Manjummel Boys: An intense survival thriller that ends high on emotions

Once upon a time, in 1991, a film crew decides to shoot a sequence and a song in actual caves. They finalise a location named ‘Devil’s Kitchen’ in Kodaikanal. Despite being a dangerous caves, they successfully complete the shooting. That film is Guna and the song is ‘Kanmani Anbodu Kaadhalan’. Even though the film tanked in box office, the song and the film gained a cult status over time. And the caves where they shot is referred as ‘Guna Caves’ since the release of the film.

So what has this got to do with Manjummel boys? This film is based on true events about a group of friends from Kerala who visit Kodaikanal, and one of them gets trapped in the deep pits of Guna caves. The opening credits of this film is over the ‘Kanmani Anbodu’ song with the respective visuals animated. There couldn’t be a perfect opening credits, starting with the song that popularised the place, because of which these guys visit the caves and ends up it the unfortunate situation.

The film starts with establishing the friends gang. The writing is rushed, where none of the character gets established well. Even the place, Manjummel, doesn’t get established properly. The key characters, Subhash (Sreenath Bhasi) and Kuttan (Soubin Shahir), are not well-established too. As the film progress, we get to know all the characters and a few become memorable too, but I would’ve loved i spent some more time knowing them.

This shortcoming in writing is compensated by technical brilliance. The actors’ performances, Sushin Shyam’s background score, and Shyju Khalid’s visuals makes the film an immersive experience. Along with amazing production value and sound design, the last 30 minutes of the film is captivating and brings us to the edge of the seat. And the way they used ‘Kanmani Anbodu Kaadhalan’ song in the climax was just pure goosebumps moment. Kamal’s voice, that specific lyrics, Ilaiyaraaja’s music and the scene felt like match made in heaven. Still in awe. Couldn’t get it out of my head. The film is a beautiful homage to Kamal Haasan’s Guna and friendships.

An intense survival thriller that ends high on emotions