Review : 2018 : The ‘Other’ Kerala story!

Nature is always supreme and when it spreads wrath, humans go berserk. The natural calamities always prove that humans can not take over nature. But many a times after the natural calamities occur, humans have risen and fought it collectively. Almost two decades back a Tsunami hit the southern coast of India and it’s aftermath was colossal destruction affecting everyone greatly.

Also in a case of massive earthquake in Killari, Maharashtra, three decades ago, saw a huge loss to the mankind. But every time humans have shown courage to combat them. In all the calamities thousands of humans have lost their lives. In 2018 State of Kerala experienced a deluge and there are many emotional survival stories around it. It has been Kerala’s biggest tragedy. A few of them forms the narrative of a Malayalam movie 2018, a Hindi version of which is released. It has thoughtfully coined a caption, ‘Everybody is a Hero’.

2018’s story takes place in and around a village Aruvikkulam. Anoop (Tovino Thomas) has returned from a brief stint in the army using a fake medical certificate. Manju (Tanvi Ram) comes to the village as a new teacher. In fact everybody around including Sethupathy (Kalaiyarasan), Nixon, (Asif Ali), Rameshan (Vineeth Sreenivasan), Noora (Aparna Balamurali), Bhasi (Indians) have a story of their own which amalgamates with the crisis they face during the floods. When the fold water keeps rising the villagers morale keeps diminishing. But a few ‘Heros’ rise to the occasion and helps people without fearing for their lives, headlined by Anoop. The film captures the natural calamity happenings and emotional outbreaks with in-depth sincerity.

2018 is a thoughtfully crafted film and who have witnessed it in Kerala and others on television will relate to it. The director gives a fabulous cinematic experience with technical brilliance. The first half is like ‘a calm before a storm’. The fisherman community’s valiant efforts, the Indian Navy’s rescue operations and small happenings around the deluge are finely presented. The music is good and the background score adds in elevating scene’s impact.
Cinematogtaphy by Akhil George is excellent which captures minute details too. Chaman Chacko’s editing and quality VFX adds to the authenticity of the proceedings. Tovino Thomas, Asif Ali, Lal, Indrans, Sudheesh, Narein, Kunchacko Boban, Kalaiyarasan, Gauthami, Tanvi Ram execute their performances naturally while other co-actors too support ably.

2018 already is a hit in Malayalam, and should be watched for it’s sincere efforts and meticulous presentation.

***1/2