Jude Anthony Joseph’s recent film 2018 was released to positive reviews and good box office returns. The film is based on the floods that occurred in Kerala in the year 2018 and the actual events centred around it. 2018, starring Tovino Thomas, Kunchako Boban and Asif Ali among others has collected around Rs 72 crore since its May 5 release and is soon expected to break the record of Mohanlal’s Pulimurugan, the highest-grossing Malayalam film.
However, the film found a sharp critic in screenwriter Susmesh Chandroth. Susmesh Chandroth slammed the film in a long Facebook post and said that it was apolitical to drown the facts in a film based on real events Susmesh feels that the state government’s efforts and leadership during the floods that rocked the state should have been featured in the film.
“You are under no obligation to create a film that exalts the Left Democratic Front party or Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. However, the interaction between the government, its systems, and its citizens may have been depicted in the film. The movie only needs three or four scenes with twenty or thirty shots lasting ten or twelve seconds to convey that. At most, it might take ten minutes. The cast and crew of the movie are aware of that. But they purposefully left that out.” he wrote in the post. According to Susmesh, that is where the viewer’s dissatisfaction occurs. He called 2018 a miserably failed film. Take a look at the post.
However, producer Venu Kunnappilly slammed Susmesh for his critical take on 2018 in a sarcastic manner. Venu Kunnappilly wrote in the comments section, “Sir, you have all the freedom to make such a film. Of course you should make it. All the best wishes". The director of 2018 Jude Anthony reacted to his comment with a heart emoji for his defense of the film. The film, meanwhile, has also bagged the record for Malayalam cinema’s highest-grosser in all territories.