Balti: Action and Loyalty in a Gritty Gangland

Balti chronicles the intertwined journeys of four spirited friends whose prowess on the kabaddi ground is mirrored by their reckless swagger beyond it. At the centre stands Udhayan (Shane Nigam), an unassuming captain whose carefree days with his teammates are punctuated by tender yet hesitant advances toward his love interest. Contrasting him is Kumar (Shanthanu Bhagyaraj), the opportunist of the group, whose debts and duplicity gradually propel him from mere side presence to the pivotal catalyst of the drama. What begins as a portrait of camaraderie evolves into a turbulent tale of ambition, betrayal, and the fragile loyalties that bind youth to both sport and survival.

Director Unni Sivalingam appears acutely conscious of the slenderness of his plot and the archetypal nature of his characters, yet he transforms these very constraints into a deliberate device for constructing a compelling gangster drama. Balti thrives on broad strokes and familiar tropes, employing time-worn narrative beats and stock figures, but presenting them with a confidence and craftsmanship that lend the film its vigour.

Balti employs kabaddi less as an organic theme than as a convenient narrative device. The four central characters might just as easily have occupied any other pursuit before being ensnared in the power struggles of local loan sharks, each manipulating them for his own gain. The sport is utilised merely to establish their personalities, through a pair of matches that sketch character traits swiftly, before being abandoned altogether as the story veers into darker terrain. What follows is closer to a chamber piece, with four men turned fugitives, circling one another in suspicion, each wary of betrayal from within.

At times, Balti resembles a succession of conceptual fragments rather than fully realised dramatic scenes, its coherence propped up by an insistent background score. Debut composer Sai Abhayankar, however, proves the film’s unexpected strength. His music supplies the texture and vitality that the writing withholds, carving distinct motifs for the principal figures and infusing the narrative with a sense of cultural rootedness. By weaving together percussive rhythms, electronic dance pulses, and synth-heavy flourishes for the action set-pieces, Sai sustains the film’s pace and invests it with a momentum that feels both contemporary and dynamic.

Selvaraghavan brings a chilling edge to the role of a ruthless private financier, his menace sharpened by the cruelty with which he shames defaulters publicly stripping them before their families as a mark of humiliation. His shadowy empire, tinged with ambitions of an audacious banking scam and gestures toward a troubled childhood, lends him just enough dimension to remain a formidable presence in the lives of the four kabaddi players. There is particular relish in watching the impeccably styled “Soda Babu” (Alphonse Puthren) lock glances with his rivals Bhairavan (Selvaraghavan) and G-maa (Poorinam Indrajith) in scenes that revel in pulp theatrics and simmering stand-offs.

The film achieves its liveliest stretches in these muscular action passages and gangland skirmishes, with Shane Nigamand Shanthanu Bhagyaraj striking a complementary balance their interplay underscored by a tension that quietly lingers across every conflict. By contrast, Preeti Asrani is left underserved by a role that offers her scant agency, reduced to little more than a functional presence in the narrative.

As a sports drama, Balti falters, never quite convincing in its athletic dimension. Yet as an action thriller embedded in the gritty rivalries of gangsters and loan sharks, it is considerably more persuasive. The constant tug-of-war between these modes leaves the action strand dominant, shaping the film’s true identity.

The sparseness of the writing and the sketch-like treatment of its characters rob the narrative of urgency, muting the impact of its more perilous turns. The film’s gestures toward themes of loyalty and the fallout of betrayal never quite find emotional depth, landing instead as perfunctory notes. And yet, when Balti abandons sentiment and leans fully into its raw, propulsive action, it succeeds in delivering bursts of genuine cinematic exhilaration.