The pan-Indian movie has gone beyond dubbing or casting the odd crossover star. A new breed of directors is making cinema that reflects India’s linguistic diversity
In 1991, when Kamal Hassan-starrer Tamil psychological romantic drama ‘Gunaa’ hit the box office, it had an average run. However, over the next few years, the film achieved a ‘cult status’, with its song ‘Kanmani Anbodu’ — composed by the legendary Ilaiyaraaja — becoming a rage. The film’s most lasting contribution, surprisingly, was something else. Parts of the film were shot in the hill station Kodaikanal, including a cave known back then as the Devil’s Kitchen. The notoriously dangerous cave became so popular as a tourist spot as a result that it began to be known as ‘Guna Caves’.
Over three decades later, Kamal Hassan, ‘Kanmani Anbodu’ and Guna Caves have gripped the imagination of cinephiles again, this time through a Malayalam film. ‘Manjummel Boys’ is a dramatic re-telling of the real story of a bunch of friends whose trip to the caves in 2006 turned into a disaster after one of them got trapped in it. The film — stripped of any ‘star’, songs, or even a female lead — has sprung a surprise and emerged as the first Malayalam film to enter the Rs 200 crore-club. A fourth of that has come from Tamil Nadu. Ruban Mathiavan, managing director of Chennai-based G K Cinemas, says even after five weeks, some shows are running housefull. “It has already earned equal to what films with Tamil superstars earn.
Kamal Hassan
and the Ilaiyaraaja song have been a huge factor in it,” he says.
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