Manjummel Boys: Here's all you need to know about Guna Caves and its thrilling connection to Kamal Haasan's film

Director Chidambaram’s upcoming movie Manjummel Boys, which had wrapped up its shoot earlier this year, is much more than a movie about friendships. The survival thriller, which has Soubin Shahir, Sreenath Bhasi, Balu Varghese, Ganapathy and Lal Jr in the lead, is inspired by true events that transpired at a tourist spot in Kodaikanal, and the latest trailer that dropped confirms this thread. The movie revolves around how one youngster among a group of friends fall into the Guna caves and is trapped, with the others running around helpless trying to save him even when hope fades out. 

A source in the know had earlier told OTTplay exclusively that Manjummel Boys is inspired by the rescue of a youth, who had fallen in the Guna caves aka Devil’s Kitchen in Kodaikanal. Over the years, several tourists had lost their lives after falling into the cave’s depth. The cave, which was initially called Devil’s Kitchen, later became popular as Guna Caves after Kamal Haasan’s 1991 hit film Gunaa was shot there.

Manjummel Boys is about travel and friendship: Chidambaram

Before the team had started the shoot of the film, which was shot in Kochi and Tamil Nadu, Chidambaram had told OTTplay that the movie is not a comedy like his debut feature Jan.E.Man, but revolves around travel and friendship.

Also read: Soubin Shahir, Sreenath Bhasi’s Manjummel Boys is about travel and friendship: Chidambaram 

It’s not clear if the makers of Manjummel Boys have based the script on a singular incident that happened in Guna Caves. However, in 2006, a Malayali youth from Ernakulam, who had visited the caves with his friends, had plunged 60ft below. Though his friends had informed the authorities, they were apprehensive about descending into the cave for the rescue, and so one of the friends decided to tied himself to a rope and lowered himself for the rescue. The fire personnel, who got into action later, finally lifted both the youngsters safely in the operation that lasted for almost five hours.

Also read: Manjummel Boys team wraps up shoot 

The movie, which also has Arun Kurian, Abhiram Radhakrishnan, Khalid Rahman, Chandu Salimkumar and Deepak Parambol in supporting roles, was shot for 101 days. The team is yet to reveal its release date, though they have confirmed it will be a February 2024 release.

Other survival thrillers in Malayalam

If the plot is true, Manjummel Boys will join Jayaram’s Malootty, Fahadh Faasil’s Malayankunju and 2018: Everyone Is A Hero as survival thrillers, inspired by true events, in Malayalam cinema. While Malootty was based on the rescue of a todd ler from a well in Texas, both Malayankunju and 2018 were inspired by natural calamities – landslides and floods – that transpired in the recent years in Kerala.