''Darvinte Parinamam'' () is a 2016 Indian

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

-language

action comedy Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre. Film The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of acti ...

film directed by Jijo Antony. It stars

Prithviraj Sukumaran Prithviraj Sukumaran (born 16 October 1982) is an Indian actor, director, producer and playback singer primarily working in Malayalam cinema. He has also done Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. He acted in more than 100 films in a variety of rol ...

Chemban Vinod Jose Chemban Vinod Jose is an Indian actor, film producer, and screenwriter, who predominantly works in Malayalam films. He is a physiotherapist by profession.Chandini Sreedharan Chandini Sreedharan is an Indian actress who appears mainly in Malayalam films, along with a few Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films. She made her acting debut with the 2013 Tamil film '' Ainthu Ainthu Ainthu''. She's notable for her Malayalam fi ...

, and

Balu Varghese Balu Varghese is an Indian actor and singer who predominantly works in the Malayalam film industry. He began his acting career as a child actor in Chanthupottu (2005). Early life and Career Balu Varghese was born in Kochi . He is the son of E. ...

. Written by Manoj Nair, it revolves around the life of an ordinary man and a local goon, and how their lives are affected by some unfortunate events. The soundtrack and background score for the film is composed by Shankar Sharma. The film started rolling in Fort Kochi from 1 October 2015. Produced jointly by Prithviraj,

Santhosh Sivan Santosh Sivan (born 8 February 1964) is an Indian cinematographer, film director, producer and actor known for his works in Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi cinema. Santosh graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India and has to date ...

Arya Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...

, and Shaji Nadesan under the banner of

August Cinema August Cinema is an Indian film production and distribution company based in Trivandrum. Formed in 2011, it was found by Shaji Nadesan, Santosh Sivan and Prithviraj Sukumaran. Later, actor Arya joined in 2015. In June 2017, Prithviraj announce ...

, Darvinte Parinamam was released on 18 March 2016. The film is about Anil Anto, a TV operator who moves to Kochi with his pregnant wife in order to start a new life. Here, post an unfortunate incident, Anil crosses paths with Darvin, a crime boss.

Plot

Anil Anto and his wife Amala shift from Kottarakara and settle down with the help of his friends in

Kochi Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...

. They rent a small apartment and slowly settle down to their lives. Anil works for a cable TV company as a technician. "Gorilla" Darwin is a well known

gangster A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Most gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from ''mob'' and the suffix '' -ster''. Gangs provide a level of organization and ...

, who, along with his brothers, rules the Kochi underworld. Meanwhile, Amala is pregnant, and she and her husband are very happy. During a drive by, Darvin's brother steals Amala's chain and pushes her down, causing a miscarriage. Their lives turn due to this incident. They complain to the police, but to no avail. During an installation, Anil sees the person who caused this problem. He chases them and gets into a fight. He brutally beats him up and takes him to the police. The police inspector is a cousin of Darvin and abuses Anil for beating up a culprit. He then calls up Darvin to come to pick up his brother. Darvin picks his brother from the police station and insults Anil by giving some money for Anil to get his wife a new chain. Anil slaps Darvin, which causes a scene. Darvin retreats back. Anil then faces Darvin's wrath. Darvin and the gang slowly steal every belonging from Anil and leave them with just an empty apartment. Anil loses all his possessions. A friendly policeman then explains that this is Darvin's style of reacting and he cannot do anything about it. After all this, Anil takes help from a small-time gangster to try to kidnap Darvin's child and fails spectacularly in a comedic fashion. They decide to kidnap Darvin's younger brother Gilli, who is a film buff. They make a ransom call to Darvin, only to be rebutted. While browsing through the photos on Gilli's phone, Anil finds the photo of a golden statue belonging to the church in their area. He realises that Darvin in the pretext of repairing the church has switched the golden one for a duplicate statue and holds the golden one in his chicken farm. Anil then steals this statue from the farm and starts negotiating with Darvin, knowing that Darvin has a deal fixed to sell this statue to a foreign customer. He asks Darvin to give him his stuff, not new but the exact items were stolen from him. Beginning a cat-and-mouse game, pushing Darvin's patience. The final item is Anil's bike, which was stolen from him and sold to Darvin's rival. Darvin fights with his rival Solomon to get the bike back. However, as Solomon tries to kill Darvin, Anil intervenes and helps Darvin out. Darvin initially plans to finish Anil for good once he tells him the location of the golden statue; however, he has a change of heart after Anil helps him out. Then there is a big turn in events as Darvin and his goons are taken by the police for stealing the statue because Anil finked. The movie ends with Anil helping Darvin to convey his feelings to his love and marrying her.

Cast

as Anil Anto *

as Amala Anil *

Hannah Reji Koshy Hannah Reji Koshy is an Indian actress and model from Kerala. She made her acting debut in 2016 with the Malayalam film ''Darvinte Parinamam''. She was one of the Top 6 finalists of Miss India South, an Indian associated Beauty pageant. She als ...

as Ancy *

Shammi Thilakan Shammi Thilakan is an Indian actor and dubbing artist who is active in Malayalam films. He is the son of veteran actor Thilakan. He lent his voice for Napoleon in ''Devasuram'', Prem Nazir in ''Kadathanadan Ambadi'' and for Nassar in ''Ghaza ...

as Ayyappan aka "Kidnapper" Ayyappan *

as Ravi *

Soubin Shahir Soubin Shahir (born 12 October 1983) is an Indian actor and director who works in Malayalam cinema. He began his film career as an assistant director in 2003 and worked under several directors. Soubin made his acting debut in 2013 with a suppo ...

as Willy *

Mamukkoya Mamukkoya (born 5 July 1946) is an Indian actor known for his work in Malayalam cinema, and has also appeared in French film ''Flammens of Paradise''. He has mostly appeared in comedic roles. His unique usage of the Mappila dialect and style ma ...

as Hassan Koya *

Sudhi Koppa Sudhi Koppa is an Indian actor who appears in Malayalam films. He made his film debut in 2009 with an uncredited appearance in ''Sagar Alias Jacky Reloaded'' (2009). Personal life Sudhi hails from Kochi. His father, who was a government offic ...

as Apunni *

Poojappura Ravi Raveendran Nair, known by his stage name Poojappura Ravi is an Indian actor, primarily concentrating in Malayalam films doing comedy roles. He was a stage actor and was a part of ''Kalanilyam Drama Vision'', the famous drama institution. He sta ...

as Priest *

Dharmajan Bolgatty Dharmajan Bolgatty (born 1976) is an Indian actor, producer, comedian, politician and entrepreneur, who works in Malayalam films, television, and stage shows. He began his career as a comedian appearing in sketch comedies on stage, later foraye ...

as Ayyappan's ally *

Hareesh Perumanna Hareesh Perumanna , known by his stage name Hareesh Kanaran, is an Indian comedian and film actor who appears in Malayalam films. He is best known for his stock character Jaliyan Kanaran which first appeared in ''Comedy Festival'', a comedy rea ...

as Ayyappan's ally * Murugan Martin as Darwin's henchman * Sethu Lekshmi as Anil's mother * Subeesh Sudhi as "Negative" Thomman * Vavita Vijayan as Princy *

Sajid Yahya Sajid Yahiya (born 20 December 1984) is an Indian film director, actor, producer and music composer who works in Malayalam cinema. His directorial debut was in 2016 with the film '' IDI - Inspector Dawood Ibrahim''. He is the founder of a film ...

as Dixon *

Sabumon Abdusamad Sabumon Abdusamad, also known mononymously as Sabu, is an Indian actor and television presenter who works in Malayalam cinema. He was the winner of the first season of ''Bigg Boss''. Personal life Sabu hails from Kayamkulam, Alappuzha. He hol ...

as Jackson *

Jaffar Idukki Jaffar Idukki is an Indian actor, impressionist, and comedian, who predominantly works in the Malayalam cinema. Started his career with the 2007 film ''Kaiyoppu'', he has acted in about hundred films and has performed in a number of comedy sta ...

as Majeed *

Pradeep Kottayam Pradeep K. R. (1961 – 17 February 2022), professionally credited as Pradeep Kottayam, was an Indian actor who primarily worked in Malayalam films and some Tamil films. He is best known for his comedic roles. His role in the 2010 Tamil film '' ...

as Parthan *

Thesni Khan Thesni Khan is an Indian actress who appears in Malayalam films, television, and stage. She made her acting debut through '' Daisy'' in 1988. She is widely known for the portrayal of character roles. In 2020, she contested in the second season ...

as Parthan's wife *

as Priest * Balaji Sarma as Police Constable * Sumangal as Metro Rail Worker * Binu Adimaly as Jayan * Anjana Appukuttan as Valsamma *

Nandhu Nandalal Krishnamoorthy better known by his stage name Nandu is an Indian actor primarily working in Malayalam films. Although he has been in the industry for more than 30 years, he is acclaimed for his performance in Mohanlal' s ''Spirit'', dir ...

Akshara Kishor Akshara Kishor, credited as Baby Akshara, is an Indian child actress who predominantly works in Malayalam television soap's and Films. She is known for her role as Balachandrika in the series ''Karuthamuthu'' on Asianet. In 2014, she made her de ...

* Manivarnan *

Lijo Jose Pellissery Lijo Jose Pellissery (born 18 September 1978) is an Indian filmmaker and actor who works in Malayalam cinema. Known for his unconventional approach in directing, his films are characterized by nonlinear storylines and very long takes. His best ...

as himself * Shaji Nadesan as Pranchi (cameo)

Music

The original songs were composed by Sankar Sharma, who had sung ''Athala Pithala'' song in

Double Barrel "Double Barrel" is a 1970 reggae single by Dave and Ansell Collins (though credited in both the UK and the U.S. to 'Dave and Ansil Collins'). It was the second reggae tune to top the UK charts, two years after Desmond Dekker's number 1 breakth ...

(2015). Songs are labelled by

Satyam Audios Satyam Audios is an Indian music company headquartered at Kochi, Kerala. The greatest stage is not the one where we perform, rather it is for those who create, shape, and mold to form a piece of music. Satyam audios are one of the leading musi ...

and were released on 3 March 2016.

Production

Directed by Jijo Antony of ''

Konthayum Poonoolum ''Konthayum Poonulum'' is a 2014 Indian Malayalam-language family drama film directed by Jijo Antony. It stars Kunchako Boban, Bhama and Manoj K Jayan in the lead. Plot A baker named Krishnan rushes home to be with his heavily pregnant wife ...

''.

and

was selected as the female lead against Prithviraj. Prithviraj,

, and Shaji Nadesan signed to produce the film under the production and distribution company

. Filming commenced on 1 October at

Fort Kochi Fort Kochi, Fort Cochin in English, Cochim de Baixo ("Lower Kochi") in Cochin Portuguese creole, is a neighbourhood of Cochin (Kochi) city in Kerala, India. Fort Kochi takes its name from the Fort Manuel of Cochin, the first European fort ...

Ernakulam Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation a ...

Critical reception

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

'' rated it 3.0 out of 5.0 and said "Director Jijo Anthony's Darvinte Parinamam might have a formulaic story of the protagonist leading a happy life till a villain wreaks havoc. The hero then evolves and seeks salvation. What makes this film different is the perspective from which it is intentionally told. The story and concept hold promise, but the execution falters due to the lack of clarity in the script and direction. The emotional turmoil that Prithviraj's character undergoes after a tragedy obviously has the audience rooting for him and sympathizing less for Darvin. The latter's perspective, crudely shown, seems diluted to glorify the movie's apparent hero". 'Nowrunning' rated it 2 out of 5 and said that 'Darvinte Parinamam' does put forward the buoyant suggestion every now and then that something better is lying in wait just around the corner. But it carries on babbling continually, almost as if not knowing when to stop, and at the end of it all, is left with nothing but a few sparsely delightful moments here or there.http://www.nowrunning.com/movie/17795/malayalam/darwinte-parinamam/5399/review/

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 5328262 2010s Malayalam-language films 2016 films Indian films about revenge Films shot in Kochi Films shot in Kollam 2010s action comedy-drama films Indian action comedy-drama films