''Bala'' is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language action film written and directed by Deepak, starring Shaam as the titular character along with

Meera Jasmine Jasmine Mary Joseph, known professionally as Meera Jasmine, is an Indian actress who appears primarily in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada language films. Meera Jasmine won the National Film Award for Best Actress in 2004 for her role in ...

. Rajan P. Dev,

Raghuvaran Raghuvaran Velayutham (11 December 1958 – 19 March 2008) was an Indian actor who predominantly acted in films made in South India. He has acted in more than 200 Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi films. According to the ''Hindustan ...

Thilakan Palappurathu Kesavan Surendranatha Thilakan (15 July 1935 – 24 September 2012) was an Indian film and stage actor who appeared in over 200 Malayalam films. Thilakan was known for his elaborate method acting, realistic and spontaneous appearan ...

, and

Santhoshi Santhoshi is an Indian actress. She is probably best known for her performances in the films ''Bala'', '' Jai'' and ''Honeymoon Express'' and most prominently for her performance in the mainstream TV series ''Arasi''. She won Nandi Award for ...

play supporting roles. The music was composed by

Yuvan Shankar Raja Yuvan Shankar Raja or Abdul Haliq (born 31 August 1979) is an Indian film score and soundtrack composer and singer-songwriter. He mainly scores music for Tamil films. Considered a versatile composer, he is particularly known for his use of We ...

with cinematography by

Priyan Priyan (1964 – 9 November 2017) was an Indian cinematographer who has worked on Tamil language films. Beginning his career as an assistant to Balu Mahendra, Priyan began his career as an independent technician in the 1990s before establis ...

and editing by

V. T. Vijayan V. T. Vijayan is an Indian film editor who works in Malayalam, Telugu, and Tamil films. He has collaborated in the past with editors including B. Lenin B. Lenin born as Bhimsingh Lenin is an Indian film editor, writer and director who works in ...

. The film was released on 13 December 2002.

Plot

Cast

* Shaam as Bala *

as Aarthi *

as Jayamani *

Nagesh Nagesh (born Cheyur Krishnarao Nageshwaran; (27 September 1933 – 31 January 2009) was an Indian actor, mostly remembered for his roles as a comedian in Tamil films during the 1960s. Nagesh was born in Dharapuram. He acted in over 1,000 Cine ...

as Varadhan *

as Paranthaman *

Karunas Karunas (born 21 February 1970 as Karunanidhi Sethu) is an Indian actor, politician and comedian in the Tamil film industry. Appearing mostly in supporting roles, he has also played lead roles in films including '' Dindigul Sarathy'' (2008) a ...

as Kutty * Rajan P. Dev as Pasupathi *

Thalaivasal Vijay Thalaivasal Vijay is an Indian actor and dubbing artist. He was born on 4 August 1962 in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India. He has acted predominantly in numerous Tamil and Malayalam films. Career Vijay's debut film was '' Thalaivaasal'' (1992) ...

as Pasupathi's enemy * Mahanadhi Shankar as Pasupathi's gang member *

Kalairani Kalairani Indian actress who has worked in many Tamil films and as a performer with the Koothu-P-Pattarai theatre group. Filmography Serials * ''Panchavan Kaadu'' (2014) (Tamil) * ''Unarchigal'' (2014) (Tamil) * '' Nandini'' (2018) (Tami ...

as Bala's blind mother *

Sabitha Anand Sabitha Anand is an Indian actress who has performed in Tamil and Malayalam movies and serials. She was one of the lead actresses in the 1980s. She is the daughter of Jacoob Abdu Rahman Anand, an Indian actor in Malayalam movies during the 196 ...

as Jayamani's second wife * Meera Krishnan as Aarthi's mother * Gouthami as Pasupathi's wife * Rajasekar as Bala's father *

Singamuthu Singamuthu (born 8 December 1958) is an Indian actor who has appeared in Tamil language films as a comedian. Career Singamuthu has primarily appeared in comedy roles in films as a supporting actor debuting in ''Neram Nalla Irukku'' (1987). He ...

as a marriage broker * Kamalesh as Pasupathy's son *

as Purnima * Master Udayaraj as Jayamani's son * Baby Srividya as Jayamani's daughter *

Scissor Manohar Scissor Manohar is an Indian comedian and actor. Career Manohar began to work as a production assistant working on films such as '' Puthiya Vaarpugal'' (1979). Manohar earned the name Scissor for his character in '' Gokulathil Seethai'' (199 ...

as the bus conductor * Muthukaalai as a bus passenger * Pawan as Jayamani's henchman (uncredited)

Production

Deepak, who worked as an assistant director to

Gandhi Krishna Gandhi Krishna is an Indian film director who has worked on Tamil films. After beginning his career as an assistant to Shankar, he has made commercially and critically successful films. Career After apprenticing under Shankar in '' Indian'' ...

(of ''

Engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

'') and as an editor made his directorial debut with this film.

was signed to compose the music for the film.

Vidya Balan Vidya Balan (pronounced ; born 1 January 1979) is an Indian actress. Known for pioneering a change in the portrayal of women in Hindi cinema with her roles in female-led films, she is the recipient of several awards, including a National F ...

, the original choice for lead actress, was replaced by

in the film. Shaam departed from his romantic hero role and portrayed an action oriented role in the film. Some scenes were shot on a boat about fifteen kilometers from the harbour, in Chennai whereas at the Vauhini Studios, Chennai, a lavish set was erected where Shaam and Meera Jasmine danced to the beat of a song.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack, featuring 5 songs, was composed by

and released on 20 October 2002. Lyrics were penned by Arivumathi, Kabilan, Pa. Vijay and Pazhani Bharathi. The song "Bailamo Bailamo" was originally composed for the

Srikanth Srikanth or Sreekanth is a common Indian first name. * Srikanth (Tamil actor, born 1940), Tamil film actor active in films from 1965 * Srikanth (Tamil actor, born 1980), Tamil actor active in films after 2002 * Srikanth (Telugu actor), Telugu acto ...

-starrer '' April Maadhathil'', but eventually used in this film.

Release

A critic from '' The Hindu'' stated that "'Bala' is another of those typical action flicks that flood the cinema scene today". Malini Mannath of ''Chennai Online'' opined that "It's yet again a gangster film, the scenes flowing albeit smoothly, but expectantly through clichéd situations giving one a sense of deja vu throughout". Visual Dasan of ''

Kalki Kalki ( sa, कल्कि), also called Kalkin or Karki, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of exis ...

'' criticised the age old story and called the film "boring" while praised the dialogues, background score, and cinematography. Despite the failure of Shaam's previous films, this film managed to average business.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, tt1621768 2002 films 2000s Tamil-language films Indian action films Films scored by Yuvan Shankar Raja 2002 action films 2002 directorial debut films