Manjummel Boys: In-Humanly Love
Star Cast: Soubin Shahir, Sreenath Bhasi, Balu Varghese, Ganapathi S Poduval, Lal Jr, Deepak Parambol, Abhiram Radhakrishnan, Arun Kurian, and Khalid Rahman
Edited by Vivek Harshan
Music Composed by Sushin Shyam
Cinematography by Shyju Khalid
Directed by Chidambaram S Poduval
I can’t remember the first time I saw Gunaa [1991], but my playlist always has the song, “Kanmani Anbodu Kaadhalan”. When Gautham Menon decided to deliver a remix version of the song with Ilaiyaraaja in Neethane En Ponvasantham/ Yeto Vellipoindi Manasu [2012], I secretly wished the song would be sung by the original legends once again rather than whoever made it hard to listen to with such Telugu pronunciation. While the music arrangement by Raaja sir for the original and remix is still great, I just love the original where Raaja went berserk with first Strings, then Piano, Guitars, and then to top it off with Veena – just in the first interlude, you have to listen to it to get the greatness of Raaja in using the instruments. He just used the right instruments to give us a ride of the “In-Humanly Love” that Gunaa has for his “Abhirami”, in the form of a letter he wants to write. Well, Manjummel Boys just delivered another kind of love letter that celebrates an unbreakable bond of FRIENDSHIP.
Kamal Haasan has been fortunate to find such unique songs that have captivated millions of viewers and still resonate through generations. A similar kind of experiment, where dialogues and lyrics are blended into a song, was done for another classic, “Kanne pillavani Kannulunnavani” from Akali Rajyam [1980], a decade before Gunaa. The composer for Akali Rajyam/ Varumayin Niram Sivappu’s song was another legendary composer, MS Viswanathan. Interestingly, the themes for both songs are love expressed between two lovers who are isolated from the outside world, embracing their own musical notations that have absurd and beautiful meanings to the emotions in their hearts. Manjummel Boys has a quality of being abstract about a similar love that forms a bond and can rescue a person from the Devil’s Kitchen. Like the mythological story, “Savitri Satyavan”, where Savitri saved her husband from the jaws of death by persuading or almost harassing Yamadharma Raja, here too the Boys pressure the police to act and bring their friend back, even if they want everyone to give up and accept the fate.
Sometimes, we have to accept the truth and move on, but other times, it is our strong and daunting perseverance that helps us change it. It may take time to change everything, but when even the naysayers feel compelled to help us in our quest, then even the deepest caves might yield our precious belongings, just like in the story of “The Honest Woodcutter”. When the woodcutter loses his axe as it falls into the river, God offers him more expensive axes, but he denies owning such items and gets back his original one along with the others as a reward. Similarly, while all the friends got their friend back alive, one of them, Siju, also earned newfound respect in his village for being a hero who dared to dive into the Devil’s Kitchen and return unscathed with the gift of life itself. Filmmakers were inspired by the real-life incident and, with their permission, delivered an experience with utmost honesty and integrity.
The staging, the production design, the visual representation of the cave, and the background score during the escape sequence are top-notch, to say the least. It seems like filmmaker Chidambaram, the director of the film, has listened to the “Kanmani” song repeatedly to craft the entire screenplay. The way the song was integrated into the screenplay made us question the existence of “Gunaa” and Kamal Haasan’s passion for making such lasting films in such dangerous caves. You might wonder why he did not choose to shoot it in Borra Caves in Andhra Pradesh or in another place, why only in Kodaikanal and why in that area. I would have liked to ask that question because of the characters who were going through such trauma rather than the incident. In Aramm [2017] movie, the makers focused on the effort to dig up holes around the well to bring back a young girl alive as the main plot. They clearly stated that the problem lies in digging up useless borewells for water and then leaving them open.
There have been films like 127 Hours [2010], Superdeep [2020], The Last Descent [2016], and one way back in 1951, Ace in the Hole. My favorite film remains “127 Hours” for the sheer brutality it portrayed on screen about someone trying to survive the harsh truth of nature and never losing hope. The theme of never losing hope could have been handled better in Manjummel Boys. There were a few scenes that showed Subhash having claustrophobia, fear of jumping into even a river, and fright of being left alone. Also, they showcased his readiness to jump into a deep swarm to save one of his friends. All these scenes did not offer a strong emotional connection to the operation as much as we anticipated. 2018 [2023]managed to get the emotional connection right while it aced in all other departments, too. Writer-director Chidambaram went for a more abstract approach to get the group to the incident as soon as he could. While we should appreciate it, maybe the time could have been cleverly used to build the characters of these people, too.
Some of the characters are just caricatures or vague sketches on a canvas without any depth. I would have wanted to feel their anger when the police told them to leave their friend behind with a reference to some situation that put them in a similar predicament. Like the “tug of war” sequence, I would have enjoyed seeing some more character development rather than clichéd ones. Friends can go on a vacation whenever they want. But why this group only? Why are their bonds so strong? The incident grabs our attention for sure, but if someone says, “Why should we save a person who didn’t care about his life by obeying the rules?” We should not be agreeing, “Well, that makes sense too.” That happens only when we relate to the characters and their mischief can be seen as “youthful exuberance” or “a harmless prank gone wrong”. We could have also teamed up with the friends to rescue their friend ourselves instead of waiting for any help.
Manjummel Boys joins the list of movies that need to be experienced at least once, thanks to the performances from the ensemble and the technical values. The close to reality approach, even with some noticeable VFX, works wonders for the film. The heart of the film, “Escaping from the Devil’s Kitchen”, has been handled so wisely that we appreciate the efforts that went into making a movie with sincerity. Music by Sushin Shyam, Cinematography by Shyju Khalid, and Editing by Vivek Harshan, along with Sound Editing and mixing, immerse us in this adventurous trip. Never thought the love letter that Gunaa writes to his Abhirami could inspire someone to write a love letter to friendship and the “In-humanly Love” that it can evolve into. What else can we say, except “That’s the Magic of Cinema”.
Theatrical Trailer:
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