Kumbalangi Nights is a 2019 Indian Malayalam-language drama film directed by Madhu C. Narayanan. The directorial debut was written by Syam Pushkaran and jointly produced by Fahadh Faasil and Nazriya Nazim under their production house Fahadh Faasil and Friends, in association with Dileesh Pothan and Syam Pushkaran under Working Class Hero.[3] The film stars Shane Nigam, Soubin Shahir, Fahadh Faasil and Sreenath Bhasi, along with newcomers Anna Ben and Mathew Thomas.[4][5][6] Shyju Khalid was the film’s cinematographer, and its soundtrack and score were composed by Sushin Shyam.
Set in the eponymous fishing village of Kumbalangi in Kochi, Kerala, the film centres on the strained relationship between four brothers living together in a dysfunctional home, and how they ultimately stand up for each other as a family. Pushkaran came up with the idea for the film based on the time he spent in the village in his twenties. In 2011, he discussed the story with then-assistant director Narayanan, who decided to make his directorial debut with it. By 2016, Faasil and Pothan, both of whom had worked closely with Narayanan and Pushkaran on previous films, had agreed to co-produce the film. Narayanan then spent a year in Kumbalangi to understand its culture better, before shooting began in September 2018.
The film premiered on 24 May 2019 at the Habitat International Film Festival in Delhi, and was released in India and GCC territories on 7 February 2019.[7] It received widespread critical acclaim, and has been listed by several publications as one of the best Malayalam films of the decade. The film also achieved considerable commercial success at the box office, grossing ?39 crore worldwide,[2] against a budget of ?6.5 crore.[1]
