comes to know about the plans of Meenakshi and Kittu Panciker and rescues the children. He uses them in street shows. Balan and Sarasa escape from Shanku. Sarasa is taken away by a labour contractor while Balan is asleep. She is forced to work in an estate. Sarasa (M. K. Kamalam) grows up here. Balan (K. K. Aroor) also reaches the same estate as a labourer.
This estate is owned by Barrister Prabhakara Menon.
Prabhakara Menon identifies Balan and Sarasa. Balan traces out the will executed by his father and Prabhakara Menon files suit against Meenakshi. She is tried by the court of law and punished. A furious Meenakshi shoots Prabhakara Menon, but the bullet from the pistol takes the life of Balan who jumps in between to save Menon. Menon marries Sarasa. They name their son, Balan. The film ends with Menon, and Sarasa paying homage at the tomb of Balan.
There were several attempts to make a talkie in Malayalam, right from the days Vigathakumaran (1928) got released. One among them, A. Sundaram Pillai, had an unpublished story entitled Vidhiyum Mrs. Nayarum (Mrs. Nair and the Fate) with him. He contacted several production houses to adapt this story into a film. Several of his attempts failed, but at last he got a letter from T. R. Sundaram, a Tamil-based producer informing him that he was ready to produce the film.[10] T. R. Sundaram owned the production company Modern Theatres, which he established in 1936.[10] A. Sundaram had already finished casting, which included several theatre artists from Malayalam. K. Kunjunair, credited as K. K. Aroor in the film, of the Kottakkal Nataka Samithi was selected to do the title role. M. K. Kamalam was chosen as the heroine.
A. Sundaram wanted himself to direct the film, but later agreed to sign S. Nottani as the director. Nottani rejected the screenplay of A. Sundaram and wanted to rewrite it. Eventually, he signed renowned writer Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai, who wrote the screenplay and dialogues, as well as lyrics for the songs. The filming was started on 17 August 1937 from Salem.[10] After completing a length of 2000 feat, T. R. Sundaram dropped the project following differences in opinion with A. Sundaram. T. R. Sundaram had spent ₹ 30,000 on the project. A. Sundaram himself financed the project thereafter. Most parts of the film was shot from Powerful Studios.[11] The filming was completed within five months, in December 1937.[10] A. Sundaram could not find a distributor for many months. Later, Shyamala Pictures, Madras bought the rights and the film was released on 19 January 1938.[10] The theatrical release poster of Balan read Malayalathile adyathe socialpadam vegam varunnu (The first social film in Malayalam is coming out soon).[12]
Songs
Balan's music was composed by K. K. Aroor, who played the male lead, and Ibrahim. It had 23 songs, most of them recorded by the actors themselves.[13] K. N. Lakshmi, K. K. Aroor, M. K. Kamalam and Master Madanagopan are the credited singers.[14]Playback singing was not possible that time, so the producer had to sign actors those who could excel in singing also. Most of the songs followed popular Hindi and Tamil film tunes of the time. Gramaphone records of the songs were not produced. The most popular song was a solo by M. K. Kamalam "Jaathaka Doshathale", based on Chenjurutti raga. It was a direct copy of "Theyila Thottathle" by M. K. Radha from the Tamil film Sathi Leelavathi (1936). Lyrics for the songs are penned by Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai, who also wrote the screenplay and dialogues for the film.[13]
Legacy
The film was a milestone in Malayalam film history, not only for being the first talkie, but also for being one of the first commercially successful films.[15] Through the film, Alleppey Vincent became the first "speaking person" of Malayalam cinema, K. K. Aroor the first "speaking hero" and M. K. Kamalam the first "speaking heroine". "Hello Mister" was the first recorded sound, which was in the voice of Alleppey Vincent. The film is considered lost; only the song book and a few stills survive to this day.[15] The film also introduced many of early Malayalam cinema's recurring archetypes, including the evil step-mother and innocent orphans.[16]
^"Remembering Malayalam's first talkie". The New Indian Express.
^Kasbekar, Asha (2006). "Cinema". Pop culture India : media, arts and lifestyle. Popular Culture in the Contemporary World (Illustrated Hardcover ed.). USA: ABC-CLIO. p. 233. ISBN978-1-85109-636-7.
^. The Hindu. 15 August 2004. Archived from the original on 23 September 2009.
^"Balan - first featured film in Malayalam". www.keralaculture.org. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
^ abB. Vijayakumar (7 September 2009). "Balan 1938". The Hindu. from the original on 16 October 2016.
^ [Malayala cinema till here (1928-50)]. മലയാളസിനിമ ചരിത്രം [Malayalacinema History] (in Malayalam). Cini Diary. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011.
^ abB. Vijayakumar (7 September 2009). "Balan 1938". The Hindu. from the original on 16 October 2016.
^Twitter https://twitter.com/nfaiofficial/status/986151268996526080. Retrieved 27 November 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
balan, film, balan, lost, 1938, indian, malayalam, language, drama, film, produced, sundaram, under, banner, modern, theatres, directed, nottani, written, muthukulam, raghavan, pillai, notable, being, first, sound, film, malayalam, language, third, feature, fi. Balan is a lost 1938 Indian Malayalam language drama film produced by T R Sundaram under the banner of Modern Theatres directed by S Nottani and written by Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai 2 It is notable for being the first sound film in the Malayalam language and the third feature film in Malayalam cinema after Vigathakumaran and Marthanda Varma 3 4 Based on the short story Vidhiyum Mrs Nayarum by A Sundaram The film is a melodrama about the struggle of two orphaned children The film stars K K Aroor in the title role and M K Kamalam as the female lead with Master Madanagopal M V Shanku K Gopinath Alleppey Vincent and C O N Nambiar in supporting roles 5 6 BalanTheatrical release posterDirected byS NottaniScreenplay byMuthukulam Raghavan PillaiBased onVidhiyum Mrs Nayarum by A SundaramProduced byT R SundaramStarringK K AroorM K KamalamMaster MadanagopalM V ShankuK GopinathAlleppey VincentC O N NambiarK N LakshmiBaby MalathiCinematographyBado GushwalkerEdited byVarghese and K D GeorgeMusic byK K AroorIbrahimProductioncompanyModern TheatresDistributed byShyamala PicturesRelease date19 January 1938 1938 01 19 1 CountryIndiaLanguageMalayalamThe film was produced by T R Sundaram a Salem based producer under the banner of Modern Theatres German cinematographer Bado Gushwalker handled the camera while Varghese and K D George did the editing The film s music was composed by K K Aroor himself with lyrics written by Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai Balan is the first Malayalam film to have a soundtrack The sound of the film was recorded using German made technology citation needed The film features a total of twenty three songs Balan was shot in Madras and on the sets of Powerful Studios The filming of the film was done in five months 7 Balan was released with high expectations on 19 January 1938 It was the only Malayalam film to be produced and released that year Despite numerous technical flaws it received critical acclaim with praise for the film s social theme unlike the earlier films with sound in the other South Indian languages which chose episodes either from history or mythology 8 The film was a major box office success becoming the first commercially successful Malayalam film 4 Because only a few stills from the film and the songbook are known to survive it is a lost film K K Aroor and Alleppey Vincent also starred in the second Malayalam talkie Gnanambika two years later 9 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Songs 5 Legacy 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksPlot EditBalan Master Madanagopal and Sarasa Baby Malathi are children of Dr Govindan Nair M V Shanku by his first wife Meenakshi K N Lakshmi the second wife tortures Balan and Sarasa She even hatches a plot to kill them and take over the entire wealth of Nair Meenakshi is severely punished by Nair when he comes to know of her motives Nair dies of heart attack Meenakshi marries a wicked city wastrel Kittu Panicker K Gopinath Balan and Sarasa flee from home as a result Barrister Prabhakara Menon C O N Nambiar gives refuge to Balan and Sarasa and brings them up as his own children In the will executed by Nair before his death all his wealth is assigned to Meenakshi on condition that she take care of his children When Meenakshi and Kittu Panicker come to know about the stipulations in the will they trace out the children Kittu Panicker kidnaps the children from Prabhakara Menon s home Shanku Alleppey Vincent comes to know about the plans of Meenakshi and Kittu Panciker and rescues the children He uses them in street shows Balan and Sarasa escape from Shanku Sarasa is taken away by a labour contractor while Balan is asleep She is forced to work in an estate Sarasa M K Kamalam grows up here Balan K K Aroor also reaches the same estate as a labourer This estate is owned by Barrister Prabhakara Menon Prabhakara Menon identifies Balan and Sarasa Balan traces out the will executed by his father and Prabhakara Menon files suit against Meenakshi She is tried by the court of law and punished A furious Meenakshi shoots Prabhakara Menon but the bullet from the pistol takes the life of Balan who jumps in between to save Menon Menon marries Sarasa They name their son Balan The film ends with Menon and Sarasa paying homage at the tomb of Balan Cast EditMaster Madanagopal as young Balan M V Shankar as Dr Govindan Nair K Gopinath as Kittu Panicker Alleppey Vincent as Shanku C O N Nambiar as Prabhakara Menon K N Laxmikutty as Meenakshi Baby Malathi as young Sarasa A B Pious Subhadra Ammu M K K Nambyar Sivanandan Parukkutty Baby Kausalya A P Padmanabha MenonProduction EditThere were several attempts to make a talkie in Malayalam right from the days Vigathakumaran 1928 got released One among them A Sundaram Pillai had an unpublished story entitled Vidhiyum Mrs Nayarum Mrs Nair and the Fate with him He contacted several production houses to adapt this story into a film Several of his attempts failed but at last he got a letter from T R Sundaram a Tamil based producer informing him that he was ready to produce the film 10 T R Sundaram owned the production company Modern Theatres which he established in 1936 10 A Sundaram had already finished casting which included several theatre artists from Malayalam K Kunjunair credited as K K Aroor in the film of the Kottakkal Nataka Samithi was selected to do the title role M K Kamalam was chosen as the heroine A Sundaram wanted himself to direct the film but later agreed to sign S Nottani as the director Nottani rejected the screenplay of A Sundaram and wanted to rewrite it Eventually he signed renowned writer Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai who wrote the screenplay and dialogues as well as lyrics for the songs The filming was started on 17 August 1937 from Salem 10 After completing a length of 2000 feat T R Sundaram dropped the project following differences in opinion with A Sundaram T R Sundaram had spent 30 000 on the project A Sundaram himself financed the project thereafter Most parts of the film was shot from Powerful Studios 11 The filming was completed within five months in December 1937 10 A Sundaram could not find a distributor for many months Later Shyamala Pictures Madras bought the rights and the film was released on 19 January 1938 10 The theatrical release poster of Balan read Malayalathile adyathe social padam vegam varunnu The first social film in Malayalam is coming out soon 12 Songs EditBalan s music was composed by K K Aroor who played the male lead and Ibrahim It had 23 songs most of them recorded by the actors themselves 13 K N Lakshmi K K Aroor M K Kamalam and Master Madanagopan are the credited singers 14 Playback singing was not possible that time so the producer had to sign actors those who could excel in singing also Most of the songs followed popular Hindi and Tamil film tunes of the time Gramaphone records of the songs were not produced The most popular song was a solo by M K Kamalam Jaathaka Doshathale based on Chenjurutti raga It was a direct copy of Theyila Thottathle by M K Radha from the Tamil film Sathi Leelavathi 1936 Lyrics for the songs are penned by Muthukulam Raghavan Pillai who also wrote the screenplay and dialogues for the film 13 Legacy EditThe film was a milestone in Malayalam film history not only for being the first talkie but also for being one of the first commercially successful films 15 Through the film Alleppey Vincent became the first speaking person of Malayalam cinema K K Aroor the first speaking hero and M K Kamalam the first speaking heroine Hello Mister was the first recorded sound which was in the voice of Alleppey Vincent The film is considered lost only the song book and a few stills survive to this day 15 The film also introduced many of early Malayalam cinema s recurring archetypes including the evil step mother and innocent orphans 16 See also EditMalayalam cinema Vigathakumaran Marthanda Varma film References Edit Remembering Malayalam s first talkie The New Indian Express Kasbekar Asha 2006 Cinema Pop culture India media arts and lifestyle Popular Culture in the Contemporary World Illustrated Hardcover ed USA ABC CLIO p 233 ISBN 978 1 85109 636 7 A nostalgic look at Malayalam cinema The Hindu 15 August 2004 Archived from the original on 23 September 2009 a b Jonathan Crow 2012 Balan 1938 Movies amp TV Dept The New York Times Baseline amp All Movie Guide Archived from the original on 3 November 2012 Retrieved 1 January 2011 Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen 1999 Encyclopaedia of Indian cinema Oxford University Press p 274 ISBN 0 85170 455 7 Balan The First Talkie Cinemaofmalayalam net n d Archived from the original on 30 July 2014 M A Oommen Kumbattu Varkey Joseph 1991 Economics of Indian cinema India Oxford amp IBH Publications p 45 ISBN 81 204 0575 7 Menon Ajay 7 September 2009 Old is Gold Balan 1938 Old is Gold Retrieved 1 October 2022 Gnanambika 1940 www malayalachalachithram com Retrieved 1 October 2022 a b c d e M A Oommen Kumbattu Varkey Joseph 1991 Economics of Indian cinema India Oxford amp IBH Publications p 45 ISBN 81 204 0575 7 Jonathan Crow 2012 Balan 1938 Movies amp TV Dept The New York Times Baseline amp All Movie Guide Archived from the original on 3 November 2012 Retrieved 1 January 2011 Balan first featured film in Malayalam www keralaculture org Retrieved 1 October 2022 a b B Vijayakumar 7 September 2009 Balan 1938 The Hindu Archived from the original on 16 October 2016 മലയ ള സ ന മ ഇത വര 1928 50 Malayala cinema till here 1928 50 മലയ ളസ ന മ ചര ത ര Malayalacinema History in Malayalam Cini Diary Archived from the original on 8 July 2011 a b B Vijayakumar 7 September 2009 Balan 1938 The Hindu Archived from the original on 16 October 2016 Twitter https twitter com nfaiofficial status 986151268996526080 Retrieved 27 November 2022 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Missing or empty title help External links Edithttp www malayalachalachithram com movie php i 3 Balan at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Balan film amp oldid 1125007113, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
