2018: Did you catch these references to Nivin Pauly’s deleted character in Jude Anthany Joseph’s movie?

Post the release of the superhit 2018, its director Jude Anthany Joseph revealed that there was also a ‘mass’ role written for Malayalam superstar Nivin Pauly in the movie, based on Kerala floods. However, the filmmaker had to delete it as it didn’t fit the realistic nature of the film.

But that doesn’t mean Jude had eliminated all references of Nivin’s character from the movie. Jude had earlier mentioned that Nivin’s character was supposed to be the driver of ‘Rocket’ bus that would zoom past at break-neck speed during the peak hours.

Also read: Vijay Sethupathi, Nivin Pauly to team up in 2018 director Jude Anthany Joseph’s mass entertainer? 

The ‘mass’ sequence that was written for the actor included an entry during a pivotal sequence in the movie, where a set of characters were stuck in a place that couldn’t be accessed through boats or helicopters. That’s when Nivin’s character arrives in the rocket bus to rescue the people. The scene was apparently too ‘massy’ for the movie and Jude said that he felt it didn’t fit into the movie. This was the reason it didn’t make it to the 12th and final draft of 2018, which also has Tovino Thomas, Asif Ali, Lal, Narain and Kunchacko Boban as part of the cast.

However, Jude still retained a few references of the character. During the sequence where Tovino’s character Anoop narrates what’s happening in the village to the visually-challenged Bhasi, essayed by Indrans, he says that the ‘Rocket Bus’ zoomed away as usual. Another reference is when Tanvi’s character is outside the college camp and receives a call from Anoop, asking her to go back to her house. We could see a blue bus with the letter ‘R’ visible in the background. This could be the ‘Rocket Bus’ that Nivin’s character was supposed to be driving.

Also read: 2018 director Jude Anthany Joseph: The whole script was written by the people of Kerala during the floods  

Meanwhile, Nivin and Jude are set to team up again for a ‘mass’ entertainer soon. The filmmaker had revealed that he is also in discussions with Vijay Sethupathi to essay a pivotal role in the movie, which is expected to be the director’s next venture after the blockbuster 2018 that has already gone on to make Rs 60 crore at the box office worldwide.