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The Malayalam film cinema has done it yet again. ‘Kumbalangi Nights’ brings to the new generation a complete packed movement of realistic and outstanding screenplays characterized by progressive themes making it a well-worth watching.
Introduction
Movie’s Name - Kumbalangi Nights (2019)
Directed by - Madhu C Narayanan
Genre - Romance, Drama, Children’s film
Language - Malayalam (Available with English subtitles)
Synopsis
The film is set in a fishing village called Kumbalangi that revolves around the story of dysfunctional relationships among four brothers. Their love-hate relationship progresses to another level when Saji, Bonny, and Franky decide to help Bobby stand by his love and get married to her.
About the Movie
The movie received quite many universal critical acclaims and was listed by several publications as one of the best Malayalam films of the decade along with considerable commercial success at the box office.
The film stars artists like Fahadh Faasil, Shane Nigam, Sreenath Bhasi, Soubin Shahir, Mathew Thomas, and Anna Ben, all portraying stupendous performances that received immense positive reviews.
The movie truly is rich in the quality of its content delivering a story without dragging it much and providing proper logical conclusions to them. While the first half of the movie is more focused on character-driven plots, the second half takes over the plot.
The makers have ensured to provide genre-bending touches and layers to the film without affecting its tone which is why it may feel less directed and more real with real outstanding life examples.
Themes Focused in the Movie
Hyper-masculinity and Patriarchy- These themes are criticized in the movie and are primarily portrayed through the characters of Shammy and Saji. Both men are living with psychological issues where Shammy insists on being the ‘hero’, Saji comes close to the abyss and realizes he needs help for which he then visits a psychologist to cry out his emotions.
Rural unemployment and Caste divide- The issues surrounding the bond of the family around these two themes not only bring them but few outsiders together too. These issues act as a catalyst that repairs the ruptures and heals their relationships.
Feminist undertones- The women in Shammy’s family namely, Baby, Simmy, and their absent mother have been free to exercise their will without having a man to order around. But their freedom of will soon breaks when Shammy gets married to Simmy and subtly starts overpowering one of them.
Character Psychoanalysis - A Character You Must Look Out For
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‘Shammy hero a da hero’ (Shammy is the hero)
- Shammy
The character played by Fahadh Fassil is that of Shammy. He portrays an eerie performance throughout the movie that gives spine-chilling creeps but wins the top honor of its viewers.
Here the movie manages to give a new villain as Shammy - a man who is straightforward, weird, scary, mysterious, strange, and uncanny in many different ways. He portrays himself as a man of details, neat, and considers himself as dignified with the job of a barber but has anger management issues and seizures that strike most scarily.
He has a creepy aura that makes the perfect sense at the end of the movie. Shammy has a narcissistic personality who believes his decisions are always right that need to be respected and obeyed, his mustache to be perfectly shaped, his clothes neat and ironed, and his routine to be followed without delays.
His character is one that totally focuses on self-love and appears as a cold person to others. He takes a lot of pride in being the only male head of the family with a decent job and not a man who cooks. Every time he makes a move in the film his score turns menacing.
The directional aspect has focused more on his glacial eyes and wide smile to give the dread creepy feeling in each scene. His character validates the themes of hypermasculinity and patriarchy that are glorified on the screen. Shammy believes himself as “the complete man” who also harbors a deep sense of misogyny and is repulsed by feminine undertones in the movie.
Shammy potentially lives with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), a personality disorder, displaying symptoms such as abrupt changes in mood that can last for minutes or hours, has a pattern of intensely chaotic relationships with the three women in his family, empathizes and nurture with the females but only with expectations of returning to meet his demands and needs. This shift is often reflected when one or more members of the family oppose and reject his opinions.
He displays marked reactivity of mood and periods of explosive, intense, and inappropriate anger in conditions of extreme interpersonal stresses when his wife Simmy takes her sister's side and tells him - he is no one to talk loudly and shout at her sister, Baby Mol.
He also makes use of extreme sarcasm or bitterness when Simmy elicits withholding behavior when he displays dissociative aggressive behavior towards the boys who play football outside his house.
The Bottom Line - In a Nutshell
“Watch It!” The visual portrayals in ‘Kumbalangi Nights’ are a lot more alluring and arresting. It will live in the popular memory of its viewers for a long and become a topic of remembrance, humor, and emotions to be discussed.
Written By - Umme-Aiman
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