Manjummel Boys

Wow!! Malayalam cinema delivers again! I'll say right away that the "Manjummel Boys' will be a bundle of emotion and a tug-of-war kind of feeling for those who are able to empathize. Personally, I was happy, afraid, angry, sometimes despairing and even choking with the characters for their redemption.

As to those who are familiar with the plot, Manjummel Boys is based on true story of a squad of 11 friends who hits the road for Kodaikanal in 2006. Laughter echoes in the hills, until one fateful step leads to a chilling truth: the Devil's Kitchen claims all who fall. Fear grips them, despair threatens, but their bond, a beacon in the darkness, ignites a desperate rescue mission. This a story deeper, where raw emotions paint a portrait of friendship forged in the face of the abyss. This is the thread which the film rides and successfully manages to be a winner. Despite the isolation of space, the film is very dynamic, both beneath and beyond. For some reason, the poster pushed me to the fact that this picture will be in the horror style, I expected to see zombie apocalypse and some internal conflicts that main characters experiences. Nothing aligned with my thoughts after the trailer but after watching it today and i would rather say i saw something more. I truly saw fear, despair, I saw a life drama filled with injustice and the tale of friendship in the midst of hopelessness.

Now about the game of actors - nearly everyone shines, with some moments reaching pure brilliance. Soubin Shahir delivers as always, but Sreenath Bhasi steals the show as the young atheist. He deserves a standing ovation for acting transmitting the whole palette of feelings of a person who is helpless and clinging to the slightest opportunity to see hope. Another great aspect of the film is the is cinematography by Shyju Khalid. It is stunning to witness all the shots taking a tonal shift when it turns macabre with every detail shown on the screen. Plus, the makeup team did wonders transforming Bhasi in the second half. Let's not forget the editing, Vivek Harshan deserves a shoutout for those incredible cuts, especially the way he blends Bhasi's cave scene with his childhood memories. He does the same with Soubin Shahir, creating one of the powerful moment in the film

The soundtrack is no less commendable. Sushin Shyam's soundtrack plays with light and dark, hope and despair, perfectly mirroring the film's emotional roller coaster. The pre-interval scene with Soubin Shahir's reaction with its stripped-down score, is brilliant, while the climax uses Ilayaraaja's iconic "Kanmani Anbodu Kaadhal" to deliver a gut punch of emotion. This genius homage to the evergreen classic from Kamal Hassan starrer "Gunaa" which leaves a lasting impact.

Final thoughts, Malayalam cinema continues to shine! After recent hits like "Attam," "Abraham Ozler," "Premalu," "Anweshippin Kandethum," and "Bramayugam," "Manjummel Boys" joins the list of must-watch films. This honest, smart film boasts of excellent performances and technical prowess. While not flawless, after all the emotional upheavals that you experience with the "Manjummel Boys", this film can be forgiven a lot. I want to say this is a testament to the director Chidambaram's masterful execution and he expertly crafted it as a rollercoaster of emotions and a tale of friendship.

Often times turning real life incidents to movies, personally for me doesn't really hit the right spots with its over exaggeration and dramatisation. But what Chidambaram has done is quite magnificent, considering this is his second movie after his directorial debut, Jan-e-man. In a month where multiple Malayalam movies has been going at each other in the box office, especially with Bramayugam being so critically acclaimed, this movie is made so well that it makes a movie like Bramayugam fall short.

Performances from the whole cast, especially Soubin and Bhasi are next level and Sushin's music, Shyju Khalid's cinematography, editing by Vivek Harsha and costumes by Mashar Hamsa are all noteworthy. This is a kind of movie that elevates the industry to levels it's never seen before and I'm glad that the Malayalam industry are turning out to be juggernauts in movie making, not just in India but globally.

Do watch the movie as it reels you in from the moment it starts and lets you go only when it finishes. Kudos to the whole team behind the movie and can't wait for the rest of the Malayalam movies to roll out for the year.

From Janeman itself Chidambaram's grasp in direction was evident but here he proves it again. The tone shift from an easy-going feel to a gripping emotional ride is so natural and effective. I never thought I would be this invested in it since I already knew almost what to expect from it. The script itself might have been pretty simple and on the point, not minimizing the craft there, but the direction is what really makes this stand out. Every single choice of what shot is used, the music used and what is to be shown at what time all made it so much more effective than what I would have expected from such a story. All the actors did great even though there's not too much space for any one person to shine more with such a big cast. But from the initial moments, the one I really noticed was Lal Jr, who was perfect as that loud obnoxious ahole in the friend group that most people hate. Soubin, Bhasi, Deepak and even Khalid Rahman did great in their roles.

Watching this right after watching Gunaa felt like the right choice right from the opening credits. But I wanted to make sure, I see that song in Gunaa first and not this. It was the right choice because this would've been the definitive point of that song if I had seen this first. Beautiful use and homage to Gunaa even though both are very different films.

The rescue scenes, the emotional weight they carried and the following events that allow the viewers to fully let their emotions out all worked brilliantly, For now, my favourite movie of the year. Ironic since among the theatre watches this year, this was one that I was least interested in.

I don't know where to start. The movie is engaging right from the start to the end. Every actor has performed like there is no tomorrow. I don't want to give anything away but please DO NOT wait for this to come out on OTT. It is a definite theater experience and if you are a malayalee, you will come out walking full of pride because of the quality and depth of this movie's overall production. These are the movies that should be showcased in Cannes and what not.

Entire Manjummel Team - you guys have delivered a masterpiece and thank you giving us the perfect survival thriller. Hollywood - take note!

If a film can be evaluated even on one criteria, Manjummel Boys is one; and that criteria for me is the superb cinematography.

Based on a true story of a disaster that befalls a group of friends. They are mentioned as boys of the village named Manjummel though they look grown up men but act as immaturely as boys in their getting high at a marriage.

They decide to take a holiday trip to Goa but end up in Kodaikanal where they go to explore what is called Guna Cave the name having derived from the title of Kamal Hassan movie.

Here they meet a disaster.

From a boisterous rather loud childish- for-the age bunch, they grow up to the seriousness of the situation. One of the "boys" falls in a crevice and here the drama of survival and rescue and comradery begins. Really superb photography takes over and that is what makes the film immensely watchable.

Director Chidambaram deserves full praise for Manjummel Boys.