Manjummel Boys, the Malayalam film based on the real-life incident about a bunch of boys from a small town in Kochi that has crossed the Rs 150-crore-mark in box-office collections, has now hit the headlines for the wrong reasons -- rowdyism, alcoholism of Kerala youngsters and the travel etiquette of Malayalees.
The reason: a blog post by Tamil-Malayalam writer B Jeyamohan, where he made sweeping statements on Malayali youngsters saying they defile tourist spots and forests by drinking, vomiting and dumping their liquor bottles there, something the film depicted too.
The long essay (or should it be called a rant?) by Jeyamohan, born to a high-caste Malayali family and now settled in Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari, has triggered widespread criticism not just in Kerala but also from Tamil film industry veterans.
“I watched Manjummel Boys and it has disturbed me. The mentality of the Malayalee youth who visit tourist places is the same as shown in the film and they reach not just tourist spots, but forests too. They are concerned only about drinking and vomiting, screaming and violating rules," Jeyamohan had written.
Film critics and experts, however, said it is not right to analyse a movie morally.
CS Venkiteswaran, a film critic, said that Manjummel Boys is a feel-good movie that was enjoyed by everyone.
"It's a feel good movie on the one and at the same time dangerously male chauvinist. However, we don't have to approach films from a moralistic viewpoint and it is better to avoid such controversies," he said.
Filmmaker B Unnikrishnan, in a Facebook post, said if the dance, drinking, laughs and hugs of the Manjummel Boys disturbed Jeyamohan, he has only himself to blame.
"Your comments about the film Manjummel Boys do not deserve any mercy. You described the characters in the film as drunken beggars. You are saying that such people need to be hated," Unnikrishnan noted.
Manjummel Boys, also a tribute to actor Kamal Hassan by its makers and set in the very caves in which his Guna was shot, is a runaway hit in Tamil Nadu too.
"The film is much accepted in Tamil Nadu as it is more relatable to the Tamil audience. As both Malayalam and Tamil languages are used in the film, there is no language barrier. The choice of the Guna caves in Kodaikanal and the inclusion of the music makes the film more likeable for the Tamil audience," said Venkiteswaran.
Writer VS Anilkumar said Jeyamohan's comparison of the characters in the film as well as the Malayalee tourists to 'beggars' was casteist.
"The words that he has used to address Malayalees, porukki, were used to address people from lower castes and poor economic backgrounds. These are the products of the 'upper caste mentality'," Anilkumar noted on his Facebook page.
He also said that educated people in modern society do not use such casteist words or statements these days and alleged that Jeyamohan was part of the 'Savarna Hindutva' ideology.
The comments by Jeyamohan, who has written the script for 2012 Malayalam film Ozhimuri, that a Kochi-centred drug mafia is active in Malayalam films, has also invited criticism.
"Films that normalise drugs and adultery like Kilipoyi, Ozhivudivasathe Kali, Vedivazhipadu and Jallikattu were released in Malayalam. Even intellectuals glorified these films that do not have any story," Jeyamohan said.
Reacting to the allegation against the film industry in the state, Unnikrishnan challenged Jeyamohan to substantiate the presence of Kochi-based drug mafia in Malayalam films.
“Yes. There are several youngsters in Ernakulam who make good films. What they are addicted to is friendship and films,” he said, alleging that Jeyamohan had become a fascist in nature.
Jose Dominic, a tourism expert and former chairman of CGH Earth, a hotel-chain, addressed the other complaint made by Jeyamohan. He said it was not just Malayali travellers who dumped trash on the roads and at tourist sites -- most Indian tourists did.
According to him, tourist buses stop along the roadsides and the people get down to have meals that they bring from home.
"They leave their trash behind and go. This doesn't happen with the foreign tourists. Instead, we have seen foreign tourists making an effort to clean up the waste that they come across on the beaches and other tourist sites in our country," said Dominic.
(With inputs by Anu Kuruvilla)
