Somewhere in the middle of the vast desert, in the middle of the sea of sand, in the middle of nowhere, a man with a long unkempt beard, sunken jaws and eyes, with shabby torn clothes, is limping with a stick and driving a huge herd of goats. The man, Najeeb, bends and bleats like them.
In Director Blessy’s ‘Aadujeevitham’ (The Goat Life), Najeeb, a newly married man leaves his lush green homeland in Kerala for a better life in Saudi Arabia. The idea is to earn more money but this immigrant worker ends up as a goatherd on a secluded farm in the desert. The film follows Najeeb’s life stuck in the goat farm as a slave with no one to turn to but himself.
Based on the bestselling Malayalam novel ‘ Aadujeevitham’ by writer Benyamin, it is film director Blessy’s labour of love. He wrote the screenplay in 2008 and cast Prithviraj Sukumaran as the lead but the film gained momentum only after Jimmy Jean Louis and Steve Adams stepped in as co-producers.
Aadujeevitham portrays the pain, hopelessness, and hellish experience of Najeeb in this survival drama with a certain kind of elegance. Blessy blends the hopelessness in the desert with flashbacks of Najeeb’s life and marriage in his village. The camerawork by K. S. Sunil is amazing. Blessy transports you to the middle of nowhere. He makes you feel the stillness, the silences. He makes you lose track of time like Najeeb. When Najeeb runs into his friend Hakim after three years, you see that ray of hope. And when Ibrahim (a lovely cameo by Jimmy Jean Louis), Hakim and Najeeb try to escape the perilous desert, you start praying.
A.R. Rahman comes up with an amazing score. The background score is an unseen character. The score and songs take the film to another level. The music transcends love, loss, fear, despair, hope and faith with that magical baton of A.R.Rahman.
Aadujeevitham anchors on this brilliant portrayal of Najeeb by Prithviraj Sukumaran. He gets into the skin of Najeeb’s character. Prithviraj completely surrenders himself to the role. He transforms from a young Najeeb with a twinkle in his eyes to this thin, frail, shabby, bearded goatherd who has simply lost all track of time. He shows fear and hopelessness in his eyes and his body language.
His behavioural pattern bears an uncanny resemblance to the goats he herds. Look at the scene where Najeeb runs into his friend Hakim. He wants to say a million things but all that comes out of his mouth is a bleating sound. In an astounding scene, he strips off all his clothes and steps under a water tanker to take a bath after many many days. Prithviraj is an immensely talented individual. He is an actor, singer, director, and producer. He won the National Award for the Best Actor. He has won many Kerala film state and other awards. Prithviraj spent a decade preparing himself for this complex role. He spent a lot of time understanding the psyche of the character and the pain and misery of bonded labour. This is Prithvi’s best performance to date and one of the finest performances on the Indian screen.
Aadujeevitham is not an easy film to watch. I found myself looking away from the screen at times. But you have to watch because it’s a story of hope, survival, resilience amidst sheer hopelessness and unimaginable hardship. It is a must-watch for Blessy’s vision, sincerity, ambition, and passion. You have to watch it to experience the massive and magnificent scale. You have to watch it for that emotional connection that tugs your heart and soul. You have to watch it for some beautiful emotional moments And of course, you have to watch it for Prithviraj Sukumaran.
Prithviraj Sukumaran, Blessy and Aadujevitham deserve all the awards, acclaim and applause in this world.
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