The film that scaled the heights

Chidambaram S Poduval, the director of ‘Manjummel Boys’, talks about how the idea for the film came to him and his meeting with Tamil film legend Kamal Haasan

By Shevlin Sebastian

Shawn Antony was the producer of director Chidambaram’s first film, ‘Jan E Man’ (2021). One day, he told Chidambaram a story of a group of boys who had gone to the Guna Caves (elevation: 2230 metres) in Kodaikanal in 2006.

One of them, Subhash, while crossing a crevice, fell through a hole and plunged to a depth of 120 feet. The rescue services personnel were reluctant to go down, while holding onto a rope. So, one boy, Siju David, volunteered to do so. In the end, he could pull Subhash up towards safety.

So, Chidambaram, along with Shawn, met the boys at Siju’s house at Manjummel, near Kochi in mid-2022. After hearing their narration, Chidambaram realised that this would make a good film.

For research, Chidambaram went to the Guna Caves.

One day, at 6 am, in December 2022, he entered the caves for the first time. Chidambaram had heard many stories of people slipping through the various holes. Nobody had found their bodies. The forest guard gave Chidambaram a lemon. He told Chidambaram he needed it to ward off negative energy. When Chidambaram was strolling around, he realised there were over 100 hidden holes. “It was too dangerous,” he said.

Chidambaram experienced the smell of the decomposition of the plants. He also noticed the wet earth and the plastic waste and food thrown by the tourists. The caves acted like a funnel for the neighbouring areas. He had to contend with the odour of monkeys, dead bats and methane gas.

“It has a psychological effect on you,” he said. “There is a cliff. People jump off it. The locals dubbed it ‘Suicide Point’. Murders have also taken place.”

Thereafter, Chidambaram returned to Kochi. He took one-and-a-half years to write the script.

Since the actual Guna Caves were too dangerous to shoot, the crew built a replica at a warehouse in Perumbavoor, 38 kms from Kochi. For the frame, they used metal and fibre for the rocks. “The height was about 40 feet,” said Chidambaram. “We used VFX to create a further height.” Set designer Ajayan Chalissery designed it.

One morning, Chidambaram surveyed the cave. Standing behind him were two senior technicians working in the flame unit. Both were from Andhra Pradesh. They had just arrived and did not know anything about the subject of the film. One man turned to the other and said, “This place looks like Guna, don’t you think?”

Chidambaram looked back and said, “Why did you say that?”

The man replied, “Sir, I worked in Kamal Haasan’s ‘Gunaa’ (1991). We had shot inside the caves.”

It was at that moment, that Chidambaram realised Ajayan and his team had nailed the recreation.

Asked why the film became a superhit, having grossed over Rs 200 crore worldwide, Chidambaram said, “Every village will have a bunch of mischievous brats who fall into trouble. It is a survival thriller. This is a universal theme: a triumph against the odds. Also, ‘Manjummel Boys’ is a visually told story. Language is not a barrier.”

The film received an exceptional reception in Tamil Nadu. One of the main reasons is that, at the beginning, a video is being played in a restaurant. It featured the hit song, ‘Kanmani Anbodu Kadhalan’ from ‘Gunaa’. Kamal Haasan played the hero.

Another factor that helped was that since the movie was mostly set in Tamil Nadu, about 60 percent of the dialogue was in Tamil.

Chidambaram sent Kamal the CD of the film. Kamal arranged for the movie to be shown at the Tagore Film Centre in Adyar. He invited his friends, family and the Manjummel Boys team.

“I watched the movie sitting next to Kamal Sir, and Santhana Bharathi (director of ‘Gunaa’)” said Chidambaram. “He told me it was moving to hear his voice in the film.”

In the ‘Gunaa’ song, it was Kamal who sang the male playback, along with legendary singer S. Janaki.

For Chidambaram, the shock was to realise he was talking to a legend and not feeling he was in the presence of one. “He is so humble that you get humbled as a result,” said Chidambaram. “Another facet that I understood was that Kamal Sir is a student of cinema. He has never rested on his laurels. Even at his age [69], Kamal Sir exudes energy and happiness and wants to make more and more films. His drive is higher than ever.”

Asked whether he feels any pressure about his next film, Chidambaram said, “No. I am only reminded of this when journalists, friends and relatives ask me this question. Otherwise, I am fine. My attitude is to approach each film as if it is my first one.”

(An edited version was published in The Sunday Magazine, The New Indian Express, South India and Delhi)