Story
A group of friends from Manjummel (Kerala) go on a tour to Kodaikanal in 2006. They suddenly remember about Guna caves after listening to the Kammani song from the Guna film. Guna Caves which was originally called Devil's Kitchen is closed and visitors are not allowed inside caves. Despite this, a lot of visitors go and click photos from outside. Manjummel boys sneak into the caves when the guard went for lunch. And one of them accidentally falls in a pit which is more than 100 feet deep. As per the history, none of the people who fell in that put were ever found. Rest of the story is how these friends react and make preparations to save him.

Artists Performance

Soubin Shahir is extremely natural in a vital role. He looks natural and performs very realistically. Sreenadh Bhasi played an important role and he is excellent. All the other actors looked natural and did their part well.

Story - screenplay - direction: Story of the film is based on a real incident. The director Chidambaram has met the real group of friends who were part of the incident and most of the story was written with those real life experiences. They have also gone to Guna Caves with a special permission and erected a realistic set that matches the real location. The core theme of the film is friendship and hope. When everybody else lost their hope, a group of friends believed that their friend was alive and did everything to save him. The screenplay of the film is excellent. I liked three aspects of the screenplay that gave good payoff as the narration progresses -

1. Kammani song: This song is the lifeline of the film. The film opens with this song. The group of friends decided to visit the Guna caves at the last minute because they listened to Kammani song just when they were about to return. It changes their lives. And the same song is played in a vital scene in the 2nd half which has received tremendous applause.

2. Back and forth narration of childhood episodes and bonding among the friends. I love one particular shot where a childhood character dives in a lake and the following shot shows the man stuck deep in a cave's pit.

3. Tug of war: The concept of tug of war is shown at the beginning of the film with friends preparing with a lot of passion for a competition. The same tug of war helps them during the incident in the cave.

The director didn't end the movie after the rescue, but extended it to give closure to important characters. Generally, directors use text in end credits to tell us what happened to the people after the incident. Most of the time, I end up searching in google/wiki to know what happened next. By giving a closure and by showing how Kuttan was misunderstood, the director has created heart-warming moments (it’s also inspired by real life). It’s very difficult to write characters and screenplay when there are 11 friends. The director succeeded in making each character count in the film. Director made sure that there is tension for us during all the Guna Caves scenes.

Other departments: Music by Sushin Shyam is very good. Cinematography by Shyju Khalid deserves a special applause for maintaining natural light throughout the film (especially in caves). The scenes in the cave hole are ultra dark, yet we can figure out what's happening there. I also liked the way he fitted in the frame with all the friends in scenes when they entered the cave. Production design by Ajayan Chalissery is superb as he recreated the interiors of the cave with a lot of authenticity. Editing by Vivek Harshan is good. Action sequences by Vikram Dahiya are realistic.

Analysis: Manjummel Boys movie is based on a real story and the director has written a brilliant screenplay and executed the movie with finesse. Emotions worked really well and you will have teary-eyes by the end of the film. This movie elicits the meaning of friendship and how having hope can produce results. On the whole, Manjummel Boys is a film that has to be felt and experienced. Go and watch it.