Director: Jude Anthany Joseph
Cast: Tovino Thomas, Asif Ali, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Aparna Balamurali, Kalaiyarasan, Kunchacko Boban, Lal, Narein, Tanvi Ram, Sshivada, Gauthami Nair
Where: At theatres near you
Rating: 4 stars
At the very beginning of the film, a line says, 'every calamity is just news, until it hits us'. Directed by Jude Anthany Joseph, '2018: Everyone is a Hero' is a stark reminder that adversity democratises us. Based on the unfortunate August 2018 deluge that ravaged the state of Kerala, leaving 14 districts of the state affected, over 500 people dead and 15 people missing, the film is a gigantic celebration of how ordinary citizens displayed extraordinary courage and solidarity, in the face of darkness.
Written by Joseph and Akhil P Dharmajan, the brief and crisp first half of the film establishes the lives of the common folk in Kerala, who are living through their mundane existences. An ex-army officer is the butt of jokes in his village for running away from the battlefield. An aspiring model is embarrassed to be hailing from a family of fishermen, which becomes a point of contention in his marriage prospects. A Gulf-based husband's marriage is in trouble. A righteous journalist wants to report the important news even as she is constantly reminded about the sensational nature of her job. A Tamil native harbours hate against Keralites, a narrative inspired from the Mullaperiyar dam issue. There’s a government official, who must choose between duty and responsibility. Lastly, a little before the interval sets in, we are introduced to the prime nemesis of the film, the rains.
Once the lengthier second half kicks in, is when you watch how the unfortunate and unavoidable catastrophe unfolded and what followed. In a great case of mixing fact with fiction, we are informed about how the worst deluge before August 2018 was in the year 1924 or what is called the 'Great Flood of 99', as per the Malayalam calendar. The impact of that deluge was such that it had left the hilly terrains of Munnar submerged in water and even destroyed the Kundala Valley Railway, which was the first monorail project in the country. On the technical front, one must commend the efforts that have gone behind mounting this film as per Hollywood standards, at a humble budget of just ₹30 crores. Akhil George's cinematography, coupled with Mohandas' production design and Vishnu Govind's sound, creates the sense of urgency and palpable tension, that will leave your heart pounding in instances, more than once. You'd find yourself biting your nails as a pregnant woman is being airlifted or when a blind man remains unaware about his abode being submerged in water. What works in Joseph's storytelling is that the knowledge and information about the incident is still fresh in one's memory. Hence, despite the seemingly predictable premise, he is able to give us an engaging, gripping survival drama. While I really appreciate the maker's intent to highlight the feeling of community and the sense of belonging, my only gripe with the film would be its inability to mention the role played by the state government in aiding relief efforts during the crisis.
Leaving that aside, '2018: Everyone Is A Hero' is an exceptional story of humanity and courage, which allows all its characters to cherish their moment of glory and finds unlikely, unsung heroes too. An emotional tear-jerker, you’d be left feeling grateful, hopeful and humbly insignificant.
