Balan: The Boy

Chidambaram strikes gold again. It's one of those films where the story isn't very elaborate, but it makes you feel deeply, and it's beautiful. Very simple, very raw, beautiful visual storytelling. Shaiju Khalid has knocked it out of the park, the entire film looks visually astounding.

There are very few characters, and they hold a place in your heart. They capture your attention and make you feel things, and nothing feels forced. My criticism of films like Vara was that the emotion felt forced, even though they were pretty emotional. Not this one. Everything was natural and raw. People actually worked to develop the story and close all the ends. It just requires a lot of applause.