A historical comedy (Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikesi), religious satire (Arai En 305-il Kadavul), Tamil Western (Irumbukkottai Murattu Singam), and a fantasy adventure (Puli), director Chimbudeven seems to be on a mission to dabble in the most quirkiest genres, rarely explored by the Tamil film industry. On the topic of genre, his recent release, seems like the perfect addition to his colourful filmography. “I always wanted to do a survival thriller,” says Chimbudeven.
On how he decided to centre a survival thriller in the middle of the ocean, the director recounts his friend telling him how, “during World War II, whenever Japanese air raids happened, our Tamil fishermen would take their boats and go into the sea to escape the bombings, and that inspired me to write the story.” The director also cites books like T and films like and , as inspirations. Set in 1943, during the height of World War II, revolves around a motley crew of survivors who escape Japanese bombing in a boat and are subsequently stranded in the middle of the ocean.
From a fisherman, an upper caste man, a pregnant woman, and a Muslim man, to a British police officer, the director assembles a diverse group of people on the boat, and through that discusses politics and societal issues. He reveals that it is exactly why he chose that period to unravel his story. “That particular time in the 20th century was really interesting because a lot was happening both politically and culturally.
On the one end, there was Mahatma Gandhi, and on the other end, there was Subash Chandra Bose; there was also Muhammad Ali Jinnah and then the Dravidian ideology was just starting to take root. So I thought it would be the perfect time period to set a political comedy which was also a survival thriller.” Chimbudeven is particularly cognizant of the absence of certain genres in Tamil cinema.
He points out how until he came along, there was an inordinate amount of gap in Tamil cinema exploring different genres. “Pulikesi came out 28 years after the last period film in Tamil, which was MGR’s Madhuraiyai Meetta Sundharapandiyan. Before Irumbukkottai Murattu Singam in 2010 only director M Karnan did Western films in Tamil (Kalam Vellum (1970), Ganga (1972), Jakkamma (1972), Enga Pattan Sothu (1975)).
” However, he also understands how the production challenges that come with such genres act as an inevitable hurdle to exploring them. When asked how he tackled these hurdles in Boat, the director confessed that it was indeed challenging. “We shot off the coast of Uvari and it is always tough to film at the mercy of natural elements like fire and water.
Moreover, the film takes place in a small boat that can only hold up to ten people. So the camera crew was stationed parallelly on another boat. No matter how you set up your camera, it would still wobble.
The actors also felt dizzy and claustrophobic. On top of that, none of us knew how to swim. Despite all of that, this somehow became a memorable experience.
” On why it was important to shoot in the ocean, Chimbudeven says it was more a matter of pragmatism than realism. “For the limited budget and scope of the film, it seemed appropriate to shoot in the actual ocean instead of spending a lot of money to build sets. After all, isn’t .
” Throughout his directorial journey, Chimbudeven has traversed several unique genres but his one constant companion has always been comedy. Upon pointing out how gritty action films have phased out comedies in Tamil cinema in recent times, the filmmaker strongly disagrees. “Whether it is an entirely melodramatic film or a science fiction film, people are still willing to accept different genres and experimentations.
” He says the audiences are already exposed to different types of stories due to the streaming boom and sees it as a welcome change. “Tomorrow, people might see another film shot entirely in the ocean in Hollywood and there will be comparisons with . But, that is unavoidable and I am ready for that challenge.
” On the topic of inevitability, anyone interested in Chimbudeven’s filmography would wonder about the status of the shelved sequel to Imsai Arasan 23rd Pulikesi. Understandably reticent about the topic, the filmmaker says, “ being shelved is a great loss for both me and the Tamil film industry. But, I am hopeful and the film might still end up happening.
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