Story:
A group of 10 young men, most of whom Manjummell town, embark on a dream trip to Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu in 2006. The group’s older member, Kuttan (Soubin Shahir), leads them as they explore the hill town. They come across a significant tourist attraction, the Guna caves (Devil’s Kitchen), at the end of their trip, where Kamal Haasan’s Gunaa was shot. An unexpected and shocking incident occurs when one of them falls into the deepest pit in the caves. The remaining part of the story shows how the group manages to save their friend from a life-threatening situation.
Performances: Soubin Shahir was excellent and Sreenath Bhasi was also perfect and performed very well in the traumatized scenes. Balu Varghese, Ganapathy, Jean Paul Lal and others were also apt.
Analysis:
The film starts off on a simple note and goes on the same mode for a while. Towards the interval, the narrative takes charge, and it never gets down until the last moment. While the first half is a bit on a lighthearted side, the second half gets intense as a lot is happening there. The director of the film, Chidambaram, made sure that the effect does not get diluted despite the film being stuck at one location. The camera work and background score complement the narrative.
Positives:
The bond between friends group was well established by the director. The best part is there is no overstress of the emotions and the characters get emotional only when it is required. When one of the characters in the film gets in a horrible situation, the audiences face the exact turmoil which the other characters go through because the particular scene comes with such a brilliant shock value. Because of that, the momentum in screenplay was consistent until the end except for a few parts. The film being made on a true story makes it even more powerful and when the actual incident’s details are shown on screen, the audiences will for salute for their belief and strength they have shown in such a difficult situation.
Negatives:
The initial scenes in the first half do not have much impact and makes the audience to wait for things getting stronger. Also, the scenes in the second half which involve the police officials are a bit annoying because their negligence at such critical situations appears to be an overstretched.
Review: (3.25/5)
Last Line: Manjummel Boys… These boys are unforgettable!
