Balachandra Menon slams Malayalam film titles; Mentions Dileep’s 'Bha.Bha.Ba.': ‘I feel like laughing’

Veteran actor and filmmaker Balachandra Menon has voiced strong criticism against the titles of recent Malayalam films. He questioned the creativity behind modern naming trends and also admitted that many titles leave him amused rather than impressed.Balachandra Menon said in a recent interview with Can Media that film titles play a crucial role in attracting audiences. According to him, the current trend fails to create that impact.Balachandra Menon shared his candid opinion when asked about today’s film titles, “I feel like laughing. Titles like ‘Aashaan’, ‘Shukran’, ‘Bha. Bha. Ba' and so on… If you make the audience go ‘bha bha’, how will the film run? What is all this? I really don’t understand what the intention is.” Balachandra Menon also revisited a long-standing controversy related to his film Samantarangal. He expressed disappointment over missing out on major National Awards.According to him, the film was initially considered for top honors. However, the outcome changed due to alleged interference by a jury member.Explaining the situation in detail, the actor-filmmaker shared what he was told by a jury member. He claimed that Samantarangal was leading in multiple categories before the final decision.He said, “A jury member who was part of the award committee that year told me this. When the decisions were being made, Samantarangal was the best feature film in India that year. The best actor was only Balachandra Menon. The best director was also Balachandra Menon. When it reached a stage where these awards were about to be given, a jury member from Kerala itself opposed it. He said the film had certain issues and that it could not be awarded. That’s how the awards changed.” He added, “If that original decision had been accepted, we would have become a legend in Indian cinema. That ‘favor’ was done by a Malayali himself. He has passed away now, so there is no point in naming him.”Despite the controversy, Balachandra Menon did receive recognition at the 1997 National Film Awards. He won the Best Actor award, and Samantarangal received the Best Film on Family Welfare honor.On the other hand, the veteran will be next seen in Nivin Pauly's next thriller 'Prathichaya'.