Manjummel Boys fever: Writer B Jeyamohan slams Malayalam Cinema, Keralites

Writer-screenwriter B Jeyamohan has kindled a controversy with his blog post related to the Malayalam movie 'Manjummel Boys’. The film was irksome as it is a real-life story, noted Jeyamohan in his blog post.

According to Jeyamohan,  the film aptly portrays the mindset of Malayali tourists who drink and puke throughout their trips. They are sans common sense and social sense and are not concerned with anything else, he wrote adding that he has witnessed, at least a dozen times, Malayali drunkards misbehaving in public at tourist centers like Ooty, Kodaikanal, and Kuttalam.

His blog has been written in the Tamil language."Just as the movie proudly portrays, they throw away the liquor bottles negligently onto public roads. Such bottles, broken or unbroken, can be found throughout the Sengottai-Kuttalam as well as Koodalloor-Ooty roads. The vehicles of these drunkards have puke stains on both sides. They answer every question in Malayalam and expect others to learn Malayalam as well," it roughly translates.

"Every year, at least twenty elephants die due to foot infections caused by injuries from bottle shards. My novel ‘Aana Doctor’ (Elephant Doctor) condemns the same...Tamil Nadu is also following Kerala's path in drug abuse. Not just women, but no people should visit the beaches of Kerala after 7 pm in the evening, as per the police...," it read.

Jeyamohan also slammed Malayalam cinema. "Malayalam cinema is now controlled by a small group of drug addicts based in Ernakulam. Movies like ‘Kili Poyi’, ‘Ozhivudivasathe Kali’, 'Vedivazhipaad’, ‘Jallikattu’, and others generalise addiction and adultery. Actions must be taken against the directors of these movies if the government of Kerala cares for the welfare of its people," he wrote

"Manjummel Boys’ is normalizing the actions of scoundrels in the name of the celebration of common people. They are portrayed as martyrs and flag-bearers of friendship. At the end of the movie, one of them is said to have won an award. He should really have been put behind bars,” he claimed in the blog post.

Meanwhile, the blog post has created whirlwinds of arguments on social media. Reactions are pouring in for and against him. 

Jeyamohan, who hails from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, has penned many books and three screenplays in Malayalam. His Malayalam books are ‘Nedumpaathayoram’, ‘Uravidangal’, ‘Nooru Simhasanangal’ and ‘Aana Doctor’. His screenplays in Malayalam are ‘Ozhimuri’, ‘Kaanchi’, and ‘One by Two’.