Just like how the boat is affected by a hole, the screenplay also has several loopholes. When it is announced mid-sea that a terrorist is onboard, a character, who previously introduced himself as a librarian, says he is a CB-CID officer, who has taken the journey to find the terrorist. He also reveals that even though he doesn’t know who the terrorist is, he is sure that he is one of the passengers. However, at the beginning of the film, we see that all the characters climb into the boat at random. This character too does the same, and there’s no possibility that he would have a clue about the passengers of the boat. Now, after this revelation, none of the characters question him regarding this.

If the film’s screenplay is the hole in the boat, then the cast is the life jacket that prevents it from sinking. The ensemble delivers commendable performances, offering a glimmer of hope amidst the film’s shortcomings. With a promising premise and talented actors, Boat had the potential to be a gripping survival drama. Instead, it’s a vessel overloaded with preachy dialogues and uneven pacing. The film’s relentless moralising drowns out any potential suspense, turning a potentially thrilling experience into a tedious ordeal. The audience, like the characters trapped on the sinking vessel, yearns for a rescue from the film’s endless sermonizing.

Ultimately, Boat promises a thrilling voyage but instead finds itself adrift in a sea of cliches. The director, as the captain, steers the vessel towards a rocky shore of heavy-handed social commentary, rather than the open sea of human complexity. While the ocean of possibilities was vast, Boat remains a small, leaky vessel, unable to withstand the tempestuous waves of its own ambition.

Cast: Yogi Babu, Chinni Jayanth, Chaams, Gouri Kishan, Madhumitha, MS Bhaskar, Shiva Sha Ra

Director: Chimbudeven

Rating: 1.5/5 stars

(This story originally appeared on Cinema Express)