The Malayalam film Manjummel Boys, which was released on February 22, has not even completed a week since release and has already been declared a big hit. It is being hailed as the first Malayalam hit of the year and has also received highly positive reviews from audiences and critics alike. The Chidambaram-directed movie tells the story of a group of friends on a hiking vacation, which turns into a nightmare when one of them gets stuck in the infamous Guna Cave, also known as the Devil’s Kitchen.
Manjummel Boys is based on a real accident that took place in the caves in Kodaikanal. The movie has been doing great business in Tamil Nadu for a Malayalam film and there is a reason behind it. Die-hard fans of cinema will have already connected the dots and realised that Manjummel Boys has a Kamal Haasan and Ilaiyaraaja connection. The very name of the caves around which the film revolves (Guna Cave) is derived from a Kamal Haasan film named Gunaa, released in 1991.
The story revolves around a recently released mental patient who abducts an heiress to win her love. He feels that she is the goddess Abhirami’s incarnation and that marriage to her is his destiny. Gunaa was extensively filmed in and around the Devil’s Kitchen cave, which propelled the caves into popularity and made Kodaikanal a popular tourist attraction. The Devil’s Kitchen was christened ‘Guna Cave’ after the movie, for which Ilaiyaraja composed music.
17 years ago, a man named Subhash had fallen into the depths of the cave, said to be 900 feet deep. Fortunately for him, he was stuck between rocks and was rescued by friends. Director Chidambaram made the survival thriller Manjummel Boys, inspired by this incident. To pay tribute to Kamal Haasan’s Gunaa, a song from the movie plays during Manjummel Boys’ title credits.
Talking about his experience of shooting in the caves, Chidambaram said, “Today we have superior technology with LED lights and lightweight batteries and still it was an issue to shoot in the caves. I do not know how Kamal sir shot those scenes in the cave with big lights and generators, carrying them up to such a height.”
Calling himself a Kamal Haasan fan, the director also said that he hoped his film would catch his attention and he would be able to meet him in person.
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