2018 director Jude Anthany Joseph’s next film is a ‘survival thriller’ in Tamil

Jude Anthany Joseph - the director of 2018: Everyone Is A Hero, which is India’s official entry to the ‘Best Foreign Language Film’ category at the 96th Academy Awards - has revealed plans to helm projects in Tamil and Telugu. In a recent interview, Jude spoke about 2018, which also happens to be the highest-grossing Malayalam movie of all time, and his upcoming ventures.

2018: Everyone Is A Hero earned rave reviews

The filmmaker told Manorama Online that he was surprised by 2018’s Oscar entry. He also mentioned that he aimed at highlighting themes, such as climate change, in the film, which he felt were not emphasised enough in the reviews that he read. Speaking about the response to 2018, Jude said that the film got more appreciation from other industries as a creative product. According to the director, Rajinikanth’s daughter had contacted him because her father admired his film and wanted to meet him. 2018 is an epic survival drama film about the devastating 2018 Kerala floods. The movie featured an ensemble cast with Tovino Thomas, Kunchacko Boban, Asif Ali, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Narain and Lal playing the key characters.

“It felt good when actors like Aamir Khan and Kamal Haasan shared good reviews about the film, which wasn’t a big release. The minimal budget of 2018 was surprising for producers in other industries. I believe it is a unique quality of Malayalam directors to produce high-quality films within a limited budget,” he added.

Also Read: 2018 director Jude Anthany Joseph: I think I achieved my aim of being one of the top directors in India 5 years too late 

Jude Anthany Joseph’s upcoming projects

Jude mentioned ongoing talks to remake 2018 in Russian and Chinese languages. Additionally, he revealed that he will be working on a low-budget Telugu film soon, while discussions for a Tamil multi-starrer are under way. He also shared that his next is a Tamil film - a survival thriller set at sea, with the script still in progress.

Also Read: 2018 director Jude Anthany Joseph about Kamal Haasan: 'Because of him...' 

The director’s multi-starrer project with Vikram

Earlier, there were rumours about Lyca Productions financing a movie directed by Jude. Some prominent names - including Nivin Pauly, Vijay Sethupathi, Kichcha Sudeep and Rashmika Mandanna - were rumoured to be part of the film. It is said that Vikram will play the lead role in this pan-India project.