Balti: There was no back-up for Alphonse Puthren as Soda Babu and he almost did not do the film
Balti: Alphonse Puthren was reluctant to take up the role initially, fearing that he could not pull it off, which almost threw the filming in disarray. Balti releases in theatres on September 26
Last Updated: 01.09 PM, Sep 25, 2025
For Malayali audiences, he will always be best known as the maker of one of the most sensational romantic films of recent times – Premam. But these days, he is also a budding actor, having made an appearance in United Kingdom of Kerala, and as an antagonist in this week’s Balti, which is leading man Shane Nigam’s milestone 25th film. Filmmaker-actor Alphonse Puthren is Soda Babu in the film directed by Unni Sivalingam, who’d earlier made Thankam.
The team considered actors from Malayalam and Tamil films for the role, but weren’t entirely convinced with any of the options, until they stumbled upon the idea of casting Alphonse. He, they thought, was perfect, but would he do it?
Alphonse withdrew from Balti 4 days before film went on floors
“Convincing Alphonse to be a part of Balti was not easy. We had to ask him several times before he finally agreed to do it. In fact, first he declined, then accepted and later on felt that he may not be able to carry it off and withdrew from the project. This was 4 days before the film went on floors. Unni then reached out to him and said that if he were to leave the project at that stage, he (the filmmaker) would be in dire straits. This struck Alphonse and he then came and did the film,” explained the film's producer in conversation with Club FM.
Also read: Balti star Shane Nigam on the impact of Valiyaperunnal in his life, handling fame and more
Interestingly, despite all this will he, won’t he that was going on with Alphonse, the filmmaker adds that at no point did they consider looking for a back-up option. In hindsight, he says that they should have perhaps, given his reluctance to commit to the project until the very last moment. But then they did not and it all worked out well eventually.
Balti, which releases in theatres in Malayalam and Tamil on September 26, also stars filmmaker Selvaraghavan, Shantanu Bhagyaraj, Poornima Indrajith, Preethi Asrani, among others. In Kerala, the film will have 60% Malayalam and 40% Tamil dialogues, given the story’s setting in a border area, while the Tamil version will be entirely in Tamil. Telugu and Kannada dubbed versions are also being planned, but will release only around September 9, a week after Kantara Chapter 1 comes out.
FAQs
Q: When will Balti be released in theatres?
A. The film will hit the big screen on September 26 in Malayalam and Tamil.
Q: Who is Shane Nigam playing in Balti?
A: The actor is playing Udhayan, kabbadi player, in this sports drama.
Q: Where was Balti filmed?
A: Filming for this bilingual movie took place in a number of places in Coimbatore, Palakkad, and Pollachi.