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For the unaware, Manjummel Boys, Jan.e.man director Chidambaran's second directorial, is based on a real-life incident that happened in 2006. A survival thriller that's both nail-biting and inspiring, Manjummel Boys features an ensemble cast that includes actors like Soubin Shahir, Sreenath Bhasi, Balu Varghese, Ganapathi S Poduval, Lal Jr, Deepak Parambol, Abhiram Radhakrishnan, Arun Kurian, Khalid Rahman, Chandu Salimkumar, and Vishnu Reghu, who play the titular protagonists. Manjummel Boys Movie Review: Soubin Shahir and Sreenath Bhasi's Film is a Gripping Survival Thriller with Near-Perfect Execution!
So what's the plot about? A group of friends from Manjummel, Kochi, go for a trip to Kodaikanal, where, on the way, they end up visiting the 'Guna Cave', the location where the 1991 Kamal Haasan starrer Guna was shot. While exploring the caves, one of the friends, Subhash, falls into a seemingly bottomless pit. Since no one who fell into that hole has ever come out alive, the locals tell the friends to lose hope and return home. However, the 'Manjummel Boys' are determined not to get out of the cave without their friend, and the rest of the film is about how their resilience leads upto one of the most daring rescue stories ever told.
While Manjummel Boys is essentially a friendship story wrapped up in a survival thriller, it is also a poignant ode to Guna and its most beautiful track, "Kanmani Anbodu". There are some spoilers ahead, so be careful as we explain the film and the song's connection to Manjummel Boys beyond the Guna Cave, as well as what happens in the end.
But before we get to that, let's talk about Guna first...
Guna
The 1991 film was directed by Santhana Bharati, with Kamal Haasan and newcomer Roshni (her only acting credit) playing the lead roles in the tragic psychological love story with a Stockholm Syndrome twist. The film's cast includes the late SP Balasubramanyam, Rekha, Sharat Saxena, the late Girish Karnad and Janagaraj. Kamal plays a mentally ill criminal, Gunaa, who ends up abducting a rich but lonely heiress under the excuse of protecting her life and also because she reminds him of Goddess Abhirami. He takes her to a cave near Kodaikanal as a refuge, where he tends to her injuries, and she falls in love with him there. The love story doesn't have a happy ending, though. Purusha Pretham Ending Explained: Decoding the Noir-ish Climax of Alexander Prasanth-Darshana Rajendran’s Malayalam Film.
Even though Guna received critical acclaim, especially for Kamal Haasan's performance (though if he had done the role today, he would have been called out for using 'blackface'), the movie was an average success at the box office. Kamal won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor that year for his performance in the film.
Watch the Song 'Kanmani Anbodu':
Ilayaraja composed the songs in Guna, and the most popular track in the movie happens to be the "Kanmani Anbodu" song, with lyrics by Vaali and sung by S Janaki and Kamal Haasan. The song was shot entirely in that cave, which is the reason why the Manjummel Boys also landed up there.
Devil's Kitchen
The 'Guna Caves' were earlier called the Devil's Kitchen by the British, a name which is also referenced in Manjummel Boys. After the location became popular after the release of Gunaa, the caves were renamed after the movie. It is said that an American named BS Ward had discovered the place, and he also believed that it was a location where the Pandavas came to rest when they were in exile, as told in Mahabharata.
As Manjummel Boys state, there have been more than a dozen casualties in the cave, and no one was able to be rescued, which earned the place its notoriety and the locals believe that it is haunted. The 'Manjummel Boys' incident is perhaps the only case where a person was actually rescued since, in all other cases, the authorities could not even recover the body. Presently, the area is completely sealed off from visitors.
Now let's talk about how Gunaa, and especially its song, plays into Manjummel Boys, including giving the film its main setting.
The Opening Credits
The "Kanmani Anbodu" song is played during the entire opening credits of the Manjummel Boys before we find out the track is being played on the television in an eatery.
The Doomed Fanboy Tribute
The Manjummel Boys are fans of Guna, and that becomes a major reason for them to take that ill-fated trip to Guna Cave, where some scenes of Gunaa is shot, including "Kanmani Anbodu" song. When they reach the place, they learn that the cave the tourists are shown is not the real location where Gunaa was shot.
The real cave is feet below and is barred for tourists due to its dangerous terrains, though the friends disregard the warnings and go there. At the cave, they are mesmerised by the sights, and they even recreate Kamal's iconic rendition of "Manithar Unarndhukolla...Ithu Manitha Kaadhal Alle". It is when exploring the caves further that Subhash accidentally falls into a hole that wasn't so noticeable before.
Watch the Trailer of Manjummel Boys:
The Rescue Scene
The song once again becomes the need-drop in the film in, perhaps, its most crucial and yet most unexpected moment. SPOILERS AHEAD... moments before when Subhash is brought out from the hole, Kamal's words from the song play again, making for an extremely goosebump moment when Subhash and Kuttan finally come out of the pit. The song continues to play as the friends bring Subhash out of the cave to a place of safety. It is important to notice the lyrics here that plays here. "Manithar unarndha kolla, Idhu manitha kaadhal alla. Adhaiyum thaandi punithamaanathu", which translates to "This is no mortal love for humans to understand. This is beyond that, pure and holy." Vaali's lines get new meaning here, as the Love we see here may not be in the romantic context (as in Guna), but Love can have many forms, and when you put your life at stake to save another's, this could be Love that is divine, pure and holy.
It is to remember in Guna, the lead couple meet their ends in that cave, with the girl being fatally shot by the villain and Guna dying by suicide after jumping into the gorge. But the Manjummel boys turned what could have been a tragic climax to their trip into at least a relief-worthy one, purely through their resilience, and especially the efforts of their Kuttettan aka Siju David (Soubin Shahir), who went into the hole risking his own life when even the fire and rescue personnel were scared to do so.
The Chekhov's Gun
For the uninitiated, 'Chekhov's Gun' is a concept used in storytelling when a detail mentioned in a story will be used later to advance the plot. In Manjummel Boys, Chekhov's Gun comes in the form of a tug-of-war competition where the protagonists keep losing to their opponents. However, when their friend's life is at stake, the determined band fights fatigue to pull off their biggest victory - saving their friend and keeping their conscience clean. Even Abhilash (Chandu Salimkumar), who was most traumatised by Subhash's accident and had to be taken out of the cave, returns to give the most crucial direction to the rescue (also his way of redemption since he was the first to walk into the direction of the cave, inspiring others to follow him). Kaathal The Core Ending Explained: Decoding the Poignant Climax of Mammootty-Jyotika's Queer Drama and What It Means for LGBTQIA+ Movement.
The Bittersweet Ending
Manjummel Boys might have got a 'happy ending' with the rescue of Subhash, but the conclusion of their story is bittersweet. The repercussions of the experience were such that the friends just couldn't have the same bonding as before, as each went on leading their separate lives, never even meeting at their club. Abhilash is so downed by the experience that he walks out on his friends when they reach Manjummel and is never shown again.
Subhash could never completely recover from the trauma. We see the difficulty in which he recovers physically. Still, his mental scars never heal away, giving him nights of insomnia and therapy sessions to help him get better emotionally. Whether he managed to do so is never shown.
Siju, meanwhile, is blamed by Subhash's mother for what happened to her son. Since the 'Guna Cave' incident was only covered by the local media in Tamil Nadu and social media wasn't prevalent then, the details of what happened in the cave, including Siju's bravery, never reached Manjummel, and the disbanded friends were disillusioned enough to give the villagers a clear picture of what happened there (In their story, Subhash slipped and fell near a waterfall). Subhash himself was in no condition to talk about what happened to him.
It is only when a local accidentally sees the incident covered in a newspaper article when he is in Palani that he realises the extent of Siju's heroics. He informs the church in Manjummel, which is how the townsfolk learn how Siju rescued Subhash, prompting Subhash's mother to correct her mistakes and to tearfully hug and thank Siju for what he had done.
Though we never see the Manjummel Boys together again, the end credits reveal how the real Siju got rewarded for his bravery by the government, while we see the pictures of the actual 'Manjummel Boys' on their trip to Kodaikanal that were earlier recreated in the film by the actors.
What's God?
For a survival thriller, Manjummel Boys even explores an existential angle, which makes sense since it deals with life and death. At the beginning of their trip, Subhash, who is hinted to be an atheist, asks driver Prasad 'what's God?' to which the latter replies it could be a light coming from the sky. Prasad's answer comes from his faith, but his reply holds a deeper meaning when it comes to Subhash's fate.
When Siju gets down into the hole to rescue Subhash, the first thing the latter sees of his saviour friend is the light shining from his torch. I believe the movie symbolises Siju to be Subhash's God, the one who came to his rescue when things looked to be the bleakest. Manjummel Boys doesn't stop at exploring the God question here. When Subhash is brought out of the hole and carried to the bench near the road, the locals nearby touch his feet and call him a 'God'. Even though he doesn't believe in God himself, he has become a God for them.
For them, he is someone who beat the seemingly indomitable odds of Death and, therefore, is a hero. The film may want to say here that God could take many meanings and forms based on how you want to see the entity. It could be an idol, an ethereal light from the sky, a hero who puts other's needs before theirs even at the cost of their lives or someone who defeats the most odds against themselves and emerges a survivor. You can take your pick...
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 24, 2024 10:13 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
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