Survival thriller Manjummel Boys, directed by Chidambaram, went on to become an industry hit in Malayalam cinema. The director, who later helmed Balan: The Boy, revealed that he was approached with lucrative offers for both the sequel and a Hindi remake, but he turned them all down.
Talking to Variety India, Chidambaram said why the film shouldn’t be remade. He stated, “Manjummel Boys is dubbed in Hindi. A remake won’t be honest, I think. That’s why I refused the idea of a remake. The offer was tempting. But it’s the conviction and your core belief that will hold you back.”
The producers also approached him to expand the universe, but Chidambaram rejected. “Manjummel Boys 2 came up in conversations again. Why are we so cruel? These boys need to go again and fall somewhere. Go through that. Only then will Manjummel Boys 2 happen. The novelty of Manjummel Boys is that it’s a real incident. Otherwise, if it’s fiction, it won’t have that much appeal. I believe that,” he concluded.