Renowned filmmaker Anurag Kashyap recently praised the Malayalam film industry, spotlighting the blockbuster survival thriller Manjummel Boys, directed by Chidambaram S Poduval. This film has been creating waves since its release on February 22, with widespread acclaim for its confident storytelling.
Earlier this month, Kamal Haasan, who the director says greatly influenced Manjummel Boys, saw the movie and spoke with the entire cast. It was disclosed that the actor from Vikram was moved to tears by the film. In the most recent news, skilled filmmaker Anurag Kashyap also saw the movie and posted his thoughts about it on Letterboxd.
He described Manjummel Boys as an "extraordinary piece of confident mainstream filmmaking," surpassing big-budget Hindi films in terms of storytelling and confidence. Kashyap expressed admiration for Malayalam cinema, highlighting its brilliance compared to Hindi films.
Anurag wrote, "Simply extraordinary piece of confident mainstream filmmaking . So much better than all the big budget filmmaking in India . Such confidence , such impossible storytelling . I was wondering how does one even sell this idea to a producer . In Hindi they can only do remakes of such ideas. Hindi cinema is really so far left behind with three back to back brilliant Malayalam films."
The film's success extended beyond Kerala, becoming the highest-grossing Malayalam film in Tamil Nadu. Kamal Haasan and Santhana Bharathi, influenced by their 1991 film 'Gunaa,' interacted with the Manjummel Boys team. Subsequently, the team received praises from Dhanush, Siddharth, Karthik Subbaraj, and other celebrities.
Manjummel Boys narrates the gripping tale of 11 friends on a trip to Kodaikanal, facing tragedy when one falls into the perilous Gunaa Caves pit. The friends unite to rescue their trapped companion against all odds, forming the core of the story.
Produced by Soubin Shahir under Parava Films, the movie features an ensemble cast, including Sreenath Bhasi, Chandu Salimkumar, Ganapathi S Poduval, Balu Varghese, Lal Jr, Khalid Rahman, among others. Sushin Shyam composed the music, Shyju Khalid handled cinematography, Vivek Harshan managed editing, and Ajayan Chalissery oversaw art direction.
