'2018 - Everyone is a Hero', the Malayalam movie, has been dubbed into Telugu. The film will hit the screens on May 26 (Friday). Producer Bunny Vass of Geetha Arts is planning to open the film to the audience on the evening of May 25. In this section, we are going to tell you what the film is like!
Story:
The story is set in 2018 Kerala. Director Jude Anthany Joseph narrates the story of Kerala's ordinary people through the eyes of a handful of families/characters. Tovino Thomas plays an Ex-Army Officer and develops a liking for a new migrant to the village. Lal plays a fisherman who develops friction with his younger son, an aspiring model. Meanwhile, a taxi driver ferries two foreign tourists in the hope of satisfying them as a guide. An IT employee (played by Vineeth Sreenivasan) is working in Abu Dhabi. We get a sense that his relations with his wife are strained. There is a blind man in the story. Then there is a resourceful journalist played by Aparna Balamurali, who is covering a protest.
When everything looks cheerful, incessant rains visit Kerala, whose residents are shocked to learn that a once-in-a-century calamity is waiting to extinguish their happiness. It's up to ordinary men to rise to the occasion and save fellow humans from death.
Performances:
Tovino Thomas, 'Saaho' fame Lal, Aju Varghese (who played the taxi driver), and others put in measured acts. None of them goes overboard even when the situation asks them to be melodramatic. It takes time for Tovino's performance to sink in. He is subtle yet mainstream in his approach. Lal comes across as a proper native resident. His performance is heart-rending in a scene.
Each of the major performers delivers a soulful impact in the second hour. Once the film reaches a crescendo, there is no looking back. The finale wouldn't have left a poignant impression but for the fine performances.
Technical Departments:
Akhil George's cinematography makes the floods look ferocious and dangerous. Even though the general treatment is not forceful enough, the director of photography attempts to infuse the frames with sharpness. Chaman Chakko's editing is imperfect in the first half. In the second hour, it gets into its own. There are no gimmicky narrative devices; as such, the Editor's job was to subscribe to the integrity of the subject matter. Nobin Paul's background score is somewhat loud for the genre. One hoped the audiography was also more than special.
The original has already grossed more than Rs 100 Cr since its release on May 5. The survival thriller is the third-grossing Malayalam film of all time. The facts speak for themselves. Had the makers known the film's superlative commercial potential, they might have invested more time in the technical output.
Hits:
Heart-touching moments.
The element of humanism in the rescue scenes.
The final 25-30 minutes.
The haunting climax.
The non-melodramatic performances.
The idea of staging a survival thriller based on a real-life calamity.
Misses:
An unsatisfying first hour where the characterizations are not extraordinary.
The lack of nativity in conversations.
Vox Verdict:
Here is a film about the worst flood in Kerala in 100 years. For all intents and purposes, the film will be ever-so-relevant. Watch it!
Rating: 3
