Balan The Boy trailer: Mother with a gun will stop at nothing for her son. Watch

The directors behind two of Malayalam cinema’s most celebrated recent successes, Chidambaram of Manjummel Boys and Jithu Madhavan of Aavesham, have joined hands for Balan – The Boy, an emotionally charged mother-son drama whose trailer was unveiled on Friday evening. Running over two minutes, the tightly edited trailer offers glimpses into a haunting story of survival, and, an unbreakable familial bond. At its heart is a mother and her young son, seemingly on the run, from the police, but also from a menacing grandmother whose shadow looms large over their lives.

The trailer opens with the young boy sneaking into a vehicle, only to be abruptly thrown out by its owner. Soon after, viewers are introduced to his mother, a mysterious woman who appears to go by several names, including Mary Luca and Sherly, while at one point identifying her son as Abhijeet Kumar. As the narrative unfolds, it becomes clear that she is carrying deep emotional scars and is willing to go to extraordinary lengths to protect her child from the dangers closing in around them.

As the tension escalates, the boy anxiously asks whether his grandmother will hurt them, hinting at a troubled and possibly violent family history. The trailer is peppered with images of police pursuit, suggesting that both mother and son are being hunted. While the makers keep much of the plot under wraps, one crucial revelation hints that the boy may either be a key witness in a murder case, or perhaps even a suspect.

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The final moments deepen the intrigue. A stranger confronts the mother, asking about her son’s whereabouts and whether she has buried him like her other victims. The trailer closes on a image of the mother and son lying together on a bed, seemingly at peace in each other’s company, even as she clutches a gun in her hand.

Watch the full trailer of Balan – The Boy here:

Balan – The Boy was earlier screened at the Marché du Film section of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, where it reportedly received a positive response. The film is slated for release on June 19.