Malayalam cinema is undoubtedly having a moment in the sun. In 2024, two movies devoid of bankable stars like Mammootty, Mohanlal, or Prithviraj are enjoying a bullish run at the UAE box office. On the heels of the young slice-of-life film, ‘Premalu’, comes another stirring friendship saga/survival thriller ‘Manjummel Boys’, which has already seen over 184,000 total admissions since its release two weeks ago. No big stars, just content that grips you from the word go makes the buddy, male-bonding film ‘Manjummel Boys’ stand out from the rest of the heap.
Just to put things in perspective, Hollywood’s magnificent star-led sci-fi saga ‘Dune: Part 2’, starring Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya crossed over 54,000 admissions in its first week of release in the UAE, while MB has already doubled that figure, according to the figures provided by local distributors Phars Films.
‘Manjummel Boys’, led by Soubin Shahir and Srinath Bhasi, has already crossed the Rs1-billion mark at the global box office, making it one of the fastest grossers in Malayalam cinema this year.
So what makes ‘Manjummel Boys’, a tale of 11 friends who go on a boys’ trip to Kodaikanal’s Guna Caves and find themselves in deep trouble as one of their mates slips into a dangerous crevice, such a hit? The collecting acting prowess, the snippy editing, and the brilliant homage to Kamal Haasan’s iconic film, ‘Guna’, shot in those caves make it one of the most engaging survival thrillers to hit the South Indian movie landscape. Your heart goes out to each and every mate in this film. The bonhomie seems organic and all of them are strictly middle-class, making them feel far more accessible and realistic to an average movie-goer.
In an interview with Gulf News, director and writer Chidambaram — who is thrilled that his movie has been embraced by South Indians and beyond — says roping in bankable stars or A-listers for this project would have been a misstep.
“Casting a superstar in this group will create imbalance. Every boy in this film is important to the story, just like the name ‘Manjummel Boys’. All of the actors who are in this film now are such good friends. Their chemistry that stems from being real friends in life really helped the film,” said Chidambaram.
According to him, Malayalam films, which are going through a robust creative phase, are all about working under “tight limitations”.
“We don’t have a budget like Tamil or Telugu films. When we are writing a script, we don’t write fight scenes with 1,000 people or dance sequences with 600 dancers. We always go back to content and these limitations in budget and scale helped us shape movies like ‘Manjummel Boys’,” said Chidambaram.
Excerpts from our interview with the director, whose credits including the highly enjoyable 2021 debut feature ‘Jaan. E. Man’ ...
Did you expect your career’s second film, ‘Manjummel Boys’, to be such a big runaway hit?
I am happy and grateful. It’s almost unbelievable when you think of the growth of this movie and its reception. Its success could be attributed to the fact that it’s a realistic film with middle-class boys. The demography of the world is mostly working middle-class and so, if there’s a relatable story on them, then it automatically has universal appeal. In my eyes, working class are the backbone of any society.
One of the recurring themes of this film is how friendship trumps all and how you go all out to save your mate … How integral is the theme of friendship in the narrative where you see the unwavering dedication of a gang of boys who want to rescue their friend?
Friendship is the core theme of this film and if their friendship didn’t have that iron strength, then they would have left Sreenath Bhasi’s character in the cave itself. While it’s a survival thriller, it also explores how far you will go for your friend and how deep you will literally go. It’s a movie that tests the strength of friendship bonds.
The Guna Caves in Kodaikanal, where the friends encounter trouble, appears to be a tribute to the iconic Tamil actor Kamal Haasan, who filmed significant portions of his movie, ‘Guna’ in those eerily treacherous caves … Was it a fan-boy connect?
The Guna Cave was made famous by Kamal Haasan’s film ‘Guna’ which released in the 1990s. The iconic song ‘Kanmani Anbod’ was shot there and everybody who goes to those caves are heard singing those iconic lines which goes — For a human to understand, this is not human love. It is more holy beyond that … In the film too, the Manjummel Boys go into the cave and are singing those lines when one of them gets trapped. But it’s much more than a homage. It’s an integral part of the script and I couldn’t have finished the movie without a nod to Kamal sir’s film and song.
He seems to be impressed and even met all of you all after the film’s release?
Kamal sir has been very supportive. We sent him the trailer of ‘Manjummel Boys’ before its release and he promised us that he will watch our movie. Our only expectation was that he would give it a shot. But soon after he watched the movie, he sent us an invite. We all went to his office and had this amazing interaction. He even put up a screening for his family and friends. We were invited for that screening as special guests. He knows about films more than any actor. Kamal sir knows movies like a filmmaker. He’s a master actor and a brilliant director and writer. He lives for films so for someone like him to invite and support some random boys from Kochi is brilliant. I am eternally grateful to him and Santhanabharathi, the director of ‘Guna’ who showered us with such warmth.
So what’s your connect to Tamil Nadu … Did you study there?
The Manjummel Boys is a real-life story. These Malayali boys from Kochi went on such a trip and had to save their friend. I made a documentary first before writing the movie’s screenplay. I immediately understood the connection that the boys felt with Kamal Sir and that song he shot in Guna caves. When I went to see the location, everyone was screaming that tagline from that movie and it’s almost like a rite of passage … And I grew up watching Tamil films because every Malayali finds it easy to understand Tamil … So, it’s heartening to know that our film, Manjummel Boys, has been accepted so widely in Tamil Nadu. 60 per cent of the dialogues are in Tamil and they found the movie relatable too. Our cultural references are similar too.
Did you shoot the film in the actual location or was it special effects or shot mostly on a set?
About 90 per cent of the film is shot in a cave. We went to Guna caves knowing it’s a very dangerous place to shoot. More than 50 people have slipped through the cracks, but only 13 deaths have been reported or recorded. It’s a very hard place to shoot. So the prospect of taking 200 people to shoot for 60-70 days wasn’t practical. So we went in, took measurements and built a similar cave in Kochi. My production designer Ajayan did a wonderful job in making it look authentic.
Do you think Soubin’s physicality made his decision to go down the crevice to save his friend believable … Soubin isn’t your conventional buffed-up, gym-ready hero?
This film is about normal people who don’t go to gyms. They may be labourers who do physical work every day. They might sport a little belly and I didn’t want to hide any of that. Most normal people have a bit of fat here and there. I was particular that everyone in this film looked like the normal guys. Only normal dudes can pull this off, not some guy with six-pack abs and protein shakes. My movie is about all those guys who are likely to go unnoticed in a crowd or blend in. My movie is about the everyday guy. Every man is a hero in this film. Being one among the crowd isn’t a bad thing and my movie shows that.
Did you always want to be a filmmaker?
I was thrown out of my college after the first semester itself (laughs). So I was jobless and didn’t know what to do with my life. At that point, my father was working with director Jayaraj and so I went in and assisted him when I was 18 or 19 years old. After that, I moved into cinematography and worked with Rajeev Ravi and then KU Mohananan. The rest is history.
Are you averse to casting stars in your projects. Your debut feature 'Jaan.E.Man did not have any big stars either, nor does 'Manjummel Boys'?
No. If the story demands a star to ride it, then I am up for it … But all those who feature in ‘MB’ are my friends and that was why I was able to pull this film off. They trusted me completely. It was a very hard movie to make and it was hard for them too. Getting wet in the morning and filming in the rain wasn’t easy. My actors had to shoot in very dangerous locations, be safe, and also act on top of it all … But what worked wonderfully for this movie was that recurring friendship theme where a gang of boys who get into trouble and get out of it resonated with all. The question whether your friends will stick by your side when in trouble is addressed here.
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‘Manjummel Boys’ is out in UAE cinemas now
