Manjummel Boys released in theatres on February 22. The film, owing to its unprecedented run at the box office, has brought back into focus the dangerous Guna Caves, the subject of the film. Manjummel Boys however, is not the first film to spotlight the dangerous natural arrangement located near Kodaikanal.

When Mohanlal shot in the Guna Caves

For the unversed, Mohanlal had shot extensively in and around the Guna Caves, for 2010 film Shikkar. The film's director, Vinod Guruvayoor, recently took to his Facebook handle, to recount the experience, guiding the actor through the sequences. Incidentally, not just Mohanlal, but Kamal Haasan too has shot in the caves for his 1991 film Gunaa. 

A translated excerpt from the post reads, 'When we reached the main location of Guna, we camped there. When we looked down, our heads started to spin. There were hidden crevices. Later, fight aster Thyagarajan's team arrived at the location, and we resorted to using tree branches to secure the rope. We watched in awe as Mohanlal descended fearlessly down the rope. Lalettan often cautioned Ananya (the actress) against looking down. Following each take, Padmakumar, Thyagarajan, and cameraman Manoj Pillai devised even riskier shots...'

The Guna caves had to be recreated for Manjummel Boys

During a recent interview with Onmanorama, Manjummel Boys' production designer, Ajayan Chalissery, opened up about recreating the Guna caves in lieu of shooting the film, something he referred to as the team's biggest creative challenge. The Guna caves, now being a restricted site, was only briefly made accessible to the team, so as to allow them to draw references.

Chalissery revealed how his team descended down the eighty foot drop so as to grasp the atmosphere, texture and terrain of the place. A dauntingly real replica was then mounted in a godown in Perumbavoor, which is what is show in the film.