Director Chimbudeven on Yogi Babu’s ‘Boat’: I don’t think the freedom fighters of our land got their due

The ‘Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikecei’ filmmaker talks about his upcoming film ‘Boat’ starring Yogi Babu, and how historical decisions, ideologies and movements inspire him

Director Chimbudeven is evidently in a hurry as we manage to get him on a call mere days before the release of his upcoming film Boat. As always, last-minute work has piled up but that doesn’t stop the cartoonist-turned-filmmaker from talking in detail about how he came with the Yogi Babu-starrer. Most of the film’s runtime is expected to unfold around a boat full of people out in the open sea, and Chimbudeven says it was an engaging experience penning the story.

Words on water

“I’ve read Ernest Hemingway’s ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ during schooldays and that’s the inspiration behind the film. Over the years, novels like Sandilyan’s ‘Kadal Pura’ and ‘Thanneer Desam’ and several films have also fascinated me with a story set out at sea. The sea is like a living being on its own — given the ambience with clouds, sky, wind and the weather — and it keeps evolving. That, along with the political situation back in 1943 and the power of humanity, is what Boat talks about. A friend’s grandfather’s grandfather was one among around 5 lakh people from Madras who vacated when a Japanese plane bombed the city, and he told me how a certain section would jump into boats and take to the seas to escape the bombings,” says Chimbudeven.

The filmmaker concedes he was clueless about how to go about the shooting process while writing the story. “We met with a lot of hurdles while shooting the film. Cinematographer Madhesh Manickam and I scouted for locations; all the spots had heavy tides. The tides were better at Rameshwaram but it’s crowded. We finally chose Uvari near Tiruchendur as the spot.”

Fresh off the boat

But that wasn’t even half the bridge crossed for the makers of Boat. “We needed a boat that could hold ten people and the one we initially got barely had space for the artists to move around. Then (late) art director Santhanam found a boat in Kerala that had to be modified in Rameshwaram, as we don’t have oars-propelled boats anymore,” adds the filmmaker.

Despite getting the boat, Chimbudeven and his team faced several other difficulties. “If we were shooting in a forest, we could clean the surface; if it were atop a hill, ascending it would be the challenge and once up, we could begin. But the toughest terrain to shoot at must be the sea! For starters, we couldn’t predict when the tides would be high or low. Probably that’s why we call it ‘kadal thaai’ as it had to favour us,” says the filmmaker who only began shooting three days after they got a hang of it.

Come hell or high water

“We also had fishermen around us for safety, and had equipment fall into the sea that had to be recovered. We would shoot half of a scene and then the natural lighting would change, which meant we had to wait for days to shoot the remaining scene. When it rained, there wasn’t any shelter and the artists’ drenched clothes had to be dried before we shot again. But the best part is that we captured those experiences and hope the audience will also feel what we felt.”

Ask him if the audience would pay heed to the struggles that went on behind the scenes, and a smiling Chimbudeven says, “If anyone else decides to shoot their film on the same terrain, they would probably understand what we went through. The audience doesn’t have to know about it as only the final product matters to them. One can even shoot in space or inside a volcano, but it will work only if the experiences can be converted into an intriguing story... I believe Boat has done that.”

The rest is history

Be it Boat, or his previous films like Pulikecei, Irumbukkottai Murattu Singam or Puli, many of the filmmaker’s works have been set against a period backdrop. “We are leading a sophisticated life today because of our forefathers’ decisions, ideologies and movements. Life would have been different had we not gotten our independence. Our lives today are influenced by our history, so it interests me the most,” says Chimbudeven.

“I also feel our history has been meddled with for a long time. I don’t think the freedom fighters of our land or the Bengal region get the due that those from Bombay and Delhi got. During World War II, there were so many Indians who fought, but even a film on it like Dunkirk didn’t show a single Indian. Articles point out about 25 lakh Indians lost their lives fighting for the British in that war, but it was never recognised anywhere. That’s why even Boat is mounted on the war’s backdrop”

Based on the trailer, which showcases the habitants of the boats hailing from different ethnic, religious and linguistic backgrounds, one can interpret the vessel to be the country itself. Chimbudeven, indeed, is known for such metaphors in his works. “The scene we are witnessing can have two layers; if the first layer has a solid main plot backed by good performances, no one will mind the second layer having metaphors. When I used to be a cartoonist, we did this in our works and when I apply the same to films, they are interesting here as well. In Pulikecei, for example, there is a shot showing multiple paintings on a wall and there’s also a Pablo Picasso painting. It doesn’t necessarily have to be noticed or understood but if it does, it’s a bonus,” says the filmmaker who laces his films with multiple messages.

More than just for laughs

“It helps the audience connect with the story considering it might mostly be something they have noticed as well. I strongly believe a message cannot mend a society. It’s more of a gentle reminder when I do it in my films. In Pulikecei again, a character would break the fourth wall and joke about how twins separated at birth will always end up together. Similarly, messages too can be shared, masked as spoofs.”

Speaking of Pulikecei, it marked Vadivelu’s first film as a solo lead and it was the same with Santhanam and Ganja Karuppu in Arai En 305-il Kadavul. Now, with Boat, he’s teaming with Yogi Babu who has turned lead after being a comedian for years.

“If a story demands a certain actor and if the producer can make a profit out of it, anyone can turn into a protagonist. I personally pick actors based on what the story requires and sometimes a hero would do the trick and sometimes a comedian would ace it. If the business aspect works out, then it can’t get any better,” says Chimbudeven who has tried everything from Western (Irumbukkottai Murattu Singam) and magical realism (Oru Kanniyum Moonu Kalavaanikalum) to hyperlink narratives (Kasada Tabara) and anthologies (Victim).

“All of these were something earlier filmmakers have tried and succeeded with. Within the first 20 years of inventing cinema, all the genres of films have been done. Irrespective of the format, the idea is to deliver a successful film and irrespective of the genre, the audience will celebrate it if it’s interesting.”

Boat is releasing in theatres on August 2