2018: Fans laud Kunchacko Boban, Asif Ali, list their previous survival thrillers as changemakers of Malayalam cinema

The successful run of director Jude Anthany Joseph’s 2018 has also got Malayalam audiences hailing its cast and crew, who had gone all out to bring out the disaster film that was shot with a budget that is far less compared to other films of the genre. This effort has once brought the spotlight to the innovative ways Malayalam filmmakers tackle challenges.

Another aspect that a lot of the audience noticed was how both Kunchacko Boban and Asif Ali were part of four multi-starrers that served as milestones in Malayalam cinema. Starting from Rajesh Pillai’s Traffic, which kicked off the so-called new wave of cinema in the industry to 2018, which has once again revived Mollywood at a time when the industry has been suffering huge losses, fans lauded the actors for being pivotal cogs in four “changemaking movies”.

Also read: Tovino Thomas on 2018: It’s a reminder of the time that people supported each other, and not about the disaster 

The actors starred together in Traffic, Mahesh Narayanan’s Take Off and Aashiq Abu’s Virus – all of which could be slotted as survival thrillers along with Jude’s 2018, which revolves around the Kerala floods.

Incidentally, Kunchacko, who essays the role of a land revenue department official in 2018, also played a pivotal role in getting the movie greenlit. The movie’s co-producer Venu Kunnappilly, in a recent interview, said, “One day Chackochan (Kunchacko) called me and told me about the project, and asked if I can help out. That’s how I decided to become a part of the movie, and approached Anto (Joseph). I told him to go ahead and that’s how the movie went on floors.”

Also read: 2018 is a journey about unseen, unheard stories and unsung heroes: Jude Anthany Joseph 

Kunchacko had shot for five days in the movie, in between his other commitments. Asif had a longer schedule, with Tovino Thomas, who essays the role of a runaway soldier, getting the meatiest part in the movie, which also has Kalaiyarasan, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Lal, Narain, Aparna Balamurali, Sudheesh and Tanvi Ram as part of the cast.