Kumbalangi Nights movie review: This Fahadh Faasil film is like a subtle, but lucid and vivid poem about abandonment and redemption of human lives. Kumbalangi Nights movie review: This Fahadh Faasil film is like a subtle, but lucid and vivid poem about abandonment and redemption of human lives. Kumbalangi Nights movie cast: Soubin Shahir, Shane Nigam, Sreenath Bhasi, Fahadh Faasil Kumbalangi Nights movie director: Madhu C Narayanan Kumbalangi Nights movie rating: 4 stars If the “parallel cinema” of the 1980s heralded a brief compromise between the mutually exclusive commercial and arthouse genres in Kerala, a new crop of filmmakers in the state have now established a brand-new form that breaks the age-old generic stereotypes. Their movies have no similarity to any form that existed in the state before and they are increasingly drawing inspiration from contemporary international cinema. Kumbalangi Nights (The nights of Kumbalangi), which released this week, is a brilliant example of this new genre and how it’s maturing. It has no formulaic pretensions of arthouse movies that brought laurels to the state for a long time, or doesn’t overtly try to be mainstream to attract viewers, but ends up being highly successful, both in terms of art and commerce. Kumbalangi Nights is primarily about three young men and their school-going brother living a pathetic life in an incomplete hut in a small island near Kumbalangi. Kumbalangi Nights is primarily about three young men and their school-going brother living a pathetic life in an incomplete hut in a small island near Kumbalangi. Kumbalangi Nights is not the first breakthrough in the generic transformation that Malayalam cinema is currently witnessing, but is certainly a movie that has moved closer to truthfulness and perfection. It’s rooted in reality, deals with the lives of the subaltern that both the arthouse and mainstream movies have made look contrived, addresses a number of contemporary socio-political issues in a highly nuanced way and is a moving essay on human relationships, loss and redemption. What makes it special or rather endearing is that despite its dark milieu, it’s a hugely transformative movie. In the guise of contemporary cinema, a lot of city-based youngsters, mostly from the state’s movie capital of Kochi, have been making quite a number of thug-films, films that deal with the hard life of the urban underclass depicting a lot of violence, foul language and even sexual permissiveness with practically no perspective or purpose. Their themes mostly centre around the urban lumpen, contract killers (called quotation gangs in local parlance), slums, sex workers and unemployed youth, with some political colour and Sufi Rock thrown in to make them look both intense and cool. Although many of them were celebrated because they looked different, they mostly appeared inspired by City of God and were similar in form and substance. But Kumbalangi Nights breaks away from this new stereotype. The movie is primarily about three young men and their school-going brother living a pathetic life in an incomplete hut in a small island near Kumbalangi on the Western coast of the state, which otherwise looks breathtaking. For people in the mainland, it’s a shit-hole that they use to dump their rubbish in. The only economic engagement the stranded inhabitants of the island can undertake is fishing, ancillary work for tourism and probably some unskilled labour in the city. Closely associated with their lives is another family, from where one of the boys find his love-interest. What’s also striking about Kumbalangi Nights is the quality of its writing and its contiguity with the surroundings, which is brilliantly captured by cinematographer Shyju Khalid. What’s also striking about Kumbalangi Nights is the quality of its writing and its contiguity with the surroundings, which is brilliantly captured by cinematographer Shyju Khalid. Except the youngest boy, who is a footballer supported by a state scholarship and hence exposed to a marginally better quality of life, the men practically do nothing and seem to be stuck in a socio-cultural stasis. Given their depressing family background of estrangement and abandonment, they are captives of extreme low self-esteem and self-stigma and are socially immobile. The only shimmer of hope is the school-boy because he has access to education and hence is hopeful about life. Things change when relationships happen, which lead to both conflicts as well as liberation and finally despair gives way to hope and a possibly a life-affirming freedom from the past. Kumbalangi Nights is also a truly subaltern movie with unambiguous, but understated, politics. No other movie in the recent past has dealt with subaltern lives so genuinely the way it has done. Its principal characters come from the low strata of society, both socially and economically, and are victims of self-rejection. The family of the girl that they deal with too is not from ‘upper class,’ but the social gradient between them looks pronounced because of the very low baseline. And they too are victims of a different kind. Kumbalangi Nights is also a truly subaltern movie with unambiguous, but understated, politics. Kumbalangi Nights is also a truly subaltern movie with unambiguous, but understated, politics. The movie is extremely detailed and hence is an authentic portrayal of human lives in the squalid island and their surrounding nature that’s an extension of their being. There are a number of characters that move you, that make you think and add to the overall milieu of the story. The sense of loss and helplessness that the movie conveys is heartbreaking. What’s also striking about the movie is the quality of its writing and its contiguity with the surroundings, which is brilliantly captured by cinematographer Shyju Khalid. The importance of love within the family, the brutality of patriarchy that even an eccentric man can exert, and the healing power of human touch and compassion are vividly depicted by both the writer Syam Pushakaran and director Madhu C Narayanan. All the actors have done a splendid job in shedding their real persona and assuming unfamiliar lives as truthfully as they could. For Madhu C Narayanan, it’s a remarkable debut indeed. To summarise, Kumbalangi Nights is like a subtle, but lucid and vivid poem about abandonment and redemption of human lives. And it’s as life-affirming as a Danny Boyle movie.<doc-sep>Despite the release of popular films such as Nivin Pauly, Manjima Mohan's Mikhael, and Prithviraj's Nine, Kumbalangi Nights, which released on 7 February, has emerged as the first film in Malayalam cinema this year to win over the hearts of both audiences and critics alike. Fahadh Faasil's critically acclaimed holdover Malayalam drama Kumbanlangi Nights has become the first solid blockbuster of Mollywood in 2019. Despite the release of popular films such as Nivin Pauly, Manjima Mohan's Mikhael, and Prithviraj's Nine, Kumbalangi Nights, which released on 7 February, has emerged as the first film in Malayalam cinema this year to win over the hearts of both audiences and critics alike. The film, which marks the directorial debut of Madhu C Narayanan and has been written by ace writer Syam Pushkaran, has garnered an excellent gross of Rs 20 cr from 11 days worldwide. Nearly 50% of the theatrical revenue has come from home state Kerala and close to 45% of the ticket sales comes from the UAE-GCC territory, the most significant overseas region for Malayalam film lovers. Kumbanlagi Nights also topped the offshore box-office for the weekend ending 17 February, beating the likes of Oru Adaar Love and Dev. Kumbalangi Nights, which also stars Shane Nigam, and Soubin Shahir in essential roles, has become the highest-grossing film of 2019 in Cochi multiplexes with an estimated total of Rs 86.9 lakhs from 14 days. The film has become the third successive blockbuster for Fahadh Faasil after Varadhan and Njan Prakashan. His last three films have collected a whopping total of more than Rs 100 cr, and it's an extraordinary feat for the actor-producer, who is known for his knack of choosing uncanny scripts. Mammootty's Yatra, which is based on the life of ex-Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhar Reddy, failed to take off after the opening weekend gross of Rs 10.2 cr. The estimated total of the film after the first week is said to be only around Rs 11.2 cr. Since the theatrical rights were valued for Rs 10 cr, the film has ended as a loss for the stakeholders. Karthi's romance drama Dev also failed to pass muster at the box-office after opening to a lukewarm reception from audiences. The film directed by Rajath scored a meager extended opening weekend total of Rs 14 cr and missed to hit the bull's eye. After delivering two super-hits films in Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru, and Kadaikutty Singam, Dev is now limping at the ticket window. While the Tamil Nadu theatrical rights of Dev, which features Rakul Preet as the lead heroine, were valued around Rs 17 cr, trade pundits peg the film's final lifetime share in the state to be only RS 7 cr, making it a substantial loss for the buyers. Another holdover hit Dhillukku Dhuddu 2, produced by and starring Santhanam in the lead role, has pulled in a total of Rs 15 cr at the end of its first-week run. While the film has done fairly well, it must be noted that it's not able to surpass the lifetime earnings of the first part which hauled in Rs 21 cr in total sales. A bevy of new releases has been lined up for this week including Udhay, Tamannaah's Kanne Kalaimaane, RJ Balaji, Priya Anand's LKG, and national award-winning drama To Let helmed by Cheziyan in Tamil. In Telugu, the trade is looking forward to the release of NTR: Mahanayakudu, the second part of the NTR biopic. The first part NTR: Kathanayakudu turned out to be one of the biggest disasters in the history of Tollywood, and the makers are hoping for the sequel to strike the right chord with its audiences this time.<doc-sep>The first 'Eternals' teaser is here and it promises to have Marvel superheroes channelling their Desi side and getting groovy to Bollywood tunes.<doc-sep>
Story: The film is a story of four brothers, and how a handful of situations test their sibling dynamics. Review: You know how actors say that is not the length of the role or even whether they play the main character, but the quality of the role that matters to them. Well, ‘Kumbalangi Nights’ gives all the actors the chance to prove that statement and every one of them delivers unfailingly in this charming little movie, ably directed by first-timer Madhu C Narayanan. The story takes its time to unfold, without feeling like a drag, in the first half in the fishing hamlet of Kumbalangi. There is a shed-like house in which four step and half-brothers, played by Shane Nigaam (Bobby), Soubin Shahir (Saji), Sreenath Bhasi and promising young, footballer Mathews, come and go, but not before trading punches and barbs with each other. Saji and Bobby are a couple of losers; spending their days lying around without doing any work and mooching off others. These are not the kind of real characters we are used to seeing in our films, and 'Kumbalangi Nights' feels more special for that. While doing a one-off fishing job which is basically a demonstration for tourists, Bobby kindles an affair with tourist guide Babymol, played by newcomer Anna Ben, whose family also runs a homestay. Her sister, played by Grace Antony, has just recently married Shammy, portrayed by Fahadh Faasil. There is something menacing about Shammy. Is it his OCD, or is it his intrusiveness or his ever-smiling passive aggressiveness? Fahadh plays his role flawlessly, making you laugh nervously. We would venture to say that he is in award territory again. And the women in his house and the background music accompanying his words and actions are the perfect foil to his character. Full points to Grace Antony for shining in a small role. Shammy will not allow Bobby and Babymol to marry; not surprising, considering his rightful argument that Bobby does not have a job and comes from a family of ill-repute. The second half picks up pace. In a twist, the house is suddenly filled with women, but not Babymol, and the men start to find purpose and answers in their lives, willingly or unwillingly. Credit to scriptwriter Syam Pushkaran for not providing easy answers or making anything seem forced, except perhaps for Sreenath Bhasi’s love angle. The tense and surprising climax comes with the attempt to carry the relationship between Bobby and Babymol to its logical conclusion. The heavyweight moments in the film are dealt with comic one-liners that actually come across as good bits of philosophy for life. What seems like a broken down house actually ends up holding a lot of love, while a house that seems quaint and systematic on the outside harbours secrets. The first half of the film starts out as a character-driven, while in the second half, the plot takes over; kudos to all that both work very well and gives us a film that is well-worth a watch.