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ബെന്യാമിന്റെ ആടുജീവിതം | Aadujeevitham by Benyamin Book Review

• by Aksharathalukal
• April 7, 2019 November 7, 2019

ബെന്യാമിൻ എഴുതിയ മലയാളികൾക്ക് എക്കാലവും കൂടെ കൊണ്ട് നടക്കാൻ പറ്റിയ നല്ലൊരു  മലയാളം നോവലാണ്‌ അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ ആടുജീവിതം. ഗൾഫ് പ്രവാസത്തിന്റെ നമ്മൾ കാണാത്ത മറ്റൊരു മുഖം പരിചയപ്പെടുത്തുന്ന ഒരു നോവൽ ആയതുകൊണ്ട്  എല്ലാവരും പ്രതേകിച്ച് പ്രവാസികളായ ഓരോരുത്തരും എക്കാലവും കൈവശം വെക്കേണ്ട ഒരു ഗ്രന്ഥം തന്നെയാണെന്ന് നിസംശം പറയാം.  ബെന്യാമിന്റെ ഈ അത്ഭുത കൃതിയെ പറ്റി കൂടുതൽ അറിയുവാൻ ഇപ്പോൾ തന്നെ വീഡിയോ കാണു..

എക്കാലവും മലയാളിഹൃദയത്തിൽ സ്‌ഥാനം പിടിച്ച നോവൽ

വലിയ സ്വപ്നങ്ങളുമായി സൗദി അറേബ്യയിൽജോലിയ്ക്കായി പോയി വഞ്ചിക്കപ്പെട്ട്, മരുഭൂമിയിലെ ഒരു ആടുവളർത്തൽ കേന്ദ്രത്തിലെ ദാരുണസാഹചര്യങ്ങളിൽ മൂന്നിലേറെ വർഷം അടിമപ്പണി ചെയ്യേണ്ടി വന്ന നജീബ് എന്ന മലയാളി യുവാവിന്റെ കഥയാണ്‌ ഈ കൃതി. 2008 ആഗസ്റ്റ് മാസം ഗ്രീൻ ബുക്സ് പബ്ലിക്കേഷൻസ് ആദ്യപതിപ്പിറങ്ങിയ ആടുജീവിതം, ഒരു വർഷം കഴിയുമോഴേക്കും അതായത്  2009-ൽ കേരള സാഹിത്യ അക്കാദമിയുടെ ഏറ്റവും നല്ല മലയാളം നോവലിനുള്ള പുരസ്കാരം നേടി. ആമസോണിൽ ബെസ്റ്റ് സെല്ലിങ് ബുക്സിന്റെ ലിസ്റ്റ് എടുത്ത് നോക്കിയാൽ ആദ്യം തന്നെ കാണാം ബെന്യാമിന്റെ ആട് ജീവിതം.

ഇനി നിങ്ങൾക്ക് കഥകൾ കേട്ട് ആസ്വദിക്കാം.. അതിനായി ഇതാ കഥകൾ വീഡിയോ രൂപത്തിൽ.. സബ്സ്ക്രൈബ് ചെയ്യു.

ഇതിനോടൊപ്പം തന്നെ ബെന്യാമിന്റെ ആടുജീവിതം എന്ന ഈ നോവൽ ബ്ലെസ്സി ഒരുക്കുന്ന,  പൃഥ്വിരാജ് നായകനായുള്ള ഒരു സിനിമ കൂടിയും ഇപ്പോൾ വരുമെന്ന  സന്തോഷവാർത്ത കൂടിയും ഉണ്ട്. മലയാളം, തമിഴ്, ഹിന്ദി ഭാഷകളിലായാണ് ഈ 3ഡി ചിത്രം നിര്‍മ്മിക്കുന്നത്.

ആടുജീവിതത്തിന്റെ കഥാകൃത്ത് ബെന്യാമിൻ

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ആടുജീവിതത്തിന്റെ ഗ്രന്ഥകാരനായ ബെന്യാമിനെ കുറിച്ച് പറയുകയാണെങ്കിൽ അദ്ദേഹം നല്ലൊരു നോവലിസ്റ്റും നല്ലൊരു ചെറുകഥാ എഴുത്തുകാരനും കൂടി ആണ്. അദ്ദേഹം 1992 മുതൽ 2013 വരെ ഗൾഫ് പ്രവാസജീവിതം നയിച്ച ഒരു വെക്തി കൂടിയാണ്.  അതുകൊണ്ട് അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ മിക്ക നോവലുകളുടെ സരാശം ഗൾഫ് പ്രവാസം ജീവിതം തന്നെയാണ്.  അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ നോവലായ ‘മുല്ലപ്പൂ നിറമുള്ള പകലുകൾ’, ‘അൽ അറേബിയൻ നോവൽ ഫാക്റ്ററി’,  ‘ആടുജീവിതം’ തുടങ്ങിയ നോവലുകൾ ഇതിന് ഉദാഹരണം മാത്രമാണ്  എങ്കിലും അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ നോവലുകളിൽ ഇപ്പോഴും മുന്നിൽ നിൽക്കുന്നത് അദ്ദേഹത്തിന്റെ ആടുജീവിതം എന്ന നോവൽ തന്നെയാണ്

ആടുജീവിതം  കഥയിലൂടെ ഒരു യാത്ര

ഈ കഥ വായിക്കുന്നതിന്‌ മുൻപ് തന്നെ ബെന്യാമിൻ നമ്മോട് പറയുന്ന ഒരു കാര്യമുണ്ട്. ബുക്കിന്റെ പുറംചട്ടയിൽ അദ്ദേഹം എഴുതുന്നു.. ” നമ്മൾ അനുഭവിക്കാത്ത ജീവിതം എന്നും നമുക്കൊരു കെട്ടുകഥ മാത്രമാണ്.”. അതെ,  ഇതൊരു കെട്ടുകഥ അല്ലാ..ആർക്കും സംഭവിക്കാവുന്ന ഒരു ജീവിത കഥ തന്നെയാണെന്ന് ഒരു ഓര്മിപ്പിക്കൽ ആണിത്. കാരണം,  മരുഭൂമിയിലെ സുഖസൗകര്യങ്ങളിൽ ജീവിക്കുന്നവരെ മാത്രം കാണുന്ന നമുക്ക് ഇത് ഒരു കെട്ടുകഥയായി തോന്നും എന്നത് തീർച്ചായാണ്. അതുകൊണ്ട് വായിക്കുന്നവർക്കുള്ള ഒരു മുന്നറിയിപ്പ് കൂടിയാണിത്.

നാട്ടിൽ മണൽവാരി ജീവിക്കുന്ന സാധാരണ ഒരു യുവാവ്,  ഗർഭണിയായ ഭാര്യയുമായി ജീവിക്കുന്ന അവസരത്തിൽ,  മുന്നോട്ടുള്ള ജീവിതത്തിന് പ്രതീക്ഷേകിക്കൊണ്ട് വരുന്ന ഗൾഫ് ഓഫറിലേക്ക് ഒന്നും ആലോചിക്കാതെ മുന്നോട്ട് പുറപ്പെടുന്നു. എന്നാൽ റിയാദിൽ അദ്ദേഹത്തെ കാത്തിരുന്ന ഒരു അറബാബ് (അറബി മുതലാളി) അദ്ദേഹത്തെ കൂട്ടികൊണ്ട് പോയത്,  ചുട്ടുപൊള്ളുന്ന മണലാരത്തിൽ ആടുങ്ങൾക്കൊപ്പം ഒറ്റപ്പെട്ട ഒരു ജീവിതത്തിലേക്കായിരുന്നു.

നാട്ടിലേക്കുള്ള ഒരു ബന്ധവുമില്ലാതെ ദിവസമോ സമയമോ അറിയാതെ ഒരു ഒറ്റപ്പെട്ട ജീവിതത്തിൽ ആടുങ്ങളുടെ പോലൊരു ജീവിതത്തിൽ മൂന്നു വർഷം അടിമപ്പണി ചെയ്ത് ജീവിച്ച നജീബ് എന്ന വ്യക്തിയുടെ തുറന്നപുസ്തകം തന്നെയാണ് ബെന്യാമിന്റെ ആടുജീവിതം എന്ന നോവൽ. അവിടെ നിന്ന് രക്ഷപ്പെടുവാനുള്ള പഴുത് നോക്കി കൊണ്ട് അല്ലാഹുവിൽ പ്രതീക്ഷ അർപ്പിച്ച്  അറബിയുടെ ക്രൂര മർദ്ദനത്തിൽ ജീവിക്കുന്ന നജീബിന്റെ  ജീവിതം വായിക്കുന്ന ഓരോരുത്തരുടെയും ഹൃദയം  മണലാരണത്തിന്റെ ചൂട് പോലെ പൊള്ളുമെന്ന് നിസംശം പറയാം.

ആടുജീവിതം | Aadujeevitham ഓണ്‍ലൈന്‍ ബുക്ക് സ്റ്റോറില്‍ നിന്ന് ലഭ്യമാകാന്‍ സന്ദര്‍ശിക്കുക

കൂടുതൽ പറയുന്നതിനേക്കാൾ നിങ്ങൾ ഈ ബുക്ക്‌ വായിക്കുക തന്നെയാണ് നല്ലതെന്ന്  എനിക്ക് തോന്നുന്നു. പ്രതേകിച്ച്,  പ്രവാസജീവിതത്തിൽ സാലറി കിട്ടുന്നില്ല,  അല്ലെങ്കിൽ ലീവ് തന്നില്ലാ തുടങ്ങി ചെറിയ വിഷമങ്ങളിൽ പതറുന്നവർക്ക് നല്ലൊരു ആശ്വാസമായി തോന്നുന്ന ഒരു അത്ഭുതകൃതി ആണെന്ന് തന്നെ പറയാം.

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Aadujeevitham: Is The Book Vs Film Comparison Fair?

When his bestselling novel Aadujeevitham was going to be adapted for the screen, writer Benyamin had only one condition – it should convey the essence of the novel. “The pain, struggle and loneliness that a reader would have experienced through the text should be captured in the film, and that’s all I wanted,” he said. “I did not expect that the film should have the same events as in the book.”

Aadujeevitham , a fictionalised account based on the real life story of a Malayali man who goes to Saudi Arabia for better prospects but is enslaved in the desert as a goatherd, was first published in 2008. Since then, the Malayalam edition alone has been reprinted over a hundred times. The book has also been translated to English, Tamil, Arabic, Nepali and other languages. Najeeb Muhammed, the protagonist of the book, is subjected to such brutality that he gradually identifies as a goat, one among the herd under the control of his Arab master.

Director Blessy wished to adapt this novel, among the best known stories about the Malayali migrant struggle, for the screen 16 years ago. After numerous obstacles, not in the least the pandemic that put the brakes on the shoot, Aadujeevitham (2024) was released on March 28 in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Hindi. Prithviraj plays Najeeb in the film. Other actors in the cast include Amala Paul, KR Gokul and Jimmy Jean-Louis.

Ever since the film’s release, there have been innumerable comparisons between the book and the novel. Much of Aadujeevitham , the book, is about the introspection of a lonely man. The film, however, is in the mode of a survival thriller with elements of adventure.  “It is quite easy to express certain emotions in words, but it’s not so simple to do it in cinema. You have to translate those words into visuals and music. That’s where Blessy’s craftsmanship comes in,” said Benyamin. “The novel may have had many incidents to highlight Najeeb’s loneliness, but Blessy has come up with his own ideas to convey it beautifully. Many viewers have told me that they felt like they travelled with Najeeb when they watched the film.”

Film journalist Vivek S lived in the Middle East from the time he was two years old until recently. He read Aadujeevitham over a decade ago after his friends recommended the book to him. “I was in college back then, and it is a very popular novel among the Malayali migrant community. I was not a big reader and this was one of the rare novels that I read cover to cover in one stretch. I found it exhilarating but was also heartbroken by it,” he recalled.

As a fan of the novel, Vivek wanted to see more of Najeeb’s relationship to the goats in the film. In the novel, there are several moving passages that describe how Najeeb comes to see the goats as his friends and family. He even names a baby goat ‘Nabeel’ after his unborn son – his wife is pregnant at the time of his departure – and pays special attention to him. When he escapes the desert, Najeeb is unable to eat mutton because of the extent to which he identifies with the animals. 

The movie is subtle about this transformation. The opening scene shows Najeeb bending his head to drink water along with the goats, and later, there is a brilliant sequence where he is offered a leg of mutton – a rare treat – in the desert. Najeeb is sitting with the goats while his Arab master is celebrating with his people. He is at first happy to be given the food, but when the Arab fires his gun at the sky, Najeeb is immediately reminded that he is prey in the desert, not human. As the goats surround him, an expression of guilt passes on his face and he hugs the leg to his chest.

“I felt the film was visually stunning, and Prithviraj’s performance helps a lot. Compared to the book, I felt Najeeb’s relationship with the goats was missing in the film. When he says goodbye to the goats and leaves, we don’t feel as moved by the scene as we should because the bond isn’t properly established,” said Vivek. “I thought the first half was a bit meandering, but the second half is when the film came alive for me, especially the desert crossing.”

It was because she wanted to avoid making comparisons between the book and the film that independent film critic and writer Ashameera Aiyappan chose not to read Aadujeevitham . She watched the Tamil dubbed version of the film. “If I haven’t already read a book on which a film is based, I choose not to read it before watching the film. I’m usually not a fan of watching the dubbed version, and I prefer to watch the original version, but the Malayalam film did not have subtitles on the day of its release,” explained Aiyappan. “The Tamil dubbed version worked for this film because a huge chunk of dialogues is intentionally unintelligible. The emotions are so high and overwhelming that even the characters can’t articulate what is on their mind. Their words are incomplete, they are sobbing. There’s so much desperation.”

Aiyappan felt that the performances of the cast were outstanding. “This is a sorrowful film. You can call the idea something that would fit an arthouse movie. There is the fatigue of repetition,” she pointed out. “Plot-wise, such a film may not move like an action film. There won’t be leaps of dramatic progression. It will be the same emotion, you’re going to feel stuck a lot.”

This isn’t something that the mainstream audience might want to watch in a theatre. “They’re likely to find such a treatment slow and boring. I’m glad the makers took the effort to keep the film accessible for the mainstream audience and didn’t shut them out. You expect to hear a lot of silence in a film like this which is about one man and his frustration, but there is music in almost every moment, underlining what’s running in Najeeb’s mind,” she said. “The score is poignant and communicates a lot of sorrow, but there is also hope in it. It reminded me of ‘Nenje Ezhu’ from Maryan (2013).”

Aiyappan agreed with Vivek about the film’s effective cinematography. “It’s very hard to adapt an acclaimed novel into a film, especially a book like this where there are so many internal monologues. That’s the impression I got from the excerpts I read,” she said. “That one shot where Najeeb drinks water with the goats beautifully captures how he has metaphorically turned into a goat. Translating that internal transformation to a visual is very hard and I think the film did it very well.”

Benyamin began work on the novel in 2005 and it took him three years to complete and publish it. “When I was working on the book, I wanted to capture Najeeb’s loneliness and his dehumanisation to a point when he thinks of himself as an animal. I wanted to place all this within the diasporic experience,” said Benyamin. “Najeeb names the goats after people back home. He dreams about the landscape of his homeland in the desert. Though he’s in an extreme situation, such feelings are common among the migrant community. I wanted to talk about all this through the novel.”

But, when it comes to adapting the novel for the screen, Benyamin believes it should be about the director’s conviction. “What did Blessy want to take from the book? The protagonist of my novel surrenders to his Arab master, and spends days in such a state. But the Najeeb that Blessy shows in the film isn’t someone like that,” he pointed out. “He keeps thinking about his homeland and planning his escape. That’s how Blessy read it. He wished to focus on Najeeb’s survival.”

For the writer, watching the novel unfold on screen with people in the audience who could relate to Najeeb, was a moving experience. Like Vivek, Benyamin too felt that the walk across the desert was the best part of the film, especially what happens to Hakim, the young man who accompanies Najeeb from Kerala to Saudi. “I thought Hakim’s death was picturised in a very impactful way. The pain a reader would have felt in that part of the novel is the same that a viewer would have experienced in the theatre,” said Benyamin.

The book vs movie comparison is inevitable whenever such adaptations are made. The images conjured up by a reader in their personal space can rarely match a director’s interpretation and execution. Acknowledging this gap, Vivek said that at the end of the day, both are different mediums and must be viewed as such. “I also don’t think it’s mandatory for anyone, including a film critic, to read the book before watching the film adaptation. The film should work for the audience irrespective of whether they’ve read the source material or not,” he opined.

In Aadujeevitham ’s case, there is one more comparison that’s being made – fiction vs reality. How much of Najeeb’s real life is there in the novel? There is especially a lot of lurid interest in knowing if a scene of bestiality that's there in the novel happened in real life. The writer recently stated that only 30% of the book is based on reality. This has led to angry questions posed at Benyamin for taking a real life story and fictionalising it though the real life Najeeb has not, so far, made any objections and participated in the film’s promos too.

“When something good happens, a lot of people feel the need to say something negative to register their voice,” said Benyamin with a laugh. “Anyone who reads fiction will know that a writer borrows from reality but shapes it with their imagination. Najeeb in real life may say he ran across the desert in two days. There is a lot of pain in that single line, and a writer can develop that into seven chapters. In cinema, this can be turned into a 45-minute excursion. That’s the prerogative of a creator. That’s the translation from life to art.”

Aadujeevitham is set in the early ‘90s, but it’s not as if there aren’t any more Najeebs. As fictionalised as Benyamin’s novel might be, there are still such incidents that the migrant community suffers through. “I know someone who’s a few years older to me who went through a similar ordeal. This happened in 2010. He was stuck in Saudi for 45 days. He was held against his will,” said Vivek. “People were looking for him and he managed to find a phone to escape. There are many such experiences that people are aware of."

This perhaps explains why the film is doing well not only in India but also in the United Arab Emirates where it has been released, collecting 1.8 million dollars (gross) in the opening weekend despite it being Ramadan, a time when theatre footfalls are low. It is yet to be released in the other Arab countries.

There have been several stories about the Malayali migrant struggle. What is it about Aadujeevitham that is so compelling? What makes people look up to Najeeb, so crushed by life, as their hero? “Najeeb’s story is one of hope. It is on the incredible human will to survive and not give up. In the film, one of the characters says that they should walk till they die,” said Benyamin. “All of us have problems, and there are humans who have gone through terrible, harrowing experiences – not necessarily the desert in the literal sense – who are watching such a film in the theatre. They will be able to relate to the film. They will identify their experience as the desert that Najeeb walked through.”

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Aswathy Gopalakrishnan

Film Critic

Review: Aadujeevitham/The Goat Life (Malayalam, 2024)

A shorter version was published on The Federal on 28 March 2024

There is a poetic aspect in author Benyamin’s novel reaching the hands of director Blessy. Within the journey of Najeeb (Prithviraj Sukumaran), a Malayali immigrant held as a slave in a desert farm for three years, lies a vein of miserablism that matches the inquiry Blessy has been conducting through filmmaking over the last two decades. His films, in essence, are excavations of grief from unfortunate ordinary men who go through tragic situations one after another. In Thanmathra and Kalimannu , the human body becomes his primary focus, not in a profound philosophical manner, but rather like how a real estate tycoon eyes a house by the highway. In Aadujeevitham , Blessy finds a goldmine. 

Consider this elaborately picturised scene of death that happens in the latter half, where the film zooms in on a human being disappearing chaotically into the depths of the desert. It holds the body of the actor playing the role up close, screaming at the viewer to behold his suffering, milking the viewer’s shock, sympathy and repulsion. This pattern repeats in several parts, prolonging the portrayal of suffering until it becomes agonisingly unremarkable. 

Now, I am entering a precarious terrain. In the post-cinema era, where images and stories from production seamlessly meld into the movie with the help of digital media, how should a viewer approach a film where the behind-the-scenes narrative has garnered overwhelming popularity, to the extent of overshadowing the artistic work? 

Benyamin’s novel, an absolute page-turner, is part of Kerala’s sprawling migration literature that shares, documents and studies the life of Malayali immigrants who moved to the Gulf region in the early 1970s following the oil boom. Overriding the inherent socio-political observations, Aadujeevitham is, first and foremost, a deeply personal tale of a working-class man who survived abduction and slavery in the infinite desert landscape. Aadujeevitham , the movie project, took shape over 16 years, gaining significant momentum primarily in the last six years since filming began in 2018. Blessy and his team remained steadfast during the tumultuous COVID-19 years, which disrupted schedules worldwide. The story of superstar actor Prithviraj Sukumaran’s earnest investment in the film – he shed 30 kilos to play the starved and tormented desert slave – is astounding; his physicality is a pivotal element in the film which is centred on a man teetering on the brink of life for three years, with an impish death rubbing itself on his face. 

To critically engage with Aadujeevitham , one must peel away the layers of fuss and mythmaking that cling to its surface like thick grime.

The core of the buzz surrounding Goat Days/Goat Life , both the novel and now the film, is a real-life figure—a lowly fisherman from Alappuzha—who endured a similar, but not identical, ordeal of deception and slavery in the West Asian desert during the 1990s. Drawing from his memories, the novel shreds into bones the idea of the region as a ‘paradise’, exposing the dark underbelly of economic migration where the bodies of working-class individuals wither for the sake of their families back home. 

The novel’s tagline, “Lives we have not lived are all myths for us”, pushes for the work’s elevated significance by being based on a real-life story, downplaying a novelist’s role in crafting characters, geographies, situations and trajectories. In the epilogue of the book, Benyamin recounts his initial encounter with the man:

“So I went and met Najeeb, a very simple man. Najeeb was at first reluctant to talk about his experience. ‘Those things happened long ago. I have already forgotten about them,’ he said.” By introducing Najeeb to the world as the unassuming source figure, Benyamin blurs the line between the fictional narrative of the book and the reality of Najeeb who, in his own words, had resolved to move past his “Goat Days”. The novel’s overwhelming popularity reshaped Najeeb’s identity, casting him as an iconic victim of Gulf migration. The deserts of West Asia became the setting of new nightmares in Malayali imagination, sharply contrasting with the Gulf dream celebrated in local literature and cinema until then. With the film’s release, the victimisation of Najeeb has become more intense than ever, as the zillion media companies in Kerala, engaged in the messy space of movie promotions, grilled him one after another, or all at once, about a past he no longer seems to possess ownership of. 

This background story, rather than the narrative itself, is the film’s ticket to grandness. The film crew clubs the agony experienced by the star with the pain embedded in the novel. And by including Najeeb in promotional events, they underscore the film’s authenticity and the crew’s earnestness. 

Aadujeevitham isn’t a biopic, but a filmmaker’s interpretation of a novel built on a man’s traumatic memories. It doesn’t use realism to make its point but melodrama – a much-ridiculed cinematic device which, however, when used in the right measure, can pierce into the viewer. But Blessy’s melodrama is banal; it aims for easy responses from the audience. Emotions are excessively “acted out” and “spoken of” and topped with an additional layer of mush in the form of a relentless and loud background score, composed by AR Rahman, which obscures the natural sounds of the desert. 

The narrative has a simplistic structure. Corny depictions of misery are interspersed with cornier flashback sequences that stress the characters’ likeability and endearing naivety, setting the viewers up for a predictable heartbreak. Streams of dialogue are used to feed the viewer information, though rarely transcending what is shown on the scene. 

Aadujeevitham rarely tries to be anything more than a basic visual presentation a very monochromatic grief, physical and mental, that refuses to evolve. Blessy does not bother to drill into the layers of the title, Goat Life . Over the countless days and nights he spends on the desert farm, Najeeb catches himself slowly evolving into a goat in the pen, wrestling with and accepting his slavehood. The existential questions that sprout in the novel are almost lost in the film’s narrative that, counterintuitively, assumes an episodic structure, leaping from one sequence to another, lacking fluency.

One of the obvious aftermaths of this kind of filmmaking is that it denies its protagonist any profundity. The film’s USP and claim to authenticity is the astounding physical transformation of the lead actors, Prithviraj and Gokul. As the narrative leaps from the first year of capture to the third, the men have turned into cases of bones, skin and unkempt hair, soaked in the desert’s ochre. But three years later, Najeeb’s wounds and sadness remain as raw as they were when he first arrived.

There are some nice touches and poetic flourishes here and there, like the scene where Najeeb, inept and tearful on his first day as a shepherd, finds a miraculous assistant in a lamb or when he sticks out his tongue to taste the hailstones falling from the sky.

The lack of water and woman in Najeeb’s new surroundings makes for a delicious editing transition at the beginning, where a narrow rill of water in the sand becomes a bridge connecting two places and timelines. Kerala, in the film, appears as a figment of his wistful memories. Clichéd images of a lush green village, a close-knit community, and a young woman who embodies the essence of the village – Malayalam cinema’s oldest nostalgic imagination. Glimpses of a colourful Hindu temple festival are added to the mix, making the place a complete foil for the desert landscape. 

Actors are the cornerstone of Aadujeevitham , the sole bar that keeps the structure from falling. Especially impressive is Gokul who deeply internalises the innocence and hope Hakkim holds close until the end. His brilliantly measured performance is one of the most powerful acts in recent Malayalam cinema. Prithviraj, who carries around an unbearable weight of stardom, makes an earnest effort to surpass his limitations.

In reality, Najeeb returned to Saudi Arabia – the same landscape and people from whom he fled – and toiled there for close to 20 years before returning to his native village and taking up a small-time job as a fisherman. Within poverty, grieving often becomes an unaffordable luxury. Mental wounds must heal quickly for the physical grind to resume. This elasticity of human endurance and the indifference of life towards human misery are, perhaps, the greatest points that Goat Days makes. The movie version does not go beyond the thrills of the Great Desert Escape in the second half where the characters flee from their captors. 

This part, in all fairness, proceeds with a palpable urgency which is highly rewarding in mainstream cinema. Desert, here, becomes a cage and a vast expanse of freedom, all at once. Now, I’m uncertain if a survival drama necessitates elements of theism. Nor do I believe that a long wide shot of a landscape, reducing humans to mere specks, inevitably hints at the presence of an ambiguous higher power, referred to as God. I might be among the minority who argue against the lovely track, “ Periyone ” (Oh The Great One!) which, I think, superimposes religion onto a man’s life story. However, the breathtaking shot where the film enters a sandstorm head-on stirred something inside me, impressing how wickedly beautiful death could seem. When it all ends, it feels like the silence after a storm. Life after death. If for nothing else, Aadujeevitham will be remembered for this shot which brings the oneiric reality of the desert into Malayalam cinema, expanding its geography.

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Aadujeevitham: From Bestselling Novel to Blockbuster Movie

• By Madhumitha Srinivasan
• May 27, 2024

Everything you need to know about the book & movie!

From the verdant landscapes of Kerala to the desolate deserts of Saudi Arabia, Benyamin’s Aadujeevitham has captivated readers and now, movie-goers alike. Here’s why everyone’s talking about this extraordinary novel turned movie sensation, starring the charismatic Prithviraj Sukumaran.  

Who is Benyamin?

Benyamin, born Benny Daniel in 1971, is an eminent figure in Malayalam literature. He migrated to Bahrain in 1992 and lived there for about two decades, which deeply influenced many of his writings. His works often explore themes related to identity, migration, and the human condition, drawing heavily on his own experiences as an expatriate in the Middle East.  

His career blossomed with Aadujeevitham , a novel that not only sold over 250 editions but also redefined Malayalam storytelling.   

Benyamin’s writing is characterised by its rich detail and empathetic portrayal of marginalized characters. His narratives offer insights into the less visible aspects of expatriate life and the broader socio-political issues affecting these communities.  

His other popular works include Manja Veyil Maranangal (Yellow Lights of Death) and Mullappoo Niramulla Pakalukal (Jasmine Days). The former delves into the mysterious death of a Malayali in Bahrain, while the latter tells the story of Sameera Parvin, a young radio jockey in a Middle Eastern city during the Arab Spring.  

( Browse the author’s collection HERE )

Aadujeevitham: The Novel

Aadujeevitham is a profound tale of survival and resilience, set against the backdrop of the Saudi Arabian desert. The story follows Najeeb, a young Indian immigrant whose dream of a better life in the Gulf turns into a nightmare when he is forced into slave-like conditions, herding goats in isolation. Stripped of his freedom and cut off from human contact, Najeeb’s only companions are the animals he tends. As he grapples with his harsh reality, memories of his family and home sustain him, leading him to concoct a daring plan to reclaim his freedom.  

The novel’s deep exploration of isolation and identity through the protagonist, Najeeb’s life, mirrors the loneliness experienced by many in the diaspora, making it a story of universal appeal.  

The English translation of the novel appeared in the long list of Man Asian Literary Prize 2012 and in the short list of the DSC Prize for South Asian Literature 2013, which significantly broadened his readership. It also won the Kerala Literary Academy Award for Benyamin in 2009.  

The novel was banned in Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries except UAE.  

Aadujeevitham: The Movie

The buzz around Aadujeevitham has reignited with its adaptation into a major cinematic project, bringing this poignant story to the silver screen. The film’s release was highly anticipated , thanks to its powerful narrative and the inclusion of star actor Prithviraj Sukumaran.

The transition from page to screen has been nothing short of spectacular. Aadujeevitham the movie has been a labour of love and perseverance, overcoming challenges like high production costs and pandemic delays. The result? A cinematic masterpiece, showcasing the brutal yet beautiful survival drama that has left audiences spellbound.  

Its journey from a bestselling book to a blockbuster film underscores the timeless appeal of stories that reflect the deepest human experiences.   

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അതി ഗംഭീരം, മലയാളത്തിന്റെ മാസ്റ്റർപീസ്; ‘ആടുജീവിതം’ പ്രേക്ഷക പ്രതികരണം

മനോരമ ലേഖകൻ

Published: March 28 , 2024 02:08 PM IST Updated: March 28, 2024 02:49 PM IST

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പൃഥ്വിരാജ്–ബ്ലെസി കൂട്ടുകെട്ടിൽ പുറത്തിറങ്ങിയ ‘ആടുജീവിതത്തി’നു ഗംഭീര പ്രതികരണം. മലയാളത്തിന്റെ മാസ്റ്റർപീസ് സിനിമകളിലൊന്ന് എന്നാണ് ചിത്രത്തെ പ്രേക്ഷകർ വിശേഷിപ്പിക്കുന്നത്. ബ്ലെസിയുടെ സംവിധാന മികവും ‘ചോര നീരാക്കി’യുള്ള പൃഥ്വിയുടെ ഗംഭീര പ്രകടനവുമാണ് സിനിമയുടെ ഹൈലൈറ്റ്. എ.ആർ. റഹ്മാന്റെ സംഗീതവും സുനിൽ കെ.എസി.ന്റെ ഛായാഗ്രഹണവും റസൂൽ പൂക്കുട്ടിയുടെ ശബ്ദമികവുമെല്ലാം സിനിമയുടെ മുതൽക്കൂട്ടാണ്. ഹക്കീം ആയി എത്തുന്ന ഗോകുൽ ആണ് ഞെട്ടിക്കുന്ന മറ്റൊരു പ്രകടനം കാഴ്ചവച്ചത്.

#Aadujeevitham #TheGoatLife Interval: SUPERB so far. An absorbing and affecting film showing the pain of the character unflinchingly. @PrithviOfficial 's performance 🔥👌 book the awards for him now itself. Lotsa goosebump moments already, and ARR's score is bloody brilliant. pic.twitter.com/dmewVTpDle — Siddarth Srinivas (@sidhuwrites) March 28, 2024

A Cinematic Masterpiece in Every Aspect!! #Aadujeevitham #TheGoatLife @PrithviOfficial pic.twitter.com/QoP1OsgZGn — Forum Reelz (@ForumReelz) March 28, 2024

#Aadujeevitham is sensational in every bit. #PrithvirajSukumaran gives his best performance for his dream role. The ease with which he brings out the helplessness and emotional depth in his character. Blessy has reserved the best for the latter half. His screenplay elevates the… pic.twitter.com/C1sa0M9Ksx — What The Fuss (@W_T_F_Channel) March 28, 2024

പൃഥ്വിരാജിന്റെ കഥാപാത്രമായ നജീബിന്റെ മരൂഭൂമിയിലെ ദുരിത ജീവിതം വെളിവാക്കുന്ന ചിത്രത്തിന്റെ റിലീസ് ലോകമെമ്പാടുമുള്ള സിനിമാപ്രേമികൾ ഏറെ ആകാംഷയോടെയാണ് കാത്തിരുന്നത്.  പതിനഞ്ചു വർഷത്തിന് മുൻപ് തുടങ്ങിയ സിനിമാചർച്ച 2008 ൽ പ്രാരംഭ വർക്കുകൾ ആരംഭിച്ചെങ്കിലും വർഷങ്ങളുടെ തയാറെടുപ്പുകൾക്കൊടുവിൽ 2018 ലായിരുന്നു ചിത്രീകരണം ആരംഭിച്ചത്. ഏറ്റവുമധികം നാളുകൾ നീണ്ടുപോയ ചിത്രത്തിന്റെ ഷൂട്ടിങ് കഴിഞ്ഞ വർഷം ജൂലൈ 14നാണ് പൂർത്തിയായത്. 

#Aadujeevitham When a performance goes beyond imaginations, seeing someone transform into a character that's challenging not just by appearance but by the way they enact, the act goes above the cinema and everything around. Aadujeevitham is beautiful. Prithviraj Sukumaran 🐐 pic.twitter.com/cFm5T4uzcW — AMARNATH (@Amar__nath_) March 28, 2024

#Prithviraj is Outstanding “Vere Level”! #Aadujeevitham #TheGoatLife pic.twitter.com/dcB7JpN1ba — Sreedhar Pillai (@sri50) March 28, 2024

Prithviraj's exceptional performance in #Aadujeevitham is receiving unanimous praise🔥🐐, rightfully acknowledging the dedication and hard work he invested in the film👌 pic.twitter.com/XbypyTzipT — MalayalamReview (@MalayalamReview) March 28, 2024

ജോർദാനിലായിരുന്നു ചിത്രത്തിന്റെ മുഖ്യ പങ്കും ഷൂട്ട് ചെയ്തത്.  പൃഥ്വിരാജിന്റെ കരിയറിലെ തന്നെ ഏറ്റവും വലിയ സിനിമയാണ് ആടുജീവിതം.  ബെന്യാമിന്റെ തന്നെ വാക്കുകൾ കടമെടുത്താൽ "നജീബേ, തീക്കാറ്റും വെയിൽ നാളവും നിന്നെ കടന്നു പോകും. നീ അവയ്ക്ക് മുന്നിൽ കീഴടങ്ങരുത്. തളരുകയുമരുത്" അത് തന്നെയാണ് പൃഥ്വിരാജ് എന്ന സിനിമയെ ആഴത്തിൽ സ്നേഹിക്കുന്ന താരത്തോട് സിനിമാപ്രേമികൾക്കും പറയാനുള്ളത്

#TheGoatLife - 4/5 A Compelling Survival Drama 🎭 This film is an award winning film. Prithviraj acting is another level 💥 #ARRahman Background Score Adds Depth 👌 Recommended for Cinema Enthusiasts Who Appreciate Slow-Paced Films 👏 #Aadujeevitham | #Blessy |… pic.twitter.com/l4ks69ca4l — Movie Tamil (@MovieTamil4) March 28, 2024

We all know that @PrithviOfficial is a proven SUPERSTAR. #Aadujeevitham is just a film showing his true caliber yet again. Thank you for dubbing in Telugu too. 👏🏻 WHAT AN ACT!!!! 💥💥 #TheGoatLife pic.twitter.com/WzFfJf6gSQ — Cinema Madness 24*7 (@CinemaMadness24) March 28, 2024

'മരിച്ചാൽ എന്റെ ബോഡി നാട്ടിൽ കൊണ്ടുപോവേണ്ട': പത്തറുപത് നജീബുമാരെ ഒരുമിച്ചു കണ്ടു; പൃഥ്വിയുടെ അവസ്ഥയും ഭയപ്പെടുത്തി'

വിദ്യാധരൻ മാസ്റ്റര്‍ അന്നു പറഞ്ഞു: ‘തഴയപ്പെട്ടതിൽ സങ്കടമില്ല, അവസരങ്ങൾ തേടി പോയിട്ടുമില്ല’

പുലിമടയിലേക്ക് വാറുണ്ണിയെ ഇറക്കിവിട്ട ബ്രില്യൻസ്; കോടി ക്ലബ്ബുകളുടെ രാജകുമാരൻ; ബ്രാന്‍ഡായി മാറിയ ഐ.വി.ശശി

മലയാള സിനിമയില്‍ തന്നെ ഏറ്റവും വലിയ ബജറ്റില്‍ ഒരുങ്ങുന്ന ചിത്രം കൂടിയാണ് ആടുജീവിതം. ഓസ്‌കര്‍ അവാര്‍ഡ് ജേതാക്കളായ എ.ആര്‍. റഹ്‌മാന്‍ സംഗീതവും റസൂല്‍ പൂക്കുട്ടി ശബ്ദമിശ്രണവും നിര്‍വഹിക്കുന്ന ചിത്രത്തില്‍ പൃഥ്വിരാജിന്റെ നായികയായെത്തുന്നത് അമല പോളാണ്. വിഷ്വല്‍ റൊമാന്‍സിന്റെ ബാനറിലാണ് ചിത്രം എത്തുന്നത്. ജിമ്മി ജീന്‍ ലൂയിസ് (ഹോളിവുഡ് നടന്‍), കെ ആര്‍ ഗോകുല്‍, പ്രശസ്ത അറബ് അഭിനേതാക്കളായ താലിബ് അല്‍ ബലൂഷി, റിക്കബി എന്നിവരാണ് ചിത്രത്തിലെ മറ്റുപ്രധാന കഥാപാത്രങ്ങളെ അവതരിപ്പിക്കുന്നത്. മലയാളത്തിനു പുറമേ ഹിന്ദി, തമിഴ്, തെലുങ്ക്, കന്നഡ എന്നീ ഭാഷകളിലും ചിത്രം ഒരുങ്ങുന്നുണ്ട്. 

സുനില്‍ കെ.എസ്. ആണ് ചിത്രത്തിന്റെ ഛായാഗ്രഹണം നിര്‍വഹിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നത്. എഡിറ്റിങ് ശ്രീകര്‍ പ്രസാദ്, പ്രൊഡക്‌ഷന്‍ കണ്‍ട്രോളര്‍ പ്രിന്‍സ് റാഫേല്‍, ദീപക് പരമേശ്വരന്‍, കോസ്റ്റ്യൂം ഡിസൈനര്‍ സ്റ്റെഫി സേവ്യര്‍, ചീഫ് അസോസിയേറ്റ് ഡയറക്ടര്‍ റോബിന്‍ ജോര്‍ജ്, ലൈന്‍ പ്രൊഡ്യൂസര്‍ സുശീല്‍ തോമസ്, പ്രൊഡക്‌ഷൻ ഡിസൈനര്‍ പ്രശാന്ത് മാധവ്, മേക്കപ്പ് രഞ്ജിത്ത് അമ്പാടി, വീഡിയോഗ്രാഫി അശ്വത്, സ്റ്റില്‍സ് അനൂപ് ചാക്കോ, മാര്‍ക്കറ്റിങ്: ക്യാറ്റലിസ്റ്റ്, ഡിജിറ്റല്‍ മാര്‍ക്കറ്റിUd: ഒബ്‌സ്‌ക്യൂറ എന്റര്‍ടൈന്‍മെന്റ്‌സ്, പിആര്‍ഒ: ആതിര ദില്‍ജിത്ത്.

Aadujeevitham Audience Review

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Trailer Video

Aadujeevitham Malayalam Movie

The subject matter of the renowned novel "Aadujeevitham" is not unfamiliar to us. Adapting a popular book into a visual medium presents a daunting challenge, yet writer-director Blessy successfully transcends the imaginative boundaries of its readers with his cinematic expertise. In "Aadujeevitham - The Goat Life," Blessy's remarkable visual acumen and craftsmanship take center stage, profoundly impacting the novel's on-screen adaptation. Despite the plot being rife with hardships and pathos, Blessy's aesthetic approach imbues the narrative with an unexpected beauty, poignantly depicting the desperate existence of a Keralite in the harsh deserts of the Middle East.

Based on author Benyamin's novel, which draws from the real-life experiences of Najeeb Muhammed from Karuvatta, Alappuzha, the story follows Najeeb's unparalleled struggles in the desert after falling victim to a visa fraud. Portrayed by Prithviraj Sukumaran with stunning realism, Najeeb becomes disconnected from the outside world, living as a shepherd in the remote reaches of the desert for years. Alongside him is Hakeem, played by KR Gokul, and Najeeb's pregnant wife Sainu, portrayed by Amala Paul, and his mother (Sobha Mohan) back home, all hoping to forge a new life in the Gulf country.

However, Najeeb finds himself relegated to a life of hardship and isolation, tending sheep under the ruthless rule of his boss, played by Omani actor Dr. Talib al Balushi, and facing the constant threat of starvation. Emotionally shattered and alienated, Najeeb loses hope of ever returning to normalcy until he finds a glimmer of hope with the assistance of an African citizen, Ibrahim Khadiri (Jimmy Jean-Louis).

Prithviraj's transformative portrayal and nuanced performance as Najeeb resonate deeply with viewers, capturing the character's physical and emotional journey with remarkable authenticity and dedication. His ability to convey Najeeb's despair and anguish without resorting to melodrama or artificiality is particularly commendable, underscoring his status as a formidable talent in the industry. Gokul also leaves a lasting impression, particularly in the film's emotionally charged latter half.

Blessy's cinematic interpretation, coupled with Benyamin's evocative prose, creates a vivid depiction of Najeeb's harrowing desert odyssey. A.R. Rahman's soulful music further enhances the emotional depth of the narrative, while Resul Pookutty's impeccable sound design adds to the immersive experience. Visually, Sunil KS's captivating cinematography captures the barren landscapes of the desert, mirroring Najeeb's internal struggles and serving as a metaphor for his state of mind.

In summary, "Aadujeevitham" stands as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity, with Blessy's poetic direction and Prithviraj's compelling performance elevating it to a cinematic masterpiece. Disturbing yet poignant, the film resonates with audiences, evoking memories of personal struggles and the universal quest for hope and redemption on foreign soil.

Vinod Narayan

Opinions, ideas, reviews, poetry and more….., aadujeevitham – a goat like life – must read.

The book is called “Aadujeevitham” by Benyamin which is translated to English as ‘Goatlife’, or more clearly “A Goat like life”. I am not sure how many of the people who regularly read my blog has had a chance to work amidst the desert sand dunes in the Middle Eastern oil rich countries.

They would be able to better relate to this book and for those who have not worked there, it would be a sure eye opener in terms of how life, freedom and existence are defined, executed by a set of unrealistic hands made by both fate and law.

I have had a part of my schooling as well as the opportunity to work there for two years and my home state in India has a good number of people who work in the Middle Eastern countries ranging from laborers, house servants, construction workers, teachers, doctors, engineers and business tycoons. Among them also are found the characters of “Aadujeevitham” who get into a job they never really understand how they landed and before they know the desert would have washed clean any traces of past life in them.

Nowhere in life have I found such a disparity among immigrant population, people with the power to dictate life to people who can’t even decide if they are free or enslaved. Such a vast gulf between the standards of work and life of people coming to work from the same state itself is an area worth exploring.

I have not come across people in the exact similar state of affairs as the central character in the book, but people whose stories converge with the book in many areas. People I met in early eighties as a school boy in these places and then in the 90s when I went to work there. I take this post to also thank my work sponsor/company or “Arbab or savior” as they call, who did not keep my passport and I had the freedom to travel. Many who read this should understand that even in large companies, they had this system of taking the passport of every employee and then having control over their fate and freedom. I am not sure if it is like this even now. I still cannot fathom how someone in a country can hold the passports of the citizen of another country when the passport is the property of a nation and not its citizen. But some places rules are different and many live with it.

I personally know of people who have stories to say about not being able to leave the country to escape from harsh job conditions to get back to their own soil ready to live poor, but yet free and happy. Aadujeevitham is a true story of someone who went through much harsh situations than what I have ever heard before and it opens the box with a million questions on what does being a human mean to us and how are we different compared to that of the goats and other slaughter animals.

Though not religious myself, I found it interesting to see the central characters calling out to god almighty all through the book, not even once deflecting from his faith. I don’t know if there is someone who saves and punishes, but in the book I could see that if he did not have someone to call even in his imagination, he would have lost all his sanity. I think the belief in something has a big part to play in keeping the balance and sanity of life. People need God, philosophy, spirituality, conviction, love or something like that, something that would be at least an imaginary handle that they can hold and tie your mind to. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has not read and for those who have read, a request to not take life for granted any more…..

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21 thoughts on “ aadujeevitham – a goat like life – must read ”.

Is this book translated into English?

It is a pretty popular book in malayalam and if it is not translated yet, it will be soon.

Hi people if am not wrong I think the caption should have been “A LIFE LIKE A GOAT”……..

Anu, When translating a malayalam sentence to english it could have more than one way of saying. Aadine poloru jeevitham could be A life like a Goat as you said, because you have the exact translation for the word ‘poloru’ in ‘like’. Here the idea was to mimic the usage ‘doglike’ which means like a dog So Goatlike  would mean like a goat 🙂

no words to say Benyamin…Thanks a lot for given a wornderfull reading experince for us……

Happy to hear you like it hareesh

exactly agree to what you said.. i am just a school student and this book has made my mind wander a lot in the deserts with those people.

Thanks Gayathri, Happy to hear that as a school student you are reading such books that go so deep into life…

I like this story..

In fact I just saw the guy who went through life in Saudi desert. I haven’t spoken to him. I want to know more about this guys story so that I call help him in any way. I feel awakard to ask this guy about his past life. Is this book available in English or in Tamil?

manassil thattiya katha. I feel it.

Its superb novel………………………..i am a school student, and as a part of my studies i hve got chance to read dis novel…………………. A supr ,,,,novel which penatrates to our life and mind………………

The person who went through this ordeal is still alive and I see him every other day. People like him should be rewarded and appreciated.

Have heard that too….

IT IS THE BEST STORY EVER

It is a true life portrayed with utmost clarity and crispness….

its very. . . Much atractive story. . .narated real . . , .life desert of people. . Who reaches. . . Gulf countries. . . , .grt

i feel it….ever read dis type novel..

Good one……………..I read this novel accidentally. Thanks Benyamin.

super story i like it,,,,,

WHAT A STORY ………..HATS OFF YOU….MR.BENYAMIN…., NAJEEB

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Aadujeevitham By Benyamin

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മരുഭൂമിയിലെ അതിജീവനത്തിന്റെ ‘ആടുജീവിതം’

ബെന്യാമിന്റെ ആടുജീവിതം എന്ന നോവലിനെക്കുറിച്ച് മലപ്പുറം പോട്ടൂര്‍ മോഡേണ്‍ ഹയര്‍സെക്കന്ററി സ്‌കൂളിലെ പ്ലസ്ടു വിദ്യാര്‍ത്ഥിനി ആശ എഴുതിയത്

ആധുനിക മലയാളസാഹിത്യത്തിലെ നോവല്‍ വായനയില്‍ സമാനതകളില്ലാത്ത വസന്തം സൃഷ്ടിച്ചു മുന്നേറുന്ന കൃതിയാണ് ആടുജീവിതം. ജീവിതത്തില്‍ നിന്ന് ചീന്തിയെടുത്ത ഒരേടല്ല; ചോരവാര്‍ക്കുന്ന ജീവിതം തന്നെയാണ്. ബെന്യാമിന്റെ ആടുജീവിതം എന്ന നോവലിനെക്കുറിച്ചുള്ള അഭിപ്രായമാണിത്. അതിലുപരി അതൊരു വാസ്തവമാണ്. സഹൃദയരായ വാനയക്കാര്‍ മാത്രമല്ല, ജീവിതത്തിന്റെ സമസ്തതലങ്ങളിലുമുള്ള മുഴുവന്‍ ആളുകളും വായിച്ചിരിക്കേണ്ട പുസ്തകം എന്ന് ഈ കൃതിയെ ഒട്ടും അതിശയോക്തിയില്ലാതെ വിശേഷിപ്പിക്കാം. തന്റെ തൃപ്തിക്കായോ, വായനക്കാരന്റെ ആസ്വാദനത്തിനായോ ബെന്യാമിന്‍ തുന്നിച്ചേര്‍ക്കലുകളൊന്നും നടത്തിയിട്ടില്ല. നോവലില്‍ ബെന്യാമിന്‍ നജീബിന്റെ കഥ പറയുകയല്ല, മറിച്ച് ആ മനുഷ്യന്റെ ആത്മാവില്‍ അലിഞ്ഞുചേര്‍ന്ന് അയാള്‍ നജീബാവുകയാണ്. നോവും നൊമ്പരവും കഷ്ടതയും നിസ്സഹായവസ്ഥയും അതിന്റെ തീവ്രത ഒട്ടും നഷ്ടപ്പെടാതെ ആവിഷ്‌കരിച്ച കഥാകൃത്തിന്റെ നൈപുണ്യം പ്രശംസനീയം തന്നെ.

ആലപ്പുഴ ജില്ലയിലെ കാര്‍ത്തികപ്പള്ളി താലൂക്കില്‍ ആറാട്ടുപുഴ പഞ്ചായത്തില്‍ 1962 മെയ് 15-ന് ജനിച്ച നജീബ് എന്ന വ്യക്തിയുടെ യഥാര്‍ത്ഥ ജീവിതത്തെ ആസ്പദമാക്കിയാണ് ബെന്യാമിന്‍ ആടുജീവിതം എന്ന നോവല്‍ രചിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നത്.

കേരളത്തില്‍ ഒരു മണല്‍വാരല്‍ തൊഴിലാളിയായി ജോലി ചെയ്തിരുന്ന വ്യക്തിയാണ് നജീബ്. ഒരു സുഹൃത്തിന്റെ സഹായത്തോടെ അയാള്‍ക്ക് സൗദി അറേബ്യയിലേക്കുള്ള വിസ ലഭിച്ചു. അതോടെ നജീബിന്റെ ഉള്ളില്‍ ഒരു പ്രത്യാശയുടെ നാമ്പുമുളയ്ക്കുന്നത് വായനക്കാരനായ എനിക്ക് വ്യക്തമാക്കാന്‍ സാധിച്ചു. നജീബിന്റെ കൂടെ ഹക്കീം എന്ന കൂട്ടുകാരനും വിസ ലഭിച്ചിട്ടുണ്ടായിരുന്നു. റിയാദില്‍ വിമാനം ഇറങ്ങിയ ഇരുവരും ഒരു തെറ്റിദ്ധാരണയുടെ പുറത്ത് സ്‌പോണ്‍സറാണ് എന്ന് കരുതി ഒരു അറബിയെ കണ്ടുമുട്ടുന്നു. ആ കൂടിക്കാഴ്ചയാണ് നജീബിന്റെ ജീവിതത്തിന്റെ നിലപാടിന് കാരണമായത്. ഇവര്‍ ഇരുവരും അറബാബിന്റെ കൂടെചെന്ന് എത്തിയത് മസ്ര എന്ന രണ്ടു തോട്ടങ്ങളിലായിരുന്നു. വൃത്തിഹീനമായ സാഹചര്യത്തില്‍ ആടുകളേയും ഒട്ടകങ്ങളേയും പരിപാലിച്ചുകൊണ്ടുള്ള വിശ്രമമില്ലാത്ത ജീവിതമായിരുന്നു മസറയില്‍ നജീബിനെ കാത്തിരുന്നത്.

മസറയില്‍ ചെന്നെത്തിയ നജീബ് കണ്ടത് അവിടുത്തെ വേലക്കാരനായ ഒരു ‘ഭീകരരൂപി’യെ ആയിരുന്നു. എന്നാല്‍ നജീബ് വന്നതിന് കുറച്ചുനാള്‍ കഴിഞ്ഞപ്പോഴേക്കും അയാള്‍ മരണപ്പെട്ടു. എന്നാല്‍ തോട്ടങ്ങളില്‍ എത്തിയതിന് ശേഷം നജീബും ഹക്കീമും കണ്ടുമുട്ടിയിട്ടില്ല. ഹക്കീമിനെക്കുറിച്ച് നജീബ് വളരെ വ്യാകുലനായിരുന്നു. പിന്നീട് നജീബിന് ഒരു അടിമപ്പണി തന്നെയായിരുന്നു. എന്നാല്‍ ആ ഭീകരരൂപിയുടെ മരണത്തിന് ശേഷം നജീബിന് ആ മസറയിലെ എല്ലാ ജോലികളും ചെയ്യേണ്ടിവന്നിരുന്നു.

പച്ചപ്പാലും, കുബ്ബൂസ് എന്ന അറബിറൊട്ടിയും, ചുരുങ്ങിയ അളവില്‍ വെള്ളവും മാത്രമായിരുന്നു ആകെ കിട്ടിയിരുന്ന ഭക്ഷണം. താമസിക്കാന്‍ മുറിയോ, കിടക്കയോ, വസ്ത്രമോ, കുളിക്കുന്നതിനോ, മറ്റേതെങ്കിലും തരത്തിലുള്ള ശുചിത്വപരിപാലനത്തിനോ ഉള്ള സാഹചര്യമോ ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നില്ല. അറബാബ് സ്ഥിരമായി നജീബിനെ മര്‍ദ്ദിച്ചിരുന്നു. കഥയിലെ ചില വരികള്‍ മര്‍ദ്ദനത്തിന്റെ തീവ്രത വര്‍ധിപ്പിക്കുന്നു. പിന്നീട് നജീബ് ആ ജീവിതവുമായി ഇണങ്ങിച്ചേരുന്നു. ആടുകള്‍ക്ക് നാട്ടിലെ കഥാപാത്രങ്ങളുടേയും സ്വന്തക്കാരുടേയും പേരുകള്‍ നല്‍കി അവരുമായി സംവദിച്ചാണ് തന്റെ ഏകാന്തതയ്ക്ക് നജീബ് ആശ്വാസം കണ്ടെത്തിയത്. ഒരുദിവസം നജീബ് ഹക്കീമിനെ കാണാന്‍ ചെന്നപ്പോള്‍ ഹക്കീമിന്റെ കൂടെ ഒരു സൊമാലിയക്കാരനെ ഏര്‍പ്പെടുത്തിയതറിഞ്ഞു. അവര്‍ മൂന്നുപേരും കൂടി ആ മസറയില്‍ നിന്ന് ഒളിച്ചോടാന്‍ ശ്രമിച്ചു. മറ്റൊരു അറബാബിന്റെ മകളുടെ വിവാഹത്തില്‍ സംബന്ധിക്കാന്‍ പോയ സമയം നോക്കിയാണ് ഇവര്‍ ഒളിച്ചോടാന്‍ ശ്രമിക്കുന്നത്.

മസറയില്‍ നിന്ന് ഒളിച്ചോടിയതിന് ശേഷമാണ് മരുഭൂമിയുടെ വലുപ്പം ശരിക്കും നജീബ് വ്യക്തമാക്കിയത്. വിറങ്ങലിച്ച മണല്‍ത്തരികളിലൂടെ കുറേ ദിവസത്തെ യാത്രകള്‍ നജീബിനെ പല പാഠങ്ങളും പഠിപ്പിച്ചു. മരുഭൂമിയിലൂടെ ദിവസങ്ങള്‍ നീണ്ടുനിന്ന പലായനത്തില്‍ ദിശ നഷ്ടപ്പെട്ട അവര്‍ ദാഹവും വിശപ്പും കൊണ്ടു വലഞ്ഞു. യാത്രക്കിടയില്‍ ദാഹം സഹിക്കാതെ ഹക്കീം മരിച്ചു. പിന്നെയും പലായനം തുടര്‍ന്ന ഖാദരിയും നജീവും ഒടുവില്‍ ഒരു മരുപ്പച്ച കണ്ടെത്തി. അവിടെ ദാഹം തീര്‍ത്ത് കുറച്ച് ദിവസം തങ്ങിയ ശേഷം അവര്‍ വീണ്ടും യാത്ര തുടര്‍ന്നു. ഒടുവില്‍ നജീബ് ഒരു ഹൈവേയില്‍ എത്തുമ്പോഴേക്ക് ഖാദരിയെ കാണാതായിരുന്നു. അവിടെ നിന്നും, ഒരു അറബി അയാളെ തന്റെ കാറില്‍ കയറ്റി, അടുത്ത പട്ടണമായ റിയാദിലെ ബഹ്തയില്‍ എത്തിച്ചു.

ബത്ഹയില്‍ എത്തിയ നജീബ്, കുഞ്ഞിക്കയുടെ ദീര്‍ഘനാളത്തെ പരിചരണത്തിനൊടുവില്‍ മനുഷ്യരൂപവും ആരോഗ്യവും വീണ്ടെടുത്തു. നാട്ടിലേയ്ക്കു മടങ്ങാന്‍ വേണ്ടി പോലീസില്‍ പിടികൊടുത്തു. ഷുമേസി ജയിലിലെ ഏതാനും മാസങ്ങള്‍ക്ക് ശേഷം നജീബിന്റെ അറബി ജയിലില്‍ വന്ന് നജീബിനെ തിരിച്ചറിഞ്ഞെങ്കിലും തിരിച്ച് കൊണ്ടുപോയില്ല. അയാളുടെ നിസ്സഹായത കണ്ടിട്ടാകാം അത് ചെയ്യാഞ്ഞത്. എന്നാല്‍ അത് നജീബിന് വേറൊരു ജീവിതം സൃഷ്ടിച്ചുകൊടുക്കുകയായിരുന്നു. എന്നാല്‍ നജീബ് അയാളുടെ വിസയിലെ ആളായിരുന്നില്ല. തുടര്‍ന്ന്, ഇന്ത്യന്‍ എംബസി നല്‍കിയ ഔട്ട്പാസ് മുഖേന നജീബ് നാട്ടില്‍ തിരിച്ചെത്തുന്നു.

ഒരു അതിജീവനത്തിന്റെ കഥ തന്നെയാണ് ‘ആടുജീവിതം.’ യാതനയും വേദനയും നിറഞ്ഞ കുറച്ചുനാള്‍ അയാളെ ആകെ ഇല്ലാതാക്കുന്നു. മനുഷ്യന്റെ സഹനശേഷിയെ വിരല്‍ ചൂണ്ടുകയാണ് ഈ നോവല്‍. അതിനാല്‍തന്നെ ഈ നോവലിന് ഇന്നും എന്നും വളരെ പ്രാമുഖ്യം നിറഞ്ഞു നില്‍ക്കുന്നു. ‘ആടുജീവിതം’ വെറുമൊരാളുടെ കഥയല്ല, നാം അറിയാതെ പോകുന്ന ഏതൊക്കെ മനുഷ്യ ജീവന്റെ കഥയായിരിക്കാം. എന്നാലും ഈ നോവല്‍ നമ്മെ പലതും പഠിപ്പിച്ചുതരുന്നു. നാം അനുഭവിക്കുന്ന ജീവിതമെല്ലാം നമുക്ക് വെറും കെട്ടുകഥകള്‍ മാത്രമാണ്. ബെന്യാമിന്‍ ഒരു വ്യത്യസ്ത രീതിയിലാണ് ഈ നോവല്‍ രചിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നത്. അതിനാല്‍തന്നെ അവ നോവലിന്റെ ഭാവതീവ്രത വര്‍ധിപ്പിക്കുന്നു.

നജീബ് ഇന്നലെകളെക്കുറിച്ച് വ്യാകുലപ്പെടുകയോ നാളയെക്കുറിച്ച് ആകാംക്ഷപ്പെടുകയോ ചെയ്തിരുന്നില്ല. എന്നാല്‍ ഇന്നിനെ എങ്ങനെ നേരിടാം എന്നുമാത്രം ചിന്തിച്ചു. മസറയില്‍ ഓരോ ജോലി ചെയ്യുമ്പോഴും നജീബിന്റെ മനസ്സിലേക്ക് സ്വന്തം വീടും, നാടും, ഉമ്മയും ഭാര്യയുമെല്ലാം കടന്നുവരുന്നുണ്ട്. അവയെല്ലാം ഒരു ഓര്‍മ്മകള്‍ മാത്രമായി മാറുമെന്നായിരുന്നു നജീബിന്റെ ഭയം എന്നാല്‍ മസറയില്‍ നിന്ന് ഒളിച്ചോടിയ നിമിഷം അയാളുടെ മനസ്സില്‍ ഒരു പുതുജീവന്‍ ഉടലെടുക്കുന്നു.

കല്‍ക്കത്തയുടെ പശ്ചാത്തലത്തില്‍ രചിക്കപ്പെട്ട ജുംപാ ലാഹിരിയുടെ കൃതി

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aatujeevitham (Malayalam Edition) Paperback – March 1, 2024

• Print length 212 pages
• Language Malayalam
• Publisher GREEN BOOKS PVT LTD
• Publication date March 1, 2024
• Dimensions 8 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• ISBN-10 8184231172
• ISBN-13 978-8184231175
• See all details

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Book description, product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ GREEN BOOKS PVT LTD (March 1, 2024)
• Language ‏ : ‎ Malayalam
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 212 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 8184231172
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-8184231175
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.6 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• #15,288 in Study Guides & Workbooks
• #470,461 in Literature & Fiction (Books)

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Aatujeevitham (Malayalam) Kindle Edition

• Print length 297 pages
• Language Malayalam
• Publication date 28 November 2016
• File size 1960 KB
• Page Flip Enabled
• Word Wise Not Enabled
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• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01N598L8P
• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Green Books Pvt Ltd; 100th edition (28 November 2016)
• Language ‏ : ‎ Malayalam
• File size ‏ : ‎ 1960 KB
• Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Not enabled
• Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
• Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
• Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 297 pages
• #4,239 in Literature & Fiction (Kindle Store)
• #21,760 in Literature & Fiction (Books)

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Customers find the book great, benchmark in Malayalam literature, and worth reading. They also appreciate the nice narration and emotional impact. Readers describe the story as heart touching.

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Customers find the book great, interesting, and touching. They also say the print is good and the book is a benchmark in Malayalam literature.

" Book is very nice and papers have good quality." Read more

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Kerala State Film Awards 2024: Here's what you need to know about 'Aadujeevitham'

 'Aadujeevitham – The Goat Life', released in 2024, is a gripping survival drama directed and co-produced by Blessy, who also penned the screenplay. Starring Prithviraj Sukumaran and Amala Paul, this film marks a significant collaboration between Indian and American production companies. It adapts Benyamin's acclaimed 2008 Malayalam novel, which tells the true story of Najeeb, a Malayali immigrant. Najeeb, along with countless other Indians, was ensnared into brutal slavery in Saudi Arabia, where he was forced to toil as a goatherd on remote desert farms under the harsh control of local Arabs.

Aadujeevitham Review | Prithviraj stars in an intense tale of survival Najeeb's story of survival, his epic struggle against the brutal fate that pushed him into the remotest corners of the world, has become part of the Malayali's literary lore. The long wait cinematic portrayal of that brutal struggle ended today. And Blessy has not let his followers down. Read More

'Aadujeevitham': Reading Blessy's Prithviraj-starrer in the light of Benyamin's classic Literary adaptations are read rather than watched in the light of the source material, and that's a risk every filmmaker who embarks on this creative journey knowingly takes. Blessy is no exception; his 'Aadujeevitham' (The Goat Life) is closely compared with Benyamin's classic, despite the master filmmaker's insistence that the portrayal of Najeeb in the film differs from that in the novel. Read More

Voir cette publication sur Instagram Une publication partagée par Onmanorama (@onmanorama)

'Aadujeevitham': Life of Sainu without Najeeb - an imagination through her eyes While everyone praises Najeeb's survival story in Blessy's 'Aadujeevitham', it's worth contemplating the character of Sainu, Najeeb’s wife - in life, the book, and the movie. The film 'Aadujeevitham' has been garnering acclaim, with audiences especially appreciating Prithviraj’s performance. While he certainly deserves the accolades, Amala Paul's character, Sainu, Najeeb's wife, appears predominantly in the first half of the movie, largely as memories of Najeeb. Read More

‘ Aadujeevitham’ happened before I named Vairamuthu in the MeToo movement: Chinmayi Singer Chinmayi Sripada, who made her debut in the film industry with ‘Oru Dheivam Thantha Poovae’ composed by A R Rahman 22 years ago, has collaborated with the celebrated music composer again in ‘Aadujeevitham’. Read More

Aadujeevitham sweeps Kerala film awards with 9 honours, Kaathal and Iratta shine

'Ullozhukku' and 'Aadujeevitham' lead the race in this year's Kerala State Film Awards

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ആടുജീവിതത്തിലെ ഗാനങ്ങൾ പരിഗണിക്കാതെ പോയതിൽ വിഷമം, ഗോകുൽ അർഹിക്കുന്ന പുരസ്കാരം- ബ്ലെസി

16 august 2024, 01:31 pm ist.

ആടുജീവിതം പോസ്റ്റർ, ബ്ലെസി

ആ ടുജീവിതത്തിന് ലഭിച്ച അംഗീകാരങ്ങളിൽ അതീവ സന്തോഷമുണ്ടെന്ന് സംവിധായകൻ ബ്ലെസി. പ്രേക്ഷകരും ജൂറിയും തങ്ങളുടെ പരിശ്രമത്തെ അംഗീകരിച്ചതിൽ അഭിമാനം തോന്നുന്നുണ്ടെന്നും എന്നാൽ ചിത്രത്തിലെ സംഗീതത്തെ പരിഗണിക്കാതിരുന്നതിൽ വിഷമമുണ്ടെന്നും ബ്ലെസി പറഞ്ഞു. ജൂറിയുടെ തീരുമാനത്തെ എതിർക്കുന്നതിൽ അർഥമില്ലെന്നും തൻ്റെ വിഷമം പങ്കുവെയ്ക്കുക മാത്രമാണെന്നും ബ്ലെസി കൂട്ടിച്ചേർത്തു.

'സംസ്ഥാന സര്‍ക്കാര്‍ നല്‍കുന്ന അംഗീകാരമെന്ന നിലയില്‍ അവാര്‍ഡ് വളരെ സന്തോഷം നല്‍കുന്നതാണ്. പ്രത്യേകിച്ച് ആടുജീവിതത്തിന് പ്രധാന അവാർഡുകളിൽ 9-ഓളം പുരസ്‌കാരം ലഭിക്കുന്നു. ഇത് മൂന്നാം തവണയാണ് മികച്ച സംവിധായകനുള്ള അവാര്‍ഡ് എനിക്ക് ലഭിക്കുന്നത്. അതിനു മുമ്പ് നവാഗത സംവിധായകനുള്ള അവാര്‍ഡും ലഭിച്ചു. എട്ടു സിനിമകള്‍ ചെയ്തിട്ട് നാലു തവണ പുരസ്‌കാരം ലഭിച്ചു എന്നത് ഏറെ സന്തോഷകരമാണ്. ഏറ്റവും സന്തോഷം തരുന്നത് ഗോകുലിന് സ്‌പെഷ്യല്‍ ജൂറി അവാര്‍ഡ് ലഭിച്ചു എന്നതാണ്. ഗോകുൽ ആ ചിത്രത്തിനായെടുത്ത കഠിനാധ്വാനം വളരെ വലുതാണ്. എന്നാൽ സിനിമയിലെ പാട്ടുകള്‍ പരിഗണിക്കാതെ പോയതില്‍ ഖേദമുണ്ട്. ആ സിനിമയെ മനോഹരമാക്കിയതില്‍ ഗാനങ്ങളും പശ്ചാത്തലസംഗീതവും വലിയ പങ്ക് വഹിക്കുന്നുണ്ട്. ജൂറിയുടെ തീരുമാനത്തെ എതിര്‍ക്കുകയല്ല അത് വിഷമമുണ്ടാക്കി എന്ന് പറഞ്ഞുവെന്ന് മാത്രം.

പ്രേക്ഷകരുമായി സംവദിക്കാൻ കഴിയുക എന്നതാണ് സിനിമയെ സംബന്ധിച്ചിടത്തോളം ഏറ്റവും പ്രധാനം. ആടുജീവിതം അത്രയേറെ വായിക്കപ്പെട്ട നോവലാണ്. അപ്പോൾ 43 അധ്യായങ്ങളിലുള്ള, വായനക്കാരൻ്റെ മനസ്സിൽ അത്രയേറെ ആഴത്തിൽ പതിഞ്ഞ ആ നോവലിനെ തിരക്കഥയാക്കുക എന്നതായിരുന്നു ഈ സിനിമയുടെ മേക്കിങ്ങില്‍ ഏറ്റവും വെല്ലുവിളി നിറഞ്ഞത്. ചെറിയ മാറ്റങ്ങൾ വരുത്തി, പുതിയ സ്വീകൻസുകൾ കൂട്ടിച്ചേർത്തു, അതിനെ പ്രേക്ഷകരും ജൂറിയും അംഗീകരിച്ചു. ആ അവാര്‍ഡിനെ മാനിക്കുന്നു.'

Content Highlights: blessy reacting on awards bagged by aadujeevitham in kerala state fim awards

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I have miles to go before I sleep.....

Wednesday 16 december 2015, book review of malayalam novel aadujeevitham(life of goat) by benyamin.

81 comments:

Thanks Aswathy

real beauty lies in small things....

Simplicity in language give's perfection

This comment has been removed by the author.

Very well and excellent

Really nice and very helpful thanks for you

Good noval, exlent write

Good noval, exellent write

Nice language ... I liked it

Beautiful novel, excellent writing. It touched our heart

Good and very helpful

Good and helpful

It's very helpful thank u

Use simple language so easy to understand

Use simple language so easy to way understand

Thank you for helping me to study for my sem exam❤❤

Ya for me also😍

Thank you for helping me to study for my sem exam...

Thanks for helping to study

Thanks. Simple, easy to understand.

Thank U , it is helpfull for my project

Tnx u..... it's very helpfull....

Tnku so much chechi

Thank u so mich chechi

Nice review

Thank U Parvathy.It help me to compleat my assignment.

Thank you so much😊

Thankuu😍 it really help me for my internals.....

The uniqueness of this review is it's simplicity , truly loved it , thank you

Nice chechi

Nice chechi, thank u for this review 😍😁

Nice chechi 😍

Very nice simple language story I really like it ❤😘

Very simple language. It was really nice

It is Very helpfull to study

Very excellent novel ...a novel that touched ma heart

It's awesome

A novel that touched my heart

Excellent Creation Parvathy R Menon

Heart touching novel

Short and simple review It's been a great job done by Mrs Parvathy R Menon.

Thank for Short Review 😍🔥✌️

Nice review❣

Nice riview

It help me a lot for my CE work

hehehheheheh nyc book

Really awesome

Thank you for this short simple & excellent review

Excellent work

Thanks aswathy❤️❤️❤️

• entertainment

‘Aadujeevitham’ director Blessy disappointed over A.R. Rahman’s snub at Kerala State Film Awards 2024

The Goat Life - Official Trailer

New Delhi: Kerala State Film Awards for the year 2023 have finally been announced. Out of 160 films submitted, only a few took home the prestigious title. With 2023 being an incredible year for Malayalam cinema, the intense competition between actors and films was exhilarating to watch. Here is the full list of winners for the Kerala State Film Awards this year.

Kerala State Film Award winners

The highlights of the award ceremony include Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Aadujeevitham , also known as The Goat Life sweeping nine awards including Best Actor and Best Director. Meanwhile, actresses Urvashi and Beena R Chandran, both won the award for Best Actress.

• Best Film – Kaathal The Core
• Best Actress – Urvashi ( Ullozhukku ), Beena R Chandran ( Thadavu )
• Best Actor – Prithviraj Sukumaran ( Aadujeevitham )
• Best Director – Blessy ( Aadujeevitham )
• Best Second FIlm – Iratta (Rohit MG Krishnan)
• Best Debutant – Fazil Razak ( Thadavu )
• Best Popular Film – Aadujeevitham
• Best Sound Design – Jayadevan Chakkadath, Anil Radhakrishnan ( Ullozhukku )
• Special Jury Actor – Sudhi Kozhikode (Kaathal), KR Gokul ( Aadujeevitham ), Krishnan
• Special Award to Outstanding Brilliance in any Aspect of Cinematic Art – Gaganachari
• Special Jury Award for women/transgender people – Director Shalini Ushadevi ( Ennennum )
• Best VFX – Andrew D Cruz, Vishak Babu ( 2018 )
• Best Dance Choreographer-  Jishnu (Sulaikha Manzil )
• Best Dubbing Artist (F) – Sumangala – Jananam 1947, Pranayam Thodarunnu
• Best Dubbing Artist (M) – Roshan Mathew ( Ullozhukku , Valatty)
• Best Costume – Femina Jabbar  ( O Baby)
• Best Makeup Artist – Ranjith Ambady ( Aadujeevitham )
• Best processing lab/colourist – Vaishal Shiva Ganesh ( Aadujeevitham )
• Best Sound Mixing – Resul Pookutty, Sharat Mohan ( Aadujeevitham )
• Best Sync Sound – Shameer Ahmed ( O Baby )
• Best Production Design – Mohandas ( 2018)

While these were the films that won, other popular films such as Neru and Garudan, Falimy, Pookkalam, Sesham Mike-il Fathima, Gaganachari, Pranaya Vilasam, Kadina Kadoramee Andakadaham, Neymar, Ottu, and 18-Plus were also part of the race.

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First Day First Show | National Film Awards winners, ‘Thangalaan’ review Premium

The hindu’s first day first show newsletter brings you news and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming.

Updated - August 18, 2024 02:27 pm IST

Published - August 16, 2024 05:09 pm IST

(This article forms a part of the First Day First Show newsletter that brings you the latest and best from the world of movies and entertainment.  Subscribe now )

Around Tinsel Town

>> National Film Awards 2024

The winners of the 70th National Film Awards were declared by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, honouring the best films and cinematic achievements of the year 2022. Actor Rishab Shetty won the Best Actor award in a Feature Film for his performance in the Kannada folk action thriller,  Kantara, while Anand Ekarshi’s Malayalam suspense chamber drama,  Aattam , bagged the Best Film, Best Editing and Best Screenplay awards.

>> Disney’s D23 Expo 2024

Walt Disney announced details of its slated releases and upcoming projects at its D23 fan convention that took place between August 9 and August 11. The event saw several film and series announcements, fresh off the heels of Disney’s major reveals from the San Diego Comic Con 2024, in the week prior.

Some highlights from the event:

> From ‘Toy Story 5’ and ‘The Incredibles 3’ to ‘Zootopia 2’ and ‘Frozen 3,’ Disney announces multiple sequels

> From ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ to ‘Ironheart,’ Marvel goes all out with updates on its series

> ‘Avatar 3’ title revealed as ‘Fire and Ash’

> ‘Star Wars: Skeleton Crew’ trailer features Jude Law in a coming of age story on kids lost in space

> Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross to succeed Daft Punk’s iconic original score for ‘Tron: Ares’

> First look of ‘Lilo & Stitch’ live-action remake

> ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ Season 2 reveals new cast and teases first look

> Marvel Animation reveals its slate with ‘X-Men ‘97’, ‘What If... ?’, ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’ and more

> Disney honours legends Angela Bassett, James Cameron, Frank Oz and more

>> 54th Kerala State Film Awards

‘Aadujeevitham’, based on a real-life saga of human resilience in the face of unimaginable suffering, garnered nine awards including the top honours of Best Director for Blessy and Best Actor for Prithviraj Sukumaran, while, Jeo Baby’s sensitive take on homosexuality, ‘Kaathal - The Core’, won the award for the Best Film as well as Best Story at the 54th Kerala State Film Awards . 

Shah Rukh Khan feted with lifetime achievement award at Locarno Film Festival 2024

Salman Khan announces release date of ‘Angry Young Men,’ a docu-series on screenwriters Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar

‘Stree 2’ scores biggest opening in India , beats ‘Fighter’ and ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ (Hindi version)

Bhumi Pednekar, Ishaan Khatter to star in Netflix series ‘The Royals’

Uorfi Javed’s show ‘Follow Kar Lo Yaar’ to be out on this date

Javed Akhtar announces new collaboration with Salim Khan

Netflix announces new crime thriller ‘Sector 36’ starring Vikrant Massey and Deepak Dobriyal

‘Heeramandi’ star Taha Shah Badussha to feature in three Ramesh Sippy films

Rani Mukerji commemorates 50 years of Yash Raj Films , launches first of its kind Yash Chopra stamp

Aamir Khan, Janhvi Kapoor, Genelia Deshmukh attend premiere of musical ‘Rajadhiraaj: Love Life Leela’

Gena Rowlands , acting powerhouse and star of movies by her director-husband, John Cassavetes, dies

Anthony Bourdain biopic titled ‘Tony’ in the works , with ‘The Holdovers’ actor Dominic Sessa to star

George Clooney criticizes Quentin Tarantino and labels David O. Russell a ‘Miserable F**k’

Todd Haynes’ new movie no longer in development after Joaquin Phoenix’s exit

Justin Baldoni hires PR expert amid alleged ‘It Ends With Us’ controversy

James Cameron is working on a new ‘Terminator’ project, will direct ‘Avatar 4 & 5’

James Wan is developing a ‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’ remake

Nicolas Cage to headline David O. Russell’s NFL film, ‘Madden’

‘On Swift Horses’ teases first look at Jacob Elordi and Daisy Edgar-Jones

Rachael Lillis, voice actor for Misty and Jessie from ‘Pokémon’ , dies at 46

Regional cinema

Director H Vinoth confirms helming Vijay’s last film , ‘Thalapathy 69’, before political plunge

Prashanth Neel and Jr NTR’s ‘NTR 31’ goes on floors, locks a release date

Biju Menon joins cast of Sivakarthikeyan’s ‘SKxARM’ with AR Murugadoss

‘Laughing Buddha’, from Rishab Shetty Films, gets a new release date

Joju George’s directorial debut ‘Pani’ to release in September in five languages

Nimisha Sajayan teams up with ‘Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum’ writer for her next Tamil film, ‘Enna Vilai’

Tovino Thomas’ ‘Ajayante Randam Moshanam’ to release for Onam

Jr NTR wraps ‘Devara Part 1’ shoot ; shares unseen BTS still

Makers unveil first-look motion poster of Biju Menon’s ‘Kadha Innuvare’

Mrunal Thakur says she is not part of Prabhas’ next movie ‘Fauji’

Aparna Sen, Anjan Dutt come together as elderly couple in Bengali film

World cinema

‘One Piece’ WIT Studio remake reveals stunning first look at ‘The One Piece’

‘Blue Lock: Episode Nagi’ to hit Indian theatres this August

Latvia chooses Annecy winner ‘Flow’ for 2025 Oscars International Feature submission

AR Rahman to collaborate with Eurythmics’ Dave Stewart on Shekhar Kapur’s ‘Ebony McQueen’

Soori takes Anna Ben to an exorcist in the trailer for PS Vinothraj’s intense sophomore ‘Kottukkaali’

Kangana Ranaut as Indira Gandhi is here to unravel ‘darkest chapter of Indian democracy’ in the trailer for ‘Emergency’

Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s ruthless vigilante faces off against The Rhino in the trailer for ‘Kraven the Hunter’

Gi-hun is out for revenge as new competitors enter the game in the teaser for ‘Squid Game’ Season 2

Suriya and Bobby Deol enter war mode in Siva’s period actioner in the trailer for ‘Kanguva’

Jason Reitman imagines the birth of ‘SNL’ in the trailer for ‘Saturday Night’

Osgood Perkins’ ‘Longlegs’ follow-up sees Theo James pitted against an ominous monkey toy in the teaser for ‘The Monkey’

The early bond between Mufasa and Scar is highlighted in the trailer for ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’

Rachel Zegler goes against Gal Gadot’s evil queen in the trailer for live-action ‘Snow White’

One final dark adventure for Jinx and Vi in the trailer for ‘Arcane’ Season 2

The Mammootty-starrer promises a stylish actioner in the trailer for ‘Bazooka’

Vivek Athreya, Nani, SJ Suryah film to be high on action in the trailer for ‘Saripodhaa Sanivaaram’

Anna Kendrick is a show contestant in a deadly dating game in the trailer for ‘Woman of the Hour’

Meera Jasmine and Aswin Jose strike an unlikely romance in this comedy in the trailer for ‘Paalum Pazhavum’

Anaswara Rajan is a runaway bride with Indrajith Sukumaran in the trailer for ‘Mr & Mrs Bachelor’

Yvonne Strahovski fends off a mysterious threat in James Wan’s upcoming horror series in the teaser for ‘Teacup’

Essential reading

1) Kangana Ranaut: I would love to direct a film with Shah Rukh, Salman and Aamir Khan

>> She also said she was drawn to the “Shakespearean tragedy” of Indira Gandhi’s life and political career

2) Malavika Mohanan on Pa. Ranjith’s ‘Thangalaan’ and why it was the most physically-intense challenge of her career

>> She speaks about the monumental effort it took to become Aarathi in ‘Thangalaan’ and empowering women with agency

3) Otakus, assemble: How anime is witnessing a cultural revolution in India

>> Anime has steadily turned itself into the nation’s favourite binge and is experiencing a full-blown cultural coup

4) ‘SSE Side A/B’ actor Gopalkrishna Deshpande: ‘Lucia’ and ‘Ulidavaru Kandante’ inspired me to dream big in films

>> The actor opens up on associating with the likes of Raj B Shetty and Rakshit Shetty

5) Arulnithi on ‘Demonte Colony 2’ and building a franchise

>> The actor also talks about doing films in genres apart from thrillers and playing it safe with budgets

6) Director Priyadarshan on ‘Manorathangal’ and how he sees MT Vasudevan Nair as his guru

>> The showrunner and director says reading the screenplay of ‘Olavum Theeravum’ inspired him to become a director

7) How ‘Manorathangal’, based on MT Vasudevan’s stories, brings together the best of creative talents in Malayalam

>> Eight filmmakers and a constellation of talents assemble nine stories for ‘Manorathangal’

8) Why Pa. Ranjith’s ‘Thangalaan’ is about rewriting and reclaiming Dalit history

>> Tamizh Prabha and Stalin Rajangam talk about how ‘Thangalaan’ attempts to reclaim the history of Dalits

9) Screen Share | Films that are odes to friendship and platonic love

>> Movies and shows on friendship always retain cult fandom; here are a few titles

What to watch

1) An ambitious Pa. Ranjith and regal Vikram aim for gold, but settle for less in ‘Thangalaan’

Read the full review here

2) Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, and gang deliver the laughs, but not much else in ‘Stree 2’

3) John Abraham’s socially-conscious action entertainer, ‘Vedaa’, does not stay the distance

4) Keerthy Suresh stands tall in the light-hearted ‘Raghu Thatha’

5) Lily Collins’ return to City of Lights is bright, busy, but a tad boring in ‘Emily in Paris’ Season 4 Part 1

6) Akshay Kumar finds his groove with this nuptial nonsense in ‘Khel Khel Mein’

7) An imperfect yet competent sequel sets up a horror franchise in ‘Demonte Colony 2’

8) Ram Pothineni and Sanjay Dutt shoulder a high-octane entertainer in ‘Double iSmart’

9) Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry star in serviceable spy comedy, ‘The Union’

10) Harish Shankar and Ravi Teja’s ‘Mr. Bachchan’ is an overdrawn, meandering mess

11) Awkwafina and John Cena’s ‘Jackpot!’ is a tax on the stupid

12) ‘Aay’ is an enjoyable, lighthearted social drama from the Godavari region

13) Samarjit Lankesh’s launchpad squanders its potential with ‘Gowri’

14) Ganesh-starrer, ‘Krishnam Pranaya Sakhi’ is an outdated relationship drama

15) Jeethu Joseph’s ‘Nunakuzhi’ is a briskly-paced fun ride

16) ‘Manorathangal’ is an uneven anthology celebrating M. T. Vasudevan Nair, with a few hidden gems

17) ‘Veeranjaneyulu Viharayatra’ is a journey steeped in bitter-sweet memories

18) Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse star in ‘Lisa Frankenstein,’ a lost little monster outing

Related Topics

English cinema / World cinema / Hindi cinema / Tamil cinema / Malayalam cinema / Kannada cinema / Telugu cinema / Indian cinema / television / film festival

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