A Malayalam-language movie that depicts the situation of underprivileged Indians seeking work in the Middle East has been attracting crowds to its theaters.
Aadujeevitham ( Goat Life ), an adaptation of the bestselling 2008 Malayalam book, stars Prithviraj Sukumaran as Najeeb, an Indian immigrant from Saudi Arabia who is kidnapped and forced to work as a goat herder in the desert. The author draws inspiration from the true history of a man by the same name who was kidnapped in the country in the 1990s and managed to escape after two years.
With its 250th book coming out this year, the text has become a cultural pillar in the state of southern Kerala, where it was originally written as a gripping movie. The tough realities of immigrant living in the Gulf had been the subject of discussion after its popular applause.
The three- hour film has also done exceedingly well, grossing over 870 million rupees ( £8.23m,$ 10.4m ) worldwide in the first week of its release. It has been referred to as a” stunning life drama” and a long-awaited” visual portrayal of terrible struggle” by critics.
Aadujeevitham shows Najeeb isolated from the earth, only with his king and his animals, facing severe heat in a terrible desert, miles away from the nearest highway, with no access to a mobile, papers or pen to write with, and no one to visit a friend. He uses the same bowl as his animals to drink water.
He pleads in a heart-wrenching field, and as he recounts selling anything and leaving his family behind, all in search of a job that was promised, tears run down his face.
His boss, who only speaks Arabic, does n’t understand what his words in Malayalam mean.
Among the 2.1 million people from Kerala living overseas, nearly 90 % migrated to the Gulf states, drawn by the country’s historic partnership spanning over five years with countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates in the Arab Peninsula.
Many of these employees from poor families have endured misuse and abuse under the kafala system in these nations, where their stay and freedom are dictated by their sponsor. Kerala’s market has been supported by the wages the workers have returned there; a government think tank score revealed that the state has India’s lowest poverty rate.
There has been much written about the harsh operating problems in the Gulf nations.
” Your card is taken away, you never return, you are regularly under the menace of death”, says Mohamed Shafeeq Karinkurayil of Manipal Centre for Humanities, who has researched labour movement.
In a discussion on YouTube, Najeeb, on whose existence the text and the picture are based, says he could not return to the places described in the story.
” I had left]Kerala] in 1991 with a lot of dreams. The experiences I had there, the horrible master and the life among goats- I lost my self- consciousness, I lost my mind”, he says.
Film director Blessy purchased the rights to adapt the book in 2008 and did so in 2008. Sukumaran told the BBC that he thought he was completely knowledgeable when the director gave him a copy the following year.
” I knew all the events in the story. That is how frequently it is discussed, particularly in the film industry. Even then, it blew me away”.
This diffusion of identities between man and animal is a standout feature of this story, with this one man gradually losing his identity as a species, as a human, and becoming one among the animals. It was the first book I’d ever read.
Najeeb gradually stops speaking in Malayalam in the movie, only making guttural sounds like the animals he likes to watch. He occasionally tucks into a jar of mango pickle he brought home for a taste of comfort.
After a 16- year wait, Aadujeevitham hit screens, overcoming obstacles like high costs, production setbacks, and the pandemic, with the director investing his savings to make the film
People discussed having seen the movie or purchasing tickets the weekend before its release. People were seen leaving the theater in tears on YouTube channels, with many calling it an incredibly emotional experience.
” I know the story well but almost felt like I should n’t have watched the film- that’s how painful it was”, one woman said.
