Writer Jeyamohan calls Manjummel Boys ‘a frenzy of alcoholic rowdies’

The movie is being widely celebrated in Tamil Nadu. A main selling point of the film is the many tributes it paid to Kamal Haasan’s 1991 film Guna.

While Manjummel Boys is running to packed houses even in small towns of Tamil Nadu with an overwhelmingly positive response, Jeyamohan, born in a Malayali family, has come down heavily on the youngsters of Kerala while criticizing the film.

At the outset, Jeyamohan claimed that he stays away from criticizing films as he is also part of the film industry. “Cinema is pure business here. It is not even propaganda. Just business. In that situation, it is unfair to criticize another man’s business. However, as someone who wrote Yaanai Doctor, I had to write.”

He said that the gang in Manjummel Boys reflects the mentality that prevails across ‘Malayali porrukis (Malayali loafers)’ who tour South Tamil Nadu. He criticized the rampant alcoholism in the state and the lack of societal responsibility among the people.

He wrote, “These guys travel even deep into the forest. Drink. Drink. Drink. That’s it. Puke. Create ruckus. Pass out on the roads. Cross limits. They have no interest in anything else. They lack common sense and basic public etiquette. As shown in the films, these people break and throw away the bottles.”

Jeyamohan has earlier written a short story titled Yaanai Doctor. A significant portion of the story narrates how such broken glass bottles pierce the legs of the elephants leading to their death. The writer stated that he has fought with many such Kerala youngsters regarding their behaviour at hill stations.

Throughout the essay, Jeyamohan referred to such youngsters as ‘Malayala Porukkikgal’ (Malayali loafers), which is being met with severe criticism from across the state. Even fans from Tamil Nadu have called his criticism as racist and uncalled for.