Balti (2025)

Balti 2025: a kabaddi story on the border

Balti 2025 is the feature directing debut of Unni Sivalingam, who also wrote it. The film was shot in Malayalam and Tamil at the same time, and its world is a border town where Kerala and Tamil Nadu blur into each other. At the centre is Udhayan, nicknamed Balti, a kabaddi player whose friendships matter as much as the sport.

The premise, as summarised by Wikipedia, ties that sporting circle to the illegal finance dealings of powerful people in the area. That mix of local sport, loyalty and crime is a well-loved formula in South Indian action cinema, and the interest here lies in how a debut director handles a bilingual setting and a kabaddi backdrop that is not often shown on screen.

Cast, crew and music

Shane Nigam plays the title role of Udhayan, with Shanthanu Bhagyaraj as Kumar and Preethi Asrani as Kaveri. Alphonse Puthren, Selvaraghavan and Poornima Indrajith appear in key supporting roles, and Binu George Alexander, one of the producers, also acts as SP Charles Benjamin. Trade coverage noted the film as Shanthanu's return to Malayalam cinema after a long gap.

Cinematography is by Alex J. Pulickal and editing by Shivkumar V. Panicker. The music is by Sai Abhyankkar in his first feature film, with Think Music holding the audio rights; Jaalakaari was the first single. Principal photography is reported to have run for 92 days across Coimbatore, Palakkad and Pollachi, which fits the story's border-country texture.

Release date and where to watch

Balti was released in theatres on 26 September 2025 after being moved from an earlier Onam-time plan. Its listed runtime is about 151 minutes. SonyLIV acquired the streaming rights, and entertainment sites reported a SonyLIV premiere on 10 July 2026 in several languages. We could not independently confirm current availability, so check the app.

We have not watched the film. Reports describe the theatrical reception as mixed, so this is best approached as a genre piece: if you enjoy sports-flavoured action dramas and want to see Shane Nigam in a physical lead role, it is worth a look; if you need a tightly polished thriller, temper expectations.

One more practical point is language: because Balti was made in both Malayalam and Tamil, it is worth checking which version your platform offers, since the experience of dialogue and local flavour can differ. Kabaddi is rarely the main sport in mainstream South Indian action, which makes the film a slightly different proposition from the usual street-fight template, even if the underlying crime plot will feel familiar to genre fans.