One of the most awaited Malayalam movie of the year, Jude Anthany Joseph's "2018" has finally hit the screens. As the name suggests, it is about the 2018 floods that wrecked havoc across the length & breadth of the state. It was a catastrophic event that is still fresh in our minds as all of us were affected by it in one way or the other. It was a time when most of us joined hands to help each other in whichever way possible either by being part of the rescue & rehab missions in person or through the effective use of social media to pass legitimate info to the needy and the concerned authorities. To recreate that calamity onto celluloid in the most authentic manner is no mean feat & Jude deserves all the accolades on a job well done.
Since it is a relatively recent event, there is ample availability of print & video information and hence the basic template is quite familiar to all of us. So it was upto Jude & Akhil P Dharmajan, to create a screenplay with relatable characters from different walks of life who went through the struggles. For the ease of depiction & to create more of an emotional connect between the characters, they have focused the tragedy that unfolded in a specific area such as Aruvikulam.
In the first half, the various characters are introduced while the fury of the floods and the rescue mission takes center stage in the much bigger second half. The characters are so relatable to us & the manner in which Jude has etched most of them deserves praise. At the same time. I did feel that he could have given more prominence to the female characters as well to showcase that irrespective of caste, creed, religion & gender, every individual stood shoulder to shoulder in that hour of crisis. Though the rescue mission was primarily carried out with the help of our fishermen community (which Jude has rightfully given importance) & for which any amount of gratitude is insufficient, I felt the efforts of the Govt could have also been touched upon.
However, on the technical side; this was hands down one of the finest movies to have been crafted in Malayalam. This was a project that initially had Jomon T John on board as the cinematographer, but later on Akhil George stepped in & boy!!! he has done a fantastic job. The sound department handled by Vishnu Govind was brilliant while Nobin Paul's debut musical work in Malayalam was excellent and gelled seamlessly with the mood. Hats off the art department & Jude's vision as it captured the flood and the fear it created so authentically. Last but not the least, Chamman Chacko maintained the tempo of the sequences so well that it kept us engaged and emotional right throughout the latter half.
During the 2018 floods, one artist from the film fraternity who featured prominently in the frontline of the rescue and rehab efforts was Tovino. Unfortunately, he faced a lot of flak for it from insensitive elements in the society & hence it might be divine intervention that Jude gave his character more prominence as opposed to others. As Anoop, Tovino portrayed him as an endearing individual that is likely to remain with the audience even after they leave the theatre. Lal & Narain as the fishermen were good while Asif Ali, Chackochan, Aju, Vineeth & Kalaiyarasan did their parts aptly. As for the rest, Indrans rocked, Sudheesh impressed while Aparna (not sure why she disappeared completely in the latter half), Tanvi, Sshivada, Gautami Nair etc. did justice to their limited screen space.
Verdict: There are obviously certain aspects from a storyline point of view that could have been better but from a technical perspective, it has been picturized impressively. Jude has weaved the emotional fabric so well into the narration that it will endear to all type of audiences. In short, a must watch in theatre especially for the second half!!!
Rating: 3.75/5
Regards...Ben
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