Manjummel Boys: Difference between revisions
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Seeing this, one of the friends, Siju David decides to go down and help their trapped friend Subhash. The police officers are reluctant to send him as they fear for his safety, but Siju says he is sure about this and they send him down. Once Siju reaches 120 feet below, the rope gets over. The police tell him to come back up as the oxygen level might decrease if he goes further below, but Siju says he can hear Subash's voice clearly and could not leave him down there. The police say they will pull him back up, but Siju says if they do that then he will untie the rope tied around him and the police arrange for more rope and reel Siju down more. Siju sees Subash lying on a ledge covered in blood. |
Seeing this, one of the friends, Siju David decides to go down and help their trapped friend Subhash. The police officers are reluctant to send him as they fear for his safety, but Siju says he is sure about this and they send him down. Once Siju reaches 120 feet below, the rope gets over. The police tell him to come back up as the oxygen level might decrease if he goes further below, but Siju says he can hear Subash's voice clearly and could not leave him down there. The police say they will pull him back up, but Siju says if they do that then he will untie the rope tied around him and the police arrange for more rope and reel Siju down more. Siju sees Subash lying on a ledge covered in blood. |
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When Siju goes to tie the rope to Subash, Subash chokes Siju, because of the trauma, which leads them to fall, and the police holding the rope gets thrown and is not able to hold them. The rest of the friends rush to hold to the rope and help them and they manage to retrieve both of them successfully. They all go to a nearby hospital for first aid and return to their hometown and decide not to tell about this incident to anyone and instead tell that Subhash fell from a waterfall. Subhash is traumatized from the incident and finds it difficult to sleep. Subhash's mother despises Siju for taking him on the trip and getting him injured. The news that Siju saved |
When Siju goes to tie the rope to Subash, Subash chokes Siju, because of the trauma, which leads them to fall, and the police holding the rope gets thrown and is not able to hold them. The rest of the friends rush to hold to the rope and help them and they manage to retrieve both of them successfully. They all go to a nearby hospital for first aid and return to their hometown and decide not to tell about this incident to anyone and instead tell that Subhash fell from a waterfall. Subhash is traumatized from the incident and finds it difficult to sleep. Subhash's mother despises Siju for taking him on the trip and getting him injured. The news that Siju saved Subhash comes out from a person who went to Tamil Nadu and Siju receives a medal. The post-credits show photos of the real Manjummel Boys. |
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==Cast== |
==Cast== |
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Revision as of 02:25, 6 March 2024
| 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 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 |
|
Running time | 135 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Languages | Malayalam Tamil |
| Box office | ₹ 100 crore[1] |
Manjummel Boys (transl. Boys of Manjummel) 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, and Vishnu Reghu. Based on a true incident from 2006[2], the film revolves around a group of friends from Kochi,[3] who decide to have a vacation in Kodaikanal, but was unexpectedly turned when one of them gets trapped inside the Guna Caves.
The film was theatrically released on 22 February 2024 and received highly positive reviews from the audience and critics.[4] The film became a blockbuster at the box office, grossing over ₹100 crore (US$14 million) worldwide and emerged as the the highest grossing Malayalam film of 2024 and sixth highest grossing Indian film of 2024.
Plot
A group of friends from an arts club in Cochin 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 Cave, a place where Kamal Haasan's film Gunaa was shot. Inebriated, high and happy, the friends reach Guna Cave (Devil's Kitchen) 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 seeing the name of another group written on the rocks.
While few others wander here and there exploring more. After writing it on the wall, they call out to show the remaining guys and one of the friends named Subhash moves forward towards the rock where it is written to add the year 2006 to it, but Subhash falls into the covered hole in the ground. Everyone panics and arrives to learn what happened earlier. There was no sight of Subhash at first, they thought he was pranking them, but then they realised the gravity of the situation and see that their friend had indeed fallen into a deep hole. They try calling him out, but there was no response. A few of them run back to get help. Upon reaching a shop at the entrance of the Guna Caves, they inform a local shopkeeper, Arumugam, whom they met before going into the cave area, of what had happened and needed help.
Arumugam replies that it was very unfortunate for it to happen, but that specific area was off-limit and people, who went missing there have never returned. He felt scared at first and asked them to leave. Upon his daughter's request, Arumugam accompanies them back to the place as one of them Abhilash was traumatized and his body was frozen in shock where Dominic tells story of Devil's kitchen while few of the friends went into the town to get help from the police. As the man reaches the place where the incident happened, the man narrates the story of the cave and tells that their friend has probably died and they should go back to their hometown, but the friends do not back down and then it starts raining heavily. The friends get to the police station and inform the police officers about the incident, who are shocked upon hearing this.
Initially, the Inspector suspects that the group took Subhash to Guna caves to murder him. They are put in custody and one of the other police officers tells them that the last person, who fell into it was the former Central Minister's nephew and no one dared to try and save him. The officer suggested they leave Subhash, but the friends were adamant about rescuing him. The Inspector sends another officer to check what happened and they hear Subhash crying out inside the deep hole, they all hear his voice and soon the police decide to help him by putting a rope down the hole. The friends realize that this would be unsuccessful as he would not be in the condition to hold a rope or tie it around him and tell the police to go down and retrieve him, but the police refuse.
Seeing this, one of the friends, Siju David decides to go down and help their trapped friend Subhash. The police officers are reluctant to send him as they fear for his safety, but Siju says he is sure about this and they send him down. Once Siju reaches 120 feet below, the rope gets over. The police tell him to come back up as the oxygen level might decrease if he goes further below, but Siju says he can hear Subash's voice clearly and could not leave him down there. The police say they will pull him back up, but Siju says if they do that then he will untie the rope tied around him and the police arrange for more rope and reel Siju down more. Siju sees Subash lying on a ledge covered in blood.
When Siju goes to tie the rope to Subash, Subash chokes Siju, because of the trauma, which leads them to fall, and the police holding the rope gets thrown and is not able to hold them. The rest of the friends rush to hold to the rope and help them and they manage to retrieve both of them successfully. They all go to a nearby hospital for first aid and return to their hometown and decide not to tell about this incident to anyone and instead tell that Subhash fell from a waterfall. Subhash is traumatized from the incident and finds it difficult to sleep. Subhash's mother despises Siju for taking him on the trip and getting him injured. The news that Siju saved Subhash comes out from a person who went to Tamil Nadu and Siju receives a medal. The post-credits show photos of the real Manjummel Boys.
Cast
- Soubin Shahir as Siju "Kuttan" David
- Sreenath Bhasi as Subhash
- Balu Varghese as Sixon
- Ganapathi S. Poduval as Krishnakumar "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
- Shebin Benson as Mejo
- George Maryan as Arumugam, a local seller
- Kathiresan as Policeman
- Ramachandran Durairaj as Dominic, a local guide
- Vijay Gaura as Rathnavel, a local tourist photographer
- Vijay Muthu as Inspector
Production
The project was initially reported in January 2023.[5] Manjummel Boys is the second directorial of Chidambaram after Jan. E. Man (2021).[6]
Principal photography commenced at Kodaikanal in January 2023 and concluded after 101 days of shoot in multiple schedules.[7][8] Few scenes were also shot in Kochi and Perumbavoor.[9]The cave and its surrounding shown in the film is actually set constructed by production designer Ajayan Chalissery.[10]
Music
| Manjummel Boys | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album to Manjummel Boys by | |||||||
| Released | 22 February 2024 | ||||||
| Recorded | 2023 | ||||||
| Venue | |||||||
| Studio |
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| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | ||||||
| Length | 8:44 | ||||||
| Language | Malayalam | ||||||
| Label | Think Music India | ||||||
| Producer | Sushin Shyam | ||||||
| Sushin Shyam chronology | |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
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".[11]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Nebulakal" | Anwar Ali | Pradeep Kumar | 4:43 |
| 2. | "Kuthanthram" | Vedan | Vedan | 4:01 |
| Total length: | 8:44 | |||
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."[12] 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."[13]
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."[14] 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."[15]
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."[16] 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."[17]
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."[18] Princy Alexander of Onmanorama wrote "Overall, the movie is a neatly crafted tale of friendship that triumphs over the survival drama."[19]
References
- ^ "Manjummel Boys created a new history at TN Box Office.. ?". India Herald. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
- ^ "Soubin Shahir's Manjummel Boys, based on true events, has this thrilling connection to Kamal Haasan's Gunaa". OTT Play.
- ^ "Lenin Sebastian – Google". profile.google.com. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
- ^ Praveen, S. R. (22 February 2024). "Immaculately crafted survival thriller". The Hindu.
- ^ "'Jan.E.Man' director Chidambaram's next titled 'Manjummel Boys'". New Indian Express. 6 January 2023.
- ^ "'Manjummel Boys' will be a game changer'; says music composer Sushin Shyam". Times Of India. 13 December 2023.
- ^ "Jan.E.Man Director Chidambaram's Manjummel Boys Goes On Floors". News 18. 27 January 2023.
- ^ "It's a wrap for Soubin Shahir's 'Manjummel Boys'". Times Of India. 18 July 2023.
- ^ "Soubin Shahir, Sreenath Bhasi's Manjummel Boys is about travel and friendship". OTT Play.
- ^ https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/2024/02/25/manjummel-boys-guna-caves-set-ajayan-chalissery-art-director-movie.html
- ^ https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/standpoint/story/why-kerala-manjummel-boys-is-a-perfect-tribute-to-kamal-haasan-guna-2508697-2024-02-29
- ^ "Manjummel Boys Movie Review: Sreenath-Soubin Shahir's survival thriller is heart-thumping tale that exemplifies friendship". Pinkvilla. 22 February 2024.
- ^ "Manjummel Boys Movie Review: Chidambaram's Ensemble Survival Film Has It All; It's Well Written, Well Executed". The Times of India.
- ^ "Manjummel Boys Review: Heartfelt Ode to Friendship". Rediff.
- ^ "Manjummel Boys review: Chidambaram carves an earnest rescue thriller that relies on emotions to carry it". OTTplay.
- ^ "Manjummel Boys movie review: Soubin Shahir, Sreenath Bhasi's chilling survival thriller asserts that hope is a good thing and no good thing ever dies". The Indian Express. 22 February 2024.
- ^ "'Manjummel Boys' Review: Soubin Shahir's survival drama is heartwarming, earnest". India Today.
- ^ Praveen, S. R. (22 February 2024). "'Manjummel Boys' movie review: Chidambaram pulls off an immaculately-crafted survival thriller". The Hindu.
- ^ "A neatly crafted survival thriller: Manjummel Boys review". Onmanorama.