Exclusive! I could not have got a better Mollywood debut than Jude Anthany Joseph’s 2018: Nobin Paul

777 Charlie is a film that was universally loved, not only for leading man Rakshit Shetty’s performance or the adorable dogs that played Charlie. It was just as much about the visuals and the soul-stirring music. The credit for the latter, of course, went to music man Nobin Paul, who gave the film five years. Speaking to OTTplay earlier, Nobin had said that although he has worked on 7-8 other Kannada films, 777 Charlie has been his biggest work till date; the response to which has been immensely heartening.

The love from movie audiences apart, Nobin’s also caught the attention of filmmakers who’d liked his work. Malayalam filmmaker Jude Anthany Joseph being one of them. Speaking to us from Australia, where he is currently on holiday, Nobin said, “Jude had called me after the trailer of 777 Charlie came out and congratulated me. Later, after the film released and he had seen it, Jude called again, and this time he began talking about the possibility of collaborating on a project. When he then told me about the subject and the star cast on board, it literally felt like I’d hit jackpot. 2018, is Jude’s cinematic representation of the floods that devastated Kerala in 2018. The film had been launched earlier with a slightly different team and title, but then things changed around and I was offered the opportunity to score music for it. I have been privy to some visuals from the film, principal photography of which is nearly done and going by what I have seen, I am confident that this is a film that gives me immense scope to experiment as a composer. Like 777 Charlie, which depended heavily on the music to convey emotions, 2018 will also be music (background score) driven. I am beyond thrilled at this opportunity. Truth be told, I could not have asked for a better Mollywood debut.”

Also read: Composer Nobin Paul: People are loving the music of 777 Charlie; if they hadn’t, I would have been devastated 

Nobin is expected to return home next week, after which he will plunge head-long into composing for 2018. “The makers are targeting the end of the first quarter or early second of 2023 for the release, so, I have enough time on hand to give it my best,” he says. Jude’s film is based on his experiences during the flood and the fact that the story of the courage that Malayalis showed in the face of such a natural calamity could not be contained in a five-minute long awareness video, as initially planned. The film has a massive ensemble cast of over 125 artistes, with names such as Tovino Thomas, Kunchacko Boban, Naren, Aparna Balamurali, Asif Ali, Lal, Vineeth Sreenivasan, among others, on board.