The Goat Life (Aadujeevitham)

The Goat Life Movie Details:

The Goat Life Movie Cast and Characters:

• Prithviraj Sukumaran as Najeeb Mohammed
• Jimmy Jean-Louis as Ibrahim Khadiri
• K. R. Gokul as Hakim
• Talib Al Balushi as Khafeel
• Amala Paul as Sainu, Najeeb’s wife
• Shobha Mohan as Najeeb’s mother
• Rik Aby as Jasser
• Nazer Karutheni as Kunjikka
• Robin Das as Hindiwala
• Baburaj Thiruvalla as Karuvatta Sreekumar
• Aji George as Hamid

Storyline:

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 mistakenly assumes he is their boss. Following a long journey, they are separated, with Najeeb left to work in a remote desert goat herd.

Enduring harsh conditions and isolation, Najeeb witnesses the demise of a fellow goatherd, realizing the peril of his own situation. After years of suffering, he is reunited with Hakim, who introduces him to Ibrahim Khadiri, an African goatherd with knowledge of escape routes. They seize an opportunity during the 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 civilization 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 where 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.

The Goat Life Movie Box Office Collection & Budget:

About The Goat Life Movie:

Aadujeevitham (titled internationally as The Goat Life) is a Malayalam 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 Malayalam novel Aadujeevitham by Benyamin, which is based on a true incident. The film stars Prithviraj Sukumaran as Najeeb, a Malayali immigrant labourer who finds himself forced into slavery as a goatherd on a secluded farm in Saudi Arabia.

The film was in development hell since 2009. Blessy wanted to adapt Aadujeevitham ever since he read the novel in 2008. Prithviraj was cast in the same year. In 2009, Blessy signed the deal with Benyamin and began writing the screenplay. However, budget constraints prevented substantial progress.

Blessy spent years searching for a producer, finally finding one in 2015, allowing the project to gain momentum. Jimmy Jean-Louis and Steven Adams also joined as producers, along with Blessy himself. 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 Sahara, Algeria, with some scenes shot in Kerala, India. The crew was stranded in the Jordan desert 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. The film, shot in 3D, concluded filming on 14 July 2022.

During the promotion of Kaapa (2022) in December 2022, Prithviraj revealed that Aadujeevitham would premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival if post-production work was completed on time. In such a scenario, the film’s worldwide theatrical release would be in the latter half of 2023. However, if the film is not able to make it to Cannes, it will premiere at the next major film festival. In May 2023, following the absence from Cannes, Blessy disclosed a strategy to debut the film at the Venice Film Festival, with a subsequent theatrical release in October 2023 contingent upon completing the remaining post-production works by mid-June.

In late November 2023, it was announced that the film would be released theatrically on 10 April 2024, ahead of the Eid al-Fitr and Vishu weekend. However, in February, the film was advanced to 28 March 2024.

The film will be distributed by Prithviraj Productions in Kerala, Hombale Films in Karnataka, Mythri Movie Makers in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Red Giant Movies in Tamil Nadu and AA Films in North India.

The film’s satellite and digital distribution rights were acquired by Asianet and Disney+ Hotstar, respectively, which was revealed during the audio launch.