Under the banner of Parava Films, ‘Manjummal Boys’ is a survival thriller written and directed by Chidambaram. The movie has made history in Malayalam cinema, becoming the highest-grossing Malayalam film worldwide. Released in theaters on February 22, 2024, it has grossed over ₹240 crores. Currently, the buzz on social media is about the music rights of the song ‘Kanmani Anbodu’ featured in the film.
According to reports, the song ‘Kanmani Anbodu’ originally appeared in the film ‘Guna,’ directed by Santhana Bharathi and released on November 5, 1991, with music by Ilaiyaraaja. The audio rights of this song were sold by Ilaiyaraaja’s wife to Pyramid Audio, who then sold the rights to Music Master and Sridevi Video Corporation. For ‘Manjummal Boys,’ Parava Films legally acquired the music rights from Music Master and the Telugu rights from Sridevi Video Corporation.
Producer Shaun Antony stated to the media, “The song ‘Kanmani Anbodu’ was used in ‘Manjummal Boys’ with proper permission. The music companies Pyramid and Sridevi Sounds own the rights to the song, and we acquired the necessary rights from them. We purchased the rights for all languages in which ‘Manjummal Boys’ was released. We have not received any legal notice from Ilaiyaraaja regarding this matter.”
‘Manjummal Boys’ follows a group of friends from Manjummal, Kochi, as they embark on a journey to Kodaikanal and encounter unexpected challenges. The film features popular actors Soubin Shahir, Sreenath Bhasi, Balu Varghese, Ganapathi, Lal Jr., Chandu Salim Kumar, Abhiram Radhakrishnan, Deepak Parambol, Khalid Rahman, Arun Kurian, and Vishnu Raghu in lead roles. The film is produced by Babu Shahir, Soubin Shahir, and Shaun Antony, and is presented by Parava Films in association with Sree Gokulam Movies. Dream Big Films handled the all-India distribution for Sree Gokulam Movies, while RFT Films acquired the UK distribution rights. The OTT rights were secured by Disney+ Hotstar.
Key crew members include cinematographer Shyju Khalid, editor Vivek Harshan, music and background score by Sushin Shyam, sound design by Shijin Hutton and Abhishek Nair, sound mixing by Fazal A. Backer and Shijin Hutton, production controller Deepak Parameswaran, production designer Ajayan Chalissery, chief associate director Binu Balan, casting director Ganapathi, costume designer Mahser Hamsa, makeup by Ronax Xavier, action by Vikram Dahia, stills by Rohith K. Suresh, poster design by Yellow Teeth, distribution by Sree Gokulam Movies through Dream Big Films, and PR and marketing by Vaishakh Vadakkeveetil and Jinu Anilkumar
