'Drug addicts of Kochi now ruling Malayalam cinema'; Eminent writer B Jeyamohan tears apart 'Manjummel Boys'

‘Manjummel Boys’, the newest entrant into the 100 crore club in Malayalam box office, is thriving in Tamil Nadu with audiences leaving the theatre in awe of the creative genius. Even the 'boys' smashed the Rajinikanth movie ‘Lal Salam’ at the box office across Tamil Nadu which is quite a feat considered unthinkable for a long time.

However now, amidst the raining appreciation for the movie from people, technicians and cinema veterans, one contrarian voice felt the movie was dull and this has triggered a storm in the state and here in Kerala. B Jeyamohan, the towering figure in Tamil literature who is also the writer of many movies including ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ has torn apart the now-celebrated ‘Manjummel Boys’.

Jeyamohan in his blog gave a sly headline ‘Kudikaraporukikalin Koothatam’ which means ‘frivolities of wayward drunkards’ while writing about the movie. Jeyamohan who started his blog criticizing the movie later took shots at Keralites and Malayalis in general.

He proposed the idea to screen this movie in Tamil Nadu, only for police to identify culprits espousing similar traits as the characters in the movie. The writer said people like the characters in the movie if found in real life should be jailed for their conduct. In another stooping low, Jeyamohan said such people who are trapped in the wilderness of the forest should end up dead which he said will only serve good of the forest. He also termed such deaths to be an act of nature’s wrath.

Blog:

‘Manjummel Boys' is a movie that made me nauseous and it was monotonous. It is akin to other Malayalam movies that normalize the theory of alcohol, drugs and frivolities. The directors of such movies should be held responsible. These people visit such tourist spots not to be astonished by their beauty but only to creep inside and engage in booze and other illicit activities. These lots lack basic sense and comportment.

In my lifetime I have seen at least 10 times how these Malayalis create a ruckus by drinking, vomiting and destroying forest land in Ooty and Kodaikanal. These people after drinking will break the glass bottles to shreds and drop them inside the forest. Directors of such movies will lionize such acts and show them on screen with pride. Every year, at least 20 elephants suffer injury in their eyes due to these glass pieces left as trash in forest land. I have written a book on this and the irony is it sold more than one lakh copies in Kerala.

It has also turned into a laborious task for me to visit Kerala for any wedding as most people out there will be drunk and they will vomit in front of us or inside the shamiana set up for the function. Currently, the Malayalam movie is under the control of some drug addicts based in Kochi. Ten years before, Malayalam produced movies like ‘Kili Poyi’, ‘Ozhivudivasathe Kali’ and more. These movies promoted frivolities, sleazy content and amoral plots. These were movies without any input but the so-called High IQ geniuses of Kerala called them ‘game-changers’.

All this is portrayed by Malayalam moviemakers with a sense of gaiety. Can you ever spot at least five happy Malayalis who are not drunk? It is rather a dangerous trend that mainstream movies are normalizing such unscrupulous acts for many other people in the audience to emulate.

Jeyamohan is a staunch advocate for preserving forest land and has previously written many works against human intrusion into forest lands.