The Malayalam survival drama “Everyone Is a Hero”, released in 2018, has been selected as India’s official entry in the Best Foreign Language Film category for the 96th Academy Awards. This selection is only the fourth time that a Malayalam film has received this honor. Earlier, “Guru” (1997) directed by Rajeev Aanchal and starring Mohanlal; “Adaminte Makan Abu” (2011) directed by Salim Ahmed; and Lijo Jose Pellissery’s “Jallikattu” (2019) were selected as India’s official entries for the Oscars, although neither of these films achieved a nomination.
“Everybody is a Hero”, directed by Jude Anthony Joseph, revolves around the unprecedented rains and floods that hit Kerala in 2018. It includes a group of talented actors including Tovino Thomas, Vineeth Srinivasan, Aparna Balamurali, Kalaiyarasan, Kunchacko Boban, Lal, and Naren. For Tanvi Ram and others, the film is a poignant reminder of a time when people in Kerala came together, regardless of their religion, caste, or political affiliation, to help those in need.
The film emerged as one of the highest-grossing films in the history of the Malayalam film industry. This achievement was particularly significant as it occurred during a period when the state’s theaters were facing a crisis due to the poor performance of many films at the box office. Tovino Thomas, one of the lead actors, expressed pride in the film’s nomination and highlighted the tremendous effort put in by the entire team to bring this story to life. He stressed that the nomination will help convey the message of Kerala’s unity, as portrayed in the film, to the global audience.
Speaking at a press conference at the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce, filmmaker Girish Kasaravalli, chairman of the selection committee, announced that the Film Federation of India (FFI) has selected the Malayalam film because of the timely theme of climate change and the challenges of. Which is often encountered by people in the context of “development”. FFI President Ravi Kottarakara revealed that the 16-member committee led by Mr. Kasaravalli had screened several films before arriving at its decision. Last year, Pan Nalin’s semi-autobiographical Gujarati drama “Chello Show” (Last Film Show) was India’s nominee for the Oscars. Although the film made it into the shortlist, it did not receive a nomination. Nevertheless, India won recognition at the Oscars with the Best Documentary Short Film award for “The Elephant Whispers” and the Best Music (Original Song) award for ‘Naatu Naatu’ from the film “R”.
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