Manjummel Boys is an evocative tale about the power of friendship, says Anupama Chopra

The film, about young men who risk their lives to save a friend, is based on a true story. It’s another Malayalam hit, another masterclass in storytelling.

What does true friendship look like? The latest Malayalam blockbuster, Manjummel Boys, has answers.

The film, written and directed by Chidambaram, is based on a real-life incident from 2006, when a group of young men from Manjummel, a small town near Kochi, suffered a terrible mishap during a trip to the Guna Caves in Kodaikanal.

One of them fell into a deep crevasse. As the film tells it, locals tried to persuade the boys that their friend was likely dead,