Chidambaram on Manjummel Boys: 'After OTT revolution, more people are interested in Malayalam movies'

Filmmaker Chidambaram is now basking in the success of his latest movie, "Manjummel Boys." The unprecedented success of this film catapulted Chidambaram from regional obscurity to pan-India popularity. However, Chidambaram never imagined the kind of success this film would achieve when he was making it.

"Manjummel Boys" tells a compelling story about a group of friends who take on the forces of nature to bring back a friend who falls into an infamous void at a famous tourist spot.

"We didn't imagine this. We never dared to dream of it either. But, we were quite sure that we were making a good movie, and we had the conviction that we were putting out an honest movie. We were sure that people would like it but never imagined this scale of success," said Chidambaram on a podcast named Filmi Fiesta .

Chidambaram made the movie on a modest budget of less than Rs 20 crore. Nonetheless, this didn't stop him from creating a visually appealing movie that offered a spectacular cinematic experience to cinephiles across the world.

One of the biggest successes of "Manjummel Boys" is that it managed to transcend language barriers and appeal to non-Malayali audiences worldwide. This helped the film earn more than Rs 230 crore from its worldwide ticket sales, making it the biggest earner in the history of Malayalam cinema.

"We only thought that this film would be successful in Kerala, and people would talk about the film's creative and commercial elements. We believed in the story because the real story was that intense. But, this success was unimaginable," he added.

"Manjummel Boys" became the highest-grossing Malayalam film in Tamil Nadu by earning over Rs 50 crore in theatrical collections. One of the reasons behind the unprecedented success of this film in Tamil Nadu is its connection with Kamal Haasan's cult classic "Guna."

Chidambaram, however, refuses to take full credit for delivering the biggest Malayalam hit ever. He opined that it's a process, and he was building on the success of Malayalam movies that came before "Manjummel Boys."

"All the movies that came before us paved the way for our success. The next movie will surpass the collection of 'Manjummel Boys.' These days more screens have opened up for us, and after the OTT revolution, more people are interested in watching Malayalam movies, and more producers are ready to take Malayalam movies in their original format and distribute them across the country," he added.

After a terrific theatrical run, "Manjummel Boys" is now getting ready to make its streaming debut. The film will have its digital premiere on May 5 on Disney+Hotstar.