Aadujeevitham - The Goat Life Review: Prithviraj Brilliant Performance

By Bollyy 30 Mar 2024 in Reviews

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Rating: Three stars

Producers: Blessy, Jimmy Jean Louis, and Steven Adams

Author: Blessy and Benjamin

Director: Blessy

Cast: Prithviraj Sukumaran, Amala Paul, Jimmy Jean Louis, Shobha Mohan, Talib Al Bashuli, and Rick Eby among others

Duration: approximately three hours

Generally, when a film is made on a novel, its film adaptation turns out to be very bad. But based on a true incident, Blessy has adapted the film "Aadujeevitham - The Goat Life" based on the best-selling Malayalam language novel "Aadujeevitham" written by Benjamin. The star actor of Malayalam cinema, Prithviraj Sukumaran has given liveliness with his brilliant acting. Apart from Malayalam, this film has been released in theaters in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada. At the center of the film's story is a Malayali migrant laborer, who goes to Saudi Arabia to earn money, but gets stuck in the wrong place.

Story:

The story of the film begins with Najeeb Mohammed (Prithviraj Sukumaran) who takes care of his family by collecting sand from the river in his village. Like a common man, he too has some desires and dreams. He thinks that he should at least earn enough money to keep his wife Sanu (Amala Paul), the upcoming child, and his mother happy. But he can't keep his family happy by working as a laborer in the village. One day his friends suggested him to go to Saudi Arabia. Najeeb wonders what work a fifth pass person like him will get there. But Najeeb’s friends explain that he can go there and work as a laborer. Najeeb arranges money for the ticket and visa by mortgaging his house and reaches Saudi Arabia with another partner, Hakeem (KR Gokul). But at the airport itself, both of them fall into the hands of the wrong person. Arabi takes both of them to different places. Najeeb is left overnight in the desert among sheep, goats, and camels. He becomes a slave and is forced to live like a sheep or goat. Najeeb realizes that he has become a slave in a masrah (a farm where sheep and goats are raised) in the middle of the Saudi Arabian desert. Najeeb has accepted that now his entire life is going to be spent grazing sheep, goats, and camels in the desert. Three years pass by living a similar inhuman life. Then one day suddenly Ibrahim (Jimmy Jean Louis) shows the way out. He starts on the same path. Facing countless troubles along the way, Najeeb finally returns to his family.

Review:

One gets goosebumps seeing the way the filmmaker has portrayed the pain and suffering of the immigrant laborers working in the Gulf countries. In Saudi Arabia, non-resident Indian laborers are treated worse than animals. That makes sense after watching this movie. The same thing happens with Najeeb Mohammed in this film.

If seen this way, it is a simple story of an Indian who goes to Saudi Arabia to work as a laborer, where he is forced to live an inhuman life, then how he comes out from there, can be described as an interesting and hair-raising story. Screenwriter and director Blessy's craftsmanship in presenting this film should be appreciated. Feeling the pain that Najeeb endured while living among goats in the desert, yearning for every drop of water, and not being able to explain his words to the Arabs in their language, filmmaker Blessy was successful in portraying it vividly on the screen. Have been. Filmmaker Blessy considered an expert in exploring human emotions on screen, proved that he feels human emotions and sensitivities. Filmmaker Blessy has not lagged in highlighting the ability to understand the emotions of animals. There comes a time when several of the goats, who consider Najeeb an outsider, come to Najeeb after he is injured and appeal to Allah, gently consoling him and bleating loudly, causing other goats to gather and take him back to safety, thus saving Najeeb from further harm.

The script becomes weak in creating tension in many places in the film. Especially ones where things get heated, ending abruptly, and lacking the depth that a finale could have provided. This is the weakness of the filmmaker and screenwriter.

Not only this, the writer and director have also ignored many scenes of the novel. Only he knows what his thinking behind this was. In fact, at the beginning of the film, Blessy makes it clear that he has taken the liberty to change the story of Benjamin.

Cameraman Sunil KS has done an amazing job. Be it the romantic scenes between Prithviraj Sukumaran and Amala Paul in the river or the scenes of the far-flung desert, Sunil KSK's camera is amazing in bringing them to life.

This three-hour film should have been edited on the editing table. If this had been shortened by at least half an hour, it would have made a better film. Many places have become very lax. The scenes of walking in the desert have been filmed unnecessarily for a long time.

Acting:

Prithviraj Sukumaran has given life to the character of Najeeb, the representative of non-resident Indians living like animals in the Gulf countries, with his acting. Prithviraj Sukumaran, who has been seen with Rani Mukherjee in films like ‘Aiyyaa’, 'Aurangzeb' and 'Naam Shabana', has once again been successful in showcasing his acting talent among the Hindi-speaking audience. The way Prithviraj Sukumaran has to transform his body to play this character is not something every actor can do. His dedication to the character is what breathes life into the film. Her acting in this film will be called her best acting to date. Amala Paul also leaves a mark in her acting in the small role of Sanu, Najeeb's wife. Jimmy Jean Louis's performance as Ibrahim Khadri, who helps him escape, is commendable. Talib Al Bashuli as Khafeel and Rick Eby as Jaiser have been excellent.

-Shantiswarup Tripathi