Manjummel Boys

Manjummel Boys
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Chidambaram
Written by	Chidambaram
Produced by	Soubin Shahir Babu Shahir Shawn Antony
Starring	Soubin Shahir Sreenath Bhasi Balu Varghese Ganapathi S. Poduval Lal Jr. Deepak Parambol Abhiram Radhakrishnan Arun Kurian Khalid Rahman Chandu Salimkumar Shebin Benson Vishnu Reghu
Cinematography	Shyju Khalid
Edited by	Vivek Harshan
Music by	Sushin Shyam
Production company	Parava Films
Distributed by	Sree Gokulam Movies through Dream Big Films
Release date	22 February 2024 (2024-02-22)
Running time	135 minutes
Country	India
Language	Malayalam
Box office	est.₹166 crores[1]

Manjummel Boys is a 2024 Indian Malayalam-language survival thriller film written and directed by Chidambaram, and produced by Parava Films. The film stars an ensemble cast, which includes Soubin Shahir, Sreenath Bhasi, Balu Varghese, Ganapathi S. Poduval, Lal Jr., Deepak Parambol, Abhiram Radhakrishnan, Arun Kurian, Khalid Rahman, Chandu Salimkumar, Shebin Benson, and Vishnu Reghu. Based on a true incident from 2006,^[2] the film revolves around a group of friends from a small town called Manjummel near Kochi,^[3] who decide to have a vacation in Kodaikanal.

The film was theatrically released on 22 February 2024 and received highly positive reviews from the audience and critics.^[4] It grossed over ₹166 crores worldwide, and set several box-office records, becoming the highest grossing Malayalam film of 2024 as well as one of the highest grossing Indian films of 2024.^[1]

Plot

In 2006, a group of friends from an arts club in Kochi leave on a trip to Kodaikanal in the neighbouring state, Tamil Nadu. They explore Kodaikanal and before leaving, one of the friends tells about Guna Caves, a place where the film Gunaa was shot. Inebriated, high and happy, the friends reach Guna Caves and decide to explore the restricted areas of the caves by themselves despite a warning from Dominic, a tourist guide. Though there are signs of a lurking danger, the friends explore further. Upon reaching a point, a few friends decide to write down their group name "Manjummel Boys" on the rocks within the caves.

After writing it on the wall, the friends call out to show the remaining guys who are exploring on the other sides to take a picture and they all regroup. Subhash, one of the friends, falls into a covered hole in the ground while moving towards them. Initially everyone assumes he is pranking, but as he does not respond even after calling out to him multiple times, they all start to panic. After the initial shock, a few of them run back to get help and others stay back and continue calling out to him in hopes that he would respond. They inform the locals of what had happened and needed help, and they suggest going to police station.

The locals also inform them that the specific area was off-limit to people for a reason and that so far 13 people have fallen into that pit and none were ever recovered, dead or alive. Scared even more, the friends reach the police station, where they are beaten for entering a restricted area. They are accused of murdering their friend and giving false complaints and no help is offered.

But after convincing them and fearing backlash from local people for failing to help, Inspector agrees to go with them to the cave. While on the way, the inspector informs that the last person who fell into it was the former Central Minister's nephew and all the forces got together to rescue him, but they couldn't. The officer after inspecting suggests that they leave Subhash as he probably was not alive, but the friends were adamant about rescuing him. Soon they hear Subhash's cries, and the police have no option other than trying to save him. They try lowering a rope, for Subhash to hold, but are sceptical that he may not be in a situation to hold on the rope after a deep fall.

The fire department is also called to the scene, but they are also not ready to go inside the hole to retrieve Subhash. Seeing this, one of the friends, Siju David decides to go down. The police officers initially reluctant, finally agrees after comments from locals. Siju is lowered into the hole, and but along the way the rope with which Siju is lowered finishes, and police are worried that its not safe to go any lower as there might be low oxygen levels, and they are not willing to risk Siju's life as well. But Siju says he can hear Subash's voice clearly and could not leave him down there. The police arrange for more rope and reel Siju down more and finally Siju could see Subash lying on a ledge covered in blood.

Siju is able to retrieve Subhash and the rest of the friends pull them up together successfully. After receiving first aid they return to their hometown, and decide not to tell anyone about the incident. But the news that Siju saved Subhash comes out from a person who went to Tamil Nadu and Siju is applauded for his bravery. Two years later he is awarded a medal.

Cast

The real life Manjummel Boys make a cameo appearance as the opposing gang during a tug of war contest.^[5]

Production

The project was initially reported in January 2023.^[6] Manjummel Boys is the second directorial of Chidambaram after Jan. E. Man (2021).^[7]

Principal photography commenced at Kodaikanal in January 2023 and concluded after 101 days of shoot in multiple schedules.^[8][9] A few scenes were also shot in Kochi and Perumbavoor.^[10] The cave and its surrounding shown in the film is actually set constructed by production designer Ajayan Chalissery.^[11]

Music

The original score and soundtrack of Manjummel Boys is composed by Sushin Shyam. It features two tracks, which were sung by Pradeep Kumar and rapper Vedan. The lyrics were penned by Anwar Ali and Vedan. In this film, the 1991 Tamil film Gunaa is also mentioned many times, especially through the song "Kanmani Anbodu Kadhalan".^[12]

Release

Manjummel Boys was theatrically released on 22 February 2024.

Reception

Manjummel Boys received critical acclaim from critics with praise for its technical aspects, acting, script and direction.

Critical response

S. Devasankar of Pinkvilla gave 4/5 stars and wrote "Manjummel Boys is one of the finest additions to Malayalam survival thriller films. The film demands a theater watch with the best sound quality for the best experience, and is sure to leave the audience shook."^[13] Gopika I. S. of The Times of India gave 4/5 stars and wrote "Manjummel Boys isn't your average friendship flick packed like a survival film. If you are looking for a crisp survival film, this is it. It's an absolute marvel of visuals, absolutely good writing, characterisation, editing, acting and all the thrills."^[14]

Arjun Menon of Rediff gave 4/5 stars and wrote "Manjummel Boys gets so many things right that the small nitpicks don't amount to much in the larger picture."^[15] Sanjith Sridharan of OTTplay gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "Chidambaram hasn't tried to overdramatise Manjummel Boys for the sake of entertainment and has kept it mostly true to the events that had transpired in Kodaikanal in 2006."^[16]

Anandu Suresh of The Indian Express gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Despite its shortcomings, Chidambaram's film can indeed be seen as a powerful tribute to the real Manjummel Boys and their determined efforts to save their dear one."^[17] Janani. K of India Today gave 3/5 stars and wrote "Director Chidambaram's Manjummel Boys is a heartwarming thriller which is earnest in its attempt."^[18]

S. R. Praveen of The Hindu wrote "Though the survival thriller part brings back memories of Bharathan's Malootty, this one takes a different path by tying the events closely to their friendship of the characters."^[19] Princy Alexander of Onmanorama wrote "Overall, the movie is a neatly crafted tale of friendship that triumphs over the survival drama."^[20]

References

External links

• Manjummel Boys at IMDb

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