In 2006, ten friends from an arts club in Kochi leave on a trip to Kodaikanal in the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu, during the Onam vacation. They explore Kodaikanal and before leaving, one of the friends, Sudhi mentions the Guna Caves, a place where the film Gunaa was shot. Inebriated and high, the friends go there and decide to explore the caves' restricted areas, despite a warning from tourist guide Dominic. Upon reaching a point, some friends decide to etch down their group name "Manjummel Boys" on a wall.
After doing so, they decide to regroup to take a picture. Subhash, one of the friends, falls into a hole while moving towards the group. Initially, everyone assumes he is pulling a prank, but he does not respond after they repeatedly call out to him. Some friends leave to get help and inform the locals of what happened. The locals suggest going to the police station and forest guard.
The locals also say that the specific area was off-limits for a reason and that so far thirteen people have fallen into that hole and none were ever recovered. They mention the hole is over 900 feet deep and the British called the place The Devil's Kitchen. The friends reach the police station, where they are beaten; the police file an FIR against them for entering a restricted area. They are also accused of murdering Subhash and giving false complaints and no help is offered. Meanwhile, rain starts to flood the hole.
After being convinced, and fearing backlash from the local people for failing to help, the police agree to help them and send an officer to accompany them to the cave. En route, he reveals that the last person who fell into the hole was the former Central Minister's nephew around ten years before and all the forces got together to rescue him, to no avail. The officer, after inspecting the hole, suggests that they leave Subhash as he is probably dead, but the friends are adamant about rescuing him. One of the boys, Sixon, hears Subhash's cries. The police become convinced to try and save him.
The fire department and more police officers are called into the scene. They estimate that Subhash fell down into a depth of around 120 feet through his cries. They try lowering a rope for Subhash to hold, but are sceptical that this will work and are scared to go inside the hole to retrieve him. Seeing this, one of the friends, Siju David (Kuttan), decides to go down. The officers are initially reluctant, but agree after being convinced by the friends and the locals. Kuttan is lowered into the hole, but his rope runs out, and police think that it is unsafe to go any lower as there might be low oxygen levels. However, Kuttan states that he can hear Subhash's voice and that he cannot leave him. The police arrange for more rope and reel Kuttan down further. At 120 feet, Kuttan sees Subhash lying on a ledge covered in blood and muddy water.
Kuttan retrieves him and the rest of the friends pull them up together. After receiving first aid from the nearest clinic, they take Subhash to the hospital in their hometown. The police decide to let them go and warns them not to attempt anything like this again. They decide not to tell anyone about the incident and tell Subhash's family that he fell in a waterfall. Subhash suffers nightmares from the fall and cannot sleep initially, but starts recovering after going to trauma therapy. Later, the news that Kuttan saved Subhash come out from a person who went to Tamil Nadu, and Kuttan is applauded for his bravery. Two years later, Kuttan is awarded the Jeevan Raksha Padak for his actions.
The real Manjummel Boys made a cameo appearance as the opposing gang during the tug of war contest.[9]
Production
Development
The project was initially reported in January 2023 by The New Indian Express, which was the second of Chidambaram after Jan. E. Man (2021).[10]Soubin Shahir and Sreenath Bhasi were roped to play the lead roles, in their fifth collaboration following Parava (2017), Kumbalangi Nights, Virus (2019), and Bheeshma Parvam (2022). Soubin also produced the film with his father Babu Shahir and producer-distributor Shawn Antony under their maiden production house Parava Films.[10] Cinematographer Shyju Khalid, musician Sushin Shyam, editor Vivek Harshan and production designer Ajayan Chalissery were announced as a part of the technical crew.[10][11] The real life Manjummel Boys make a cameo appearance as the opposing gang during a tug of war contest.[12]
Filming
Although the film was shot at a production studio some parts of the film was shot at the real Guna Cave Itself. Interior view (left) and exterior view (right)
Principal photography commenced at Kodaikanal on 26 January 2023 and concluded on 17 July.[13] The film was shot around 101 working days throughout multiple schedules.[14] A few scenes were also shot in Kochi and Perumbavoor.[15] The cave and its surrounding shown in the film is actually set constructed by production designer Ajayan Chalissery.[16]
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".[17]
Release
Manjummel Boys was theatrically released on 22 February 2024.[18] 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.[19] Eventually, KFPA affirmed on the film's release in specific theatres which followed the contractual agreements.[20] Prior to the film's release, it garnered ₹1.47 crore (US$170,000) from advance bookings across Kerala.[21] The Telugu-language dubbed version was released on 6 April 2024.[22]
The streaming rights and satellite rights were acquired by Disney+ Hotstar and Asianet, respectively.[24] The film began streaming on Disney+ Hotstar from 5 May 2024 in Malayalam and dubbed versions of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi languages.[25]
On the opening day of its release, the film earned a net collection of ₹3.3 crore (US$380,000) and gross collection of ₹3.9 crore (US$450,000), while also earning ₹2.1 crore (US$240,000) from overseas markets.[28] At the second day, the film garnered ₹3.25 crore (US$380,000), a marginal drop of 1.52% in comparison with the previous day's release, but saw an upward trend on the third and fourth day, garnering around ₹4.25 crore (US$490,000) and ₹4.75 crore (US$550,000). The film earned ₹15.5 crore (US$1.8 million) within the first four days of its release in the domestic regions, while also earning ₹13.25 crore (US$1.5 million).[29] At the end of the first week, the film crossed ₹50 crore at the worldwide box office, earning ₹28 crore (US$3.2 million) domestically and ₹22 crore (US$2.5 million) from overseas.[30] By March 2024, the film crossed ₹100 crore.[31] As of 21 March 2024, Manjummel Boys has grossed a worldwide total of ₹200 crore (US$25 million).[32]
In Tamil Nadu, the film garnered ₹1 crore (US$120,000) at the box office in the first weekend.[33] Within ten days, the film earned ₹15 crore (US$1.7 million), thereby becoming the highest-grossing Malayalam film in the state.[34] Film analysts and exhibitors attributed the success of the film which was primarily attributed to 60% of the film being set in Tamil Nadu which connected with the local audiences, along with the nostalgia, themes and emotional connect with family audience and youngsters, and popular references to Tamil cinema, primilarily Gunaa, which was shot in the Gunaa caves.[35][36] Exhibitors further described that the lack of notable Tamil films and the releases during February and March 2024 not performing well as expected were the contributing factors for the film's overperformance in the state.[37]
Critical response
Soubin Shahir and Sreenath Bhasi were appreciated for their roles as Kuttan and Subhash, respectively in the Film
Manjummel Boys received critical acclaim from critics with praise for its technical aspects, acting, script and direction.
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".[38] 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".[39]
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".[40] Sanjith Sridharan of OTTplay gave 3+1⁄2 / 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".[41]
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".[42] 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".[43]
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".[44] Princy Alexander of Onmanorama wrote "Overall, the movie is a neatly crafted tale of friendship that triumphs over the survival drama".[45]
Controversies
Comments by Jeyamohan
Jeyamohan's critique goes further, stating, Manjummel Boys is a disturbing film that depicts reality rather than fiction. He said the tourists from Kerala engage in excessive drinking, vomiting, stumbling, and displaying a lack of common sense or social awareness.[46]
Forgery and money laundering accusations
The producers of the film were arraigned by the Marad police to inquire about alleged cheating and forgery. FIR was filed against Soubin Shahir, Babu Shahir and Shawn Antony.[47] On 17 May 2024, the Kerala High Court stayed the proceedings for a month based on the petition filed by the Defendant seeking to quash the criminal case.[48]
Plagiarism allegation by Ilaiyaraaja
On 22 May 2024, music composer Ilaiyaraaja issued a formal notice to the producers of Manjummel Boys for the unauthorized use of his song "Kanmani Anbodu Kadhalan" from Gunaa. The notice, addressed to Soubin Shahir, Babu Shahir, and Shawn Antony of Parava Films, asserts Ilaiyaraaja's legal and moral rights over the song and reserves the right to initiate legal action.[49]
