Lately, I have been in awe of Malayalam films, especially after I watched Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s 1987 film Anantaram which for me was complete in the detailed film which explored human behavior and recently when I watched Kumbalangi Nights, I was totally amazed at the beautiful way it has been filmed. Every aspect of this film stands out right from the story, direction, cinematography, performances till the beautiful shades of the film which adds to its beauty.
Coming to the plot, it is a story of four siblings living a chaotic life within themselves, a fact that they are like orphans. It is true that people living inside a house makes it worth a home, we get to see it throughout this story as the same house which at a time feels like hell to Frankie (Mathew Thomas) and later on when Sathi (Sheela Rajkumar) and Nylah lives as a family at their house, there’s a bright and laugh every time we see Frankie’s face.
Parallel to the plot we see a blossoming love story of Bobby (Shane Nigam) and Baby (Anna Ben), their conversation at a time goes too deep where Bobby recalls his dad and at the same time Saji (Soubin Shahir) pays a visit to a psychologist and opens up about the past that somewhere not only haunts him but in fact all the four brothers.
Shammi is a mysterious character that gets unraveled at the climax which was totally unbelievable for me, but Fahadh Faasil playing it so well that you’ll be stunned at the end. Apart from all the characters this film also highlights patriarchy and masculinity in the Indian society but there’s no point taking one side and this is where Kumbalangi Nights sparks out as it conveys this structure is bound to change as we see that change in Bobby’s character due to his true love for Baby, however, each point has two sides, on the other hand, Shammi’s character remains unchanged and he takes the unbelievable path, reflecting the “we don’t care” side of the society. There’s no point in a debate between men and women, in the end, it is about how you evolve as a human being.
So Kumbalanigi Nights is another beauty from the regional cinema. Do watch it and stay tuned to The Indian Wire for more such articles.