Manjummel Boys is a 2024 Indian Malayalam-language survival action film written and directed by Chidambaram. It is created by Soubin Shahir, Babu Shahir and Shawn Antony under 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 and Shebin Benson. It is based on a true event from 2006. The film follows a group of friends from a small town called Manjummel near Kochi, who decide to have a vacation in Kodaikanal, which is affected when one of them becomes stuck in the Guna Caves.
The film was theatrically released on 22 February 2024 in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, and earned critical acclaim. It became the first film in the Malayalam film industry to make more than ₹200 crore, and set several box-office records, becoming the the highest grossing Malayalam film ever, surpassing the record set by 2018. It also emerged as one of the highest-grossing Indian films of 2024.
| Manjummel Boys | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| 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 |
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Production
company |
Parava Films
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| Distributed by | Sree Gokulam Movies |
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Release date
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Running time
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135 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Malayalam |
| Budget | est. ₹20 crore |
| Box office | est. ₹242.3 crore |
Plot
In 2006, a group of 10 friends from an arts club in Kochi leave on a trip to Kodaikanal in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu, during the Onam break. They explore Kodaikanal and before leaving, one of the friends, Sudhi tells them 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 parts of the caves by themselves despite a warning from Dominic, a tourist guide. Though there are signs of a lurking risk, the friends explore further. Upon reaching a place, a few friends decide to etch down their group name “Manjummel Boys” on the rocks within the cave.
After etching 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 gather. Subhash, one of the friends, falls into a hidden hole in the ground while moving towards them. Initially everyone thinks he is pulling a prank, 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 and continue calling out to him in hopes that he would answer. They inform the locals of what happened and ask them for help, and they all recommend going to the police station and forest guard.
The locals also tell them that the specific area was off-limits to people for a reason and that so far 13 people have fallen into that hole and none were ever recovered, dead or alive. They say that the British had called Guna Caves as The Devil’s Kitchen due to this reason and that the particular hole is over 900 feet deep. Scared even more, the friends reach the local police station, where they are beaten; the police file a FIR against them for entering a limited area. They are also accused of murdering Subhash and making false complaints and no help is offered. Meanwhile, rain starts to fill the hole.
Finally after being convinced, and fearing backlash from the \local people for failing to help, one of the police officers decides to go with them to the cave. On the way, he tells them that the last person who fell into the hole was the former Central Minister’s nephew around ten years ago and all the forces had gotten together to rescue him, but no one had been able to. The police officer, after checking the hole, suggests that they leave Subhash as he probably is no longer alive, but the friends are adamant about rescuing him. But soon one of the boys, Sixen hears Subhash’s cries and tells others that he is alive and the police are also convinced to try and save him.
The fire service and more police officers are also called into the scene.They think that Subhash has fallen down into a depth of around 120 feet. They try lowering the rope, for Subhash to hold, but are sceptical that he may not be in a situation to hold on to the rope after a deep fall. They are scared to go inside the hole to rescue him. Seeing this, one of the friends, Siju David, decides to go down. The police officers are initially hesitant, but finally agree after being convinced by the friends and the locals. Kuttan is lowered into the hole, but along the way, the rope with which Kuttan is lowered runs out, and police are afraid that it is unsafe to go any lower as there might be low oxygen levels, and they are not willing to risk Kuttan’s life as well. However, Kuttan says that he can hear Subhash’s voice clearly and that he cannot leave him down there. The cops arrange for more rope and reel Kuttan down further. At 120 feet, Kuttan is able to see Subhash barely lying on a rock covered in blood and muddy water due to the rain.
Kuttan is able to collect him and the rest of the friends pull them up together successfully. After getting first aid from the nearest clinic, they take Subhash to the hospital in their hometown, where he is treated more thoroughly. They decide not to tell anyone about the event and tells Subhash’s family that he fell in a waterfall. Subhash gets trauma from the fall and is not able to sleep initially, but slowly starts recovering after going to trauma therapy. Later, the news that Kuttan saved Subhash comes out from a person who went to Tamil Nadu and Kuttan is praised for his bravery. 2 years later Kuttan is awarded the Jeevan Raksha Padak for his deeds.
Cast
- Soubin Shahir as Siju David aka “Kuttan” Kevin as Young Kuttan
- Sreenath Bhasi as Subhash Dilan Derin George as 10 year old Subhash Balu Varghese as Sixen
- Ganapathi as Krishnakumar aka “Kannan” Sathvik as Young Kannan Lal Jr. as Siju
- Deepak Parambol as Sudhi
- Abhiram Radhakrishnan as Anil Arun Kurian as Sujith Chandu Salimkumar as Abhilash Vishnu Reghu as Jinson
- Khalid Rahman as Prasad, car driver Pooja Mohanraj as studio girl
- Shebin Benson as Mejo
- George Maryan as Arumugam, a village seller Kathiresan as Head constable
- Ramachandran Durairaj as Dominic, a village guide
- Vijay Gaura as Rathnavel, a local tourist photographer
- Vijay Muthu as Sub-Inspector Karthika Vellathery as bride
- Mani as Forest range officer Sasikumar as Police officer
- Vijayalakshmi as Valli, the tea stall lady
- The real Manjummel Boys made a cameo showing as the opposing gang during the tug of war contest.
Production Development
The project was originally reported in January 2023 by The New Indian Express, which was the second of Chidambaram after Jan. E. Man (2021). Soubin Shahir and Sreenath Bhasi were roped to play the lead parts, in their fifth collaboration following Parava (2017), Kumbalangi Nights, Virus (2019), and Bheeshma Parva (2022). Soubin also created the film with his father Babu Shahir and producer-distributor Shawn Antony under their maiden production house Parava Films.Cinematographer Shyju Khalid, musician Sushin Shyam, editor Vivek Harshan and production designer Ajayan Chalissery were named as a part of the technical crew.
Filming Principal photography began at Kodaikanal on 26 January 2023 and concluded on 17 July. The film was shot around 101 working days throughout various schedules. A few scenes were also shot in Kochi and Perumbavoor. The cave and its surrounding shown in the film is actually set built by production designer Ajayan Chalissery.
Music
Main article: Manjummel Boys (soundtrack) .The original score and soundtrack of Manjummel Boys is written by Sushin Shyam. It features two tracks, which were sung by Pradeep Kumar and rapper Vedan. The lyrics were written by Anwar Ali and Vedan. In this film, the 1991 Tamil film Gunaa is also addressed many times, especially through the song “Kanmani Anbodu Kadhalan”.
Release
Manjummel Boys was theatrically screened on 22 February 2024. Prior to the film’s theatrical release, the Film Exhibitors Union Organisation of Kerala (FEUOK) announced that they would halt the screening of Malayalam-language films in theatres owing to the Kerala Film Producers Association (KFPA) and Film Distributors Association’s decision to not to screen films that would be released in streaming platforms in less than 42 days. Eventually, KFPA affirmed on the film’s release in particular theatres which followed the contractual agreements. Prior to the film’s release, it earned ₹1.47 crore (US$180,000) from advance bookings across Kerala. The Telugu-language dubbed version was launched on 6 April 2024
