Chidambaram’s Manjummel Boys has won the Best Music award at the KinoBravo Film Festival in Russia, making it a landmark achievement for Malayalam cinema. The film not only became the first-ever Malayalam film to compete at the festival but was also the only Indian movie featured in its competition section this year. The announcement was made by the film's team on their social media accounts, with director Chidambaram present at the venue to receive the award.
The KinoBravo Festival, held from September 28 to October 4, also showcased international favorites such as Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light and SS Rajamouli's RRR, both in non-competition categories.
Manjummel Boys is a survival drama based on the real-life story of a group of friends from Manjummel, Kochi, who embark on an adventurous trip to the Guna Caves in Kodaikanal. The fun turns into a nightmare when one of the group members slips into a chasm, leading to a terrifying ordeal. The film, which is the highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time, was produced by Soubin Shahir, Babu Shahir, and Shawn Antony under Parava Films.
The cast includes Soubin Shahir, Sreenath Bhasi, Deepak Parambol, Jean Paul Lal, Ganapathi, Balu Varghese, and others. In addition to Chidambaram’s well-received direction and writing, the film earned praise for Shyju Khalid's cinematography, Ajayan Chalissery's production design, Vivek Harshan's editing, and Sushin Shyam’s music. The film also gained attention for featuring the classic Tamil song Kanmani Anbodu from Kamal Haasan’s 1991 film Gunaa.
