If you are a Horror Netflix binge-watcher, like me, I am sure you will also be getting a suggestion of a new Hindi horror movie on your app, Boomika. However, if your expectation with Indian horror movie is as low as me, I am sure you must have still not clicked on its ‘Play’ button. This weekend, while lazing out and realizing that I have watched 90% of horror movies on Netflix, I decided to give a chance to the Rathindran R Prasad’s Boomika. At least I would have another movie name to debate that why Indian directors need to better their horror movie game. But, I was not ready for the surprises the movie threw my way.
The movie begins with a pregnant woman alone in her home. She is talking to her husband on call who is telling her about the meme that he has created; however, she does not seem interested in it. Suddenly, a lorry rams her husband’s car and throws his car into the air. The wife helplessly hears the crash sound, and in the next frame, we see her husband dead. Then, the movie title reflects on the screen with sinister music in the background. This leaves numerous questions in the mind of viewers. Who was the woman? Who was her husband? Was it an accident or a murder? Why would someone want to kill him? What will happen next? All these questions are answered beautifully in the film.
The main characters of the movie are then introduced, Samyuktha, a child psychologist (Aishwarya Rajesh) her husband Gautham ( Vidhu), their child Sindhu, her friend Gayathri (Surya Ganapathy), and her sister-in-law Aditi (Madhuri) moves to a property to build a luxury villa. As the night falls, their life starts to take a heart-wrenching turn. Soon, we find Gayathri texting her old friend Krishan. However, soon the text gets creepier and soon she realizes that the man has been dead, since few hours. He is the same guy, whose death we saw at the beginning of the movie. Soon, things start to go downhill for them.
Rathindran R Prasad uses the predictable tropes of the horror genre to preach to its audience that ‘nature protects itself’; however he has redefined the cliches in his new movie. One of the aspects of the movie that I really liked is that the characters acted logically, unlike most of the characters in the horror movie. At the beginning of the movie, the director tries to create suspense in the movie to keep his viewers hooked; however, he is not able to pull it off successfully. At the beginning of the movie, you may be confused as to who is evil and who is good, but as the movie proceeds, you can predict the ending of the movie. Although the movie is a fresh breath of air, it is not a masterpiece to which I will give 5 out of 5 stars. I will grant it 3 out of 5 stars.