Today's Edition
Kuumar Shyam (Aletihad)
When India selected and submitted the Malayalam-language movie 2018 last week as the official entry to the Oscars, it was a proud moment for the cast and crew directly, but there was also a sense of elation for many residents in the UAE.
The film, which talks about the floods that ravaged the South Indian state of Kerala, also has an indirect connect with the emirates because the entire Gulf region is also labelled as an extended territory of “mini Kerala”. It will compete at the Academy Awards 2024 for the Best International Feature Film. The 2018 team even visited Dalma Mall in Abu Dhabi to promote the film as recognition for the expatriate community based here.
Directed by Jude Anthany Joseph, the film (also known as 2018: Everyone is a Hero) was released in May 2023 and stars Tovino Thomas, Vineeth Sreenivasan, Asif Ali and Kunchacko Boban. Among them, a local, yet international connection exists because a Dubai-based writer has played a small but significant role.
KR Nayar has been a journalist more than two decades in the UAE. He gave up aspirations for being an actor long back. But when his school mates, and producer Venu Kunnapily came calling for a role, he had time at hand and the energy intact to rekindle his passion.
The film 2018 looks at how people from all walks of life handled or got affected in the natural disaster. As state officials tried to keep the administration running, Nayar plays the role of the Director General of Police and is seen around the chief minister, played by veteran actor Janaradhanan.
After the latest development, an elated Nayar recalls moments from the experience. “It was a dream experience and a joy that I will cherish forever. I literally walked into my role through the heavy downpour that was re-created with water splashing from huge tanks on to the Cochin Club, a bungalow located in Fort Kochi.
“Venu got to know about me acting in dramas during my school days, and urged me to draw confidence from the skills I had demonstrated those days. My first shot was with none other than Janaradhanan, who has acted in over 700 movies. My biggest joy was when I completed my dialogue in one take and everyone clapped,” Nayar said.
A trained actor, Nayar can count big names such as director Priyadarshan, superstar Mohanlal and theatre thespian TR Sukumaran Nair among a few as school mates or old colleagues.
However, as a journalist, he is guarded in his reaction to the Oscar selection and the team’s aspirations. “It’s early days, but let’s see. Hopefully, there is a silver lining to the sad but true stories that happened in the 2018.”
The 16-member selection committee considered 22 films in different languages, including Bollywood movies like The Kerala Story, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, and Mrs Chatterjee Vs Norway, Balagam (Telugu), Marathi films Vaalvi and Baaplyok, and August 16, 1947 (Tamil).
Girish Kasaravalli, filmmaker and chairman of the selection committee, said at a news conference that “2018” was chosen for its relevant theme on climate change and the travails of people vis-a-vis what has been understood as development in society.
The choice of 2018 has extra context for India after a good outing at this year’s Academy Awards. The infectious song Naatu Naatu of SS Rajamouli’s film RRR won the Best Original Song award. Indian documentary The Elephant Whisperers also bagged the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject.
A cricket writer by speciality, Nayar added: “When I finished the shooting, the film director Joseph wished me the best for an innings in acting too. The tag line of 2018 says ‘everyone is a hero’, and he made me feel like a hero’.”
When the 2024 Oscars approaches its climax, this resident of Al Qusais in Dubai will be surely eyeing the grand stage.
