The Goat Life
The Goat Life is a 2024 Malayalam-language survival drama film written, directed, and co-produced by Blessy. The film is an international co-production involving companies in India and the United States. It is an adaptation of the 2008 best-selling Malayalam novel Aadujeevitham by Benyamin, which is loosely based on the real-life story of a Malayali immigrant laborer in Saudi Arabia. The film stars Prithviraj Sukumaran alongside Jimmy Jean-Louis and K. R. Gokul, with Talib Al Balushi, Rik Aby, Amala Paul, Shobha Mohan.
The film was initially banned in the GCC countries other than UAE, subsequently the ban was lifted in all the countries except in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. The novel was also previously banned in the same countries.
Blessy had wanted to adapt Aadujeevitham ever since he read the novel in 2008 and has cast Prithviraj as the lead. The following year, he bought the rights from Benyamin and began writing the screenplay. However, due to budget constraints which prevented substantial progress, the film went into development hell. Blessy spent years searching for a producer, finally finding one in 2015, allowing the project to gain momentum. Jimmy Jean-Louis and Steven Adams joined Blessy as co-producers. A. R. Rahman composed the film's original score and songs.
Principal photography took place in phases between March 2018 and July 2022 through six schedules in the deserts of Wadi Rum, Jordan and the Algerian desert in the Sahara with some scenes shot in Kerala, India. The crew was stranded in Jordan for 70 days from March to May 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic's restrictions. They were eventually repatriated to India via the Indian government's evacuation programme, Vande Bharat Mission. Filming concluded on 14 July 2022. The cinematography was done by Sunil K. S while editing was handled by A. Sreekar Prasad.
The film was released worldwide on 28 March 2024 to critical acclaim from critics, who praised Prithviraj's performance, technical aspects, music, direction and the editing and grossed over. The Goat Life is one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films, and emerged as the 2nd highest grossing Malayalam film of 2024 behind Manjummel Boys. The film was included in Deadline’s Global Breakouts of 2024.
Plot
In Saudi Arabia, Najeeb Muhammed and Hakim, two Malayali immigrants, arrive seeking a better life with visas arranged by their acquaintance Sreekumar. Stranded at the airport without knowing their employer, they are approached by a local Arab who fraudulently takes them to his place. Following a long journey, they are separated, with Najeeb left to work in a remote desert herding goats.Enduring harsh conditions and isolation, Najeeb witnesses the demise of a fellow goatherd, realising the peril of his own situation. After years of suffering, he is reunited with Hakim, who introduces him to Ibrahim Khadiri, a Somalian goatherd with knowledge of escape routes. They seize an opportunity during Khafeel's daughter's wedding, fleeing into the desert.
Their journey turns perilous as they struggle to find sustenance and direction, resulting in Hakim's death and Najeeb's near demise. Eventually, Khadiri also disappears. Alone in the desert, Najeeb eventually reaches civilisation with the help of a passing Arab, and finds a local Malayali restaurant owned by Kunjikka, who nurses him back to health.
However, Najeeb's troubles are far from over. He faces imprisonment due to his own documentation issues and he meets the Khafeel, who leaves him as he is not his official sponsor and cannot take him back. Despite this setback, Najeeb eventually returns home.
Cast
- Prithviraj Sukumaran as Najeeb Muhammed
- Jimmy Jean-Louis as Ibrahim Khadiri
- K. R. Gokul as Hakim
- Amala Paul as Sainu, Najeeb's wife
- Shobha Mohan as Ummah, Najeeb's mother
- Talib Al Balushi as Kafeel
- Rik Aby as Jasser
- Nasar Karutheni as Kunjikka
- Robin Das as Hindiwala
- Baburaj Thiruvalla as Karuvatta Sreekumar
- Akef Najem as the Rich Man in the Rolls Royce
Production
Development
In 2010, it was reported that Blessy had embarked upon the adaptation of Benyamin's 2008 Malayalam novel Aadujeevitham for a feature film. In April 2010, he told to The Hindu that he was working on the screenplay and the film would be made on a wider canvas. He also confirmed that Prithviraj Sukumaran had been cast in the lead role. Blessy had been contemplating the adaptation of a literary work for cinema ever since he had a discourse with journalist and writer V. K. Ravi Varma Thampuran about the waning tradition of adapting literary works, which was popular in Malayalam cinema during the 1970s and 1980s. Blessy wanted to adapt Aadujeevitham for a big-budget film ever since he read it in 2008, "I was particularly attracted to the visual images that came through while reading the book". In the novel, Haripad native Najeeb Muhammad goes missing in Saudi Arabia where he ends up as a slave to a farm owner. In 2009, Blessy entered into a contractual agreement with Benyamin after discussing and reaching a consensus with director Lal Jose. This was because Jose had previously expressed interest in adapting the novel to Benyamin. Blessy began screenplay writing after obtaining the rights. He noted that the film would incorporate additional material beyond what is present in the book.Reportedly, filming was set to begin in August 2010 at the deserts of Dubai and Rajasthan, but that did not happen. In 2012, Benyamin said that the film was still on discussion phase and had been postponed for the time being since its production cost was found to be not viable for a Malayalam film. Blessy had been discussing the film with Prithviraj since 2008. In 2015, recalling the film's stagnant development to date, Prithviraj said that there were occasions when they could work out the film, albeit with some compromises, but Blessy insisted on waiting for the right producer since he was not ready to compromise his vision. Jet Media Production's Jimmy Jean-Louis and Alta Global Media's Steven Adams also joined Blessy's Visual Romance Image Makers as producers. According to Prithviraj, Blessy had conceived The Goat Life as an "event film" in the lines of Life of Pi as the narrative goes from one event to the other non-linearly.
Parallel to the new announcement, also in November 2015, Blessy told to The Hindu that he was occupied with the research work of another film, which would be disclosed later, which would go on before The Goat Life. In May 2016, Blessy confirmed that he was busy with the pre-production work of the Hindi remake of his Malayalam film Thanmathra and The Goat Life would happen only after that. He later updated that work of both the films were progressing simultaneously and casting and scheduling would decide which film would go on first. Meanwhile, he was already through the production of documentary film 100 Years of Chrysostom which had begun earlier in May 2015, which he would complete in two years. In October 2016, Blessy said Aadujeevitham would begin filming in early 2017 and release in 2018. In mid-2017, he said that they had the screenplay ready but the locations had not been decided and production would start in November 2017 and the film would take 18 months to release.
On the challenges on adapting the novel, Blessy said, in the novel, Najeeb recollects his experience through soliloquy, which is easily conveyed through literary work, but it is difficult to depict on screen. The film's narrative is entirely different from the book. For example, in the latter half of the book, when Arbab castigates Najeeb in Arabic, readers read it in Malayalam, whereas the film has to demonstrate how much the language distresses Najeeb. Unlike the book, the film cannot afford to be vague since viewers see everything on screen and may question the logic presented. For instance, the book says that Najeeb could not find a shadow under a stick, but there is a farm that can cast a shadow, "in a literary work, you don't have to address that because readers travel the route the writer takes them on". Moreover, the film has to show Najeeb's physical transformation. Above everything else, the film's visuals must surpass those imagined by the readers. Najeeb does not understand Arabic, the makers decided to avoid subtitles for those parts to provide viewers with the same experience as Najeeb. According to Prithviraj, "the film has this huge liberty of not having a language", as only about 20 percent of the film contains dialogues.
Casting
was initially considered and cast for the role of Najeeb and Blessy discussed with him, but he opted out due to busy schedules and prior commitments.Prithviraj agreed to do the film while he was at the sets of Pokkiri Raja in 2008. Najeeb Muhammad from Benyamin's novel is partially based on the real-life experiences of Najeeb. Prithviraj said, although he is not a pious person, Najeeb has staunch focus on faith. There is a physical, psychological, and spiritual journey for the character. For three years, he interacts more with animals than humans, so he would "become" one among. For Najeeb's role, Blessy wanted an actor who could dedicate at least years for the film, which Prithviraj agreed. Prithviraj had to gain and lose weight to show Najeeb's physical transformation on screen, he gained weight to 98 kilograms for playing the character in the starting sequences of the film with a pot belly and had to lose weight to 67 kilograms by the end of the film. Having lost 31 kilograms, Prithviraj said he followed an unhealthy diet which he would not recommend anyone to follow. He blacked-out while filming a scene. There was always a doctor on call at the set.
As of 2015, no other actor beside Prithviraj was finalised. In 2016, Blessy said he is scouting for actors in Somalia and such places. In 2017, a casting call was released by the makers through social media inviting applicants for a young male and female and a middle-aged female. In February 2018, Amala Paul confirmed through social media that she is playing Sainu. Sainu, Najeeb's wife, is portrayed in different phases of her life. According to Blessy, the role would tap the potential of Amala, considering the roles she had done so far. Beside co-producing, Haitian actor Jimmy Jean-Louis played a major role as Ibrahim Khadiri. Omani actor Talib al Balushi played the role of Najeeb's boss. Rik Aby, a Sudanese actor based in the United Arab Emirates also played a role.