Boat (2024), A Disappointing Voyage

It’s the Second World War in Madras, with Japanese fighter planes poised to drop bombs at any moment. Ten people from different socio-economic backgrounds escape in a tiny boat, venturing into the vast Bay of Bengal. With little food or water, they face the risk of their boat breaking apart and a massive shark circling them for days. This plot of the latest film by Chimbu Devan, starring Yogi Babu, initially made me say “wow.” Unfortunately, the execution nearly wasted this promising premise, resulting in a soulless and tiresome film. It saddens me at Mangoidiots to rate it as Rotten.

The first ten minutes, depicting a British wartime camp on Marina beach, started well. But once the boat left the shore, so did our engagement with the film. The cast, including M. S. Bhaskar, Chinni Jayanth, Kulapulli Leela, Sha Ra, Chaams, Madhumitha, and others, tried hard to enliven the uninspiring events. However, their characters were all stereotypical: the Brahmin father, the revolutionary, the freedom fighter, the pregnant woman, and the boatman behaved exactly as expected.

Though it’s a survival story at sea, it never made me root for any of them. The film was filled with lengthy historical and social dialogues from history textbooks, and even clichéd predictions of a post “independent” India. The so-called joke about future food delivery services with names resembling Zomato and Swiggy fell flat. The portrayal of the shark and the mouse character in the boat were riddled with flaws.

In the second half, Yogi Babu, playing the boatman, asks three from the group to jump overboard to save the rest. I wished I could volunteer to jump out of the cinema hall to rescue myself.

Lastly, at the end of the first day evening show at PVR Inox Luxe, Chennai, the film crew had a small event. The producer, director, and actors, including Yogi Babu, spoke about their hard work. While I respect their efforts, my rating is based on the film itself, not the behind-the-scenes work. Better luck next time.