'2018: Everyone Is a Hero' joins Rs 200 cr club

Shyam Prasad | NT

The film is already available on an OTT platform but there is no stopping its run in the box office. Director Jude Anthany Joseph’s 2018: Everyone Is a Hero has become the first Malayalam film to cross the Rs.200 crore gross at the box office.

The film, which chronicles the efforts of volunteers, common people and authorities saving the lives of people during the 2018 floods that affected large parts of Kerala was released on May 5 and has enthralled audiences everywhere.

The floods claimed 489 lives but the efforts of the common people in helping each other became a lesson in humanity. The film has reportedly collected Rs.5 core at the box office in Karnataka making it the second highest grossing Malayalam film in the State.

Made at a reported budget of Rs.30 crore, the film surpassed the 2016 Mohanlal film Pulimurugan which was the highest grossing Malayalam film till date with Rs.137.5 crore collections worldwide.

The success of the film early on prompted the makers to release the dubbed version of the film in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi on May 26. The film stars Tovino Thomas, Kunchacko, Indrans, Aparna Balamurali, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Asif Ali, Narain, Kalaiyarasan, Siddique, Joy Mathew, Tanvi Ram and Sudheesh among others.

Tovino Thomas is already a well-known star in the Malayalam film industry with films like Minnal Murali, Naaradan, Dear Friend Neelavlicham, Thallumaala and Vaashi to his credit.

He plays an ex-army officer in the film which has an ensemble cast of over 50 actors. The makers of 2018 have not revealed the budget but the producer had stated that it cost five to six times the budget of an average Malayalam film.

Shot mostly on a 25-acre set specially designed and constructed, the efforts behind the making of the film have also become a topic of discussion among Malayalam fans. The film’s script was written by Akhil P and Dharmajan along with director Jude.