Hyderabad: Malayalam filmmaker Jude Anthany Joseph, whose film 2018: Everyone is a Hero was chosen as India's official entry for the 2024 Academy Awards, met with superstar Rajinikanth to seek his blessings for the upcoming awards campaign. Jude shared images of his meeting with Rajinikanth on social media on Sunday.
In one photo, they both smiled for the camera, with Rajinikanth wearing a black kurta and veshti (dhoti), while Jude was in a printed white shirt and denims. Jude expressed his excitement in the caption, promising more photos soon. Another set of pictures showed Jude and others engaged in conversation with Rajinikanth in a room. They sat on a couch while Rajinikanth occupied a chair, and they posed together for a group photo.
Rajinikanth praised the film, saying, "What a film, Jude, how did you shoot? Amazing work," and offered his blessings for the Oscar journey, encouraging them to go and bring the award. Jude expressed his gratitude to God and his friend Soundharya for making this opportunity possible.
In his final post, Jude shared images of himself touching Rajinikanth's feet to receive his blessings, showing deep respect. Rajinikanth reciprocated with blessings and folded hands. Jude captioned this post simply as "Blessed."
2018 - Everyone is a Hero was released in May and became the highest-grossing Malayalam film, crossing Rs 200 crore at the box office. The movie, featuring Tovino Thomas, Tanvi Ram, Kunchako Boban, and Aparna Balamurali, revolves around the 2018 Kerala floods. It was unanimously selected in September to represent India in the best international film category at the Oscars.
