Blessy: Master Class

BLESSY HAS BROUGHT out the best from his actors in his latest movie, Aadujeevitham: The Goat Life, which is based on an epony­mous 2008 novel by Benyamin that is inspired by the real-life story of an Indian migrant forced into working as a goatherd in Saudi Arabia. The 60-year-old filmmaker, known to be a stickler for perfection, is often credited with this feat in his flicks: drawing intense performance from his heroes, be it Mohanlal in Bhramaram and Thanmathra or Mammootty in Kaazhcha and Palunku or Prithviraj in Aadujeevitham. Blessy, who is also a successful screenwriter, has cast the net much wider this time round, handling the character of a diasporic Malayali labourer held against his wishes to slave away in inhuman conditions in interior Saudi Arabia by an abusive master and his sidekick. That Blessy puts the spotlight on unsuspecting migrants from the country and their trauma in Gulf coun­tries is perhaps crucial to the box-office success of the film across India and the rest of the world. In the first week, the film has earned more than `81 crore worldwide.

Blessy, who was 41 when he directed his first movie, had been an assistant to a few of Kerala’s most gifted directors, notably Padmarajan, for a long time. Most of his movies have done well commercially with a few exceptions. His first film Kaazhcha (‘Vision’, 2004) centres on a boy who lands up in Kerala as an orphan following the 2001 Gujarat earthquake. Mammootty plays the saviour of the six-year-old boy in the movie. Bhramaram is another outstanding movie that won critical acclaim for Mohanlal’s role as a man seeking revenge against people who had framed him in a murder case.

Aadujeevitham: The Goat Life, which has been dubbed into multiple languages, has catapulted Blessy, who belongs to a small town in Kerala, into national limelight thanks to packed cinemas and glittering reviews across media platforms. For the director, though, this is a case of reward for his patience and hard work. Novelist Benyamin recalled receiving a call from Blessy after reading the former’s novel as early as 2008. Since then, Blessy had been contemplating using the essence of the literary work as a film. Although the preparations had begun back in 2018, the shooting in Jordan was interrupted by the lockdown induced by the Covid-19 pandemic. Which is why it took nearly six years for the film to be released after the shooting began.

Prithviraj, who had to lose a lot of weight for his role, had said in an interview that key to Blessy’s craft is the filmmaker’s patience. They worked in the desert among the sheep and camels and persevered tirelessly to ensure the best shots that the director wanted for the movie. Prithviraj plays the role of the real-life character Najeeb Muhammed (aka Shukoor), who was tricked into slavery by unscrupulous locals in Saudi Arabia along with his friend from Kerala, Hakkim.

Throughout the movie, which features music by AR Rahman, Blessy skilfully juxtaposes the scenes of joy of young Muhammed with his wife back home with the dreaded existence of the man who had to live mostly on dry bread and water.

The highlight of the movie is the escape of Muhammed and Hakkim along with a Somalian goatherd Ibrahim Khadiri (played by Haitian actor and producer Jimmy Jean-Louis) who has an idea of the lay of the land. The trio plan to flee on the day their masters are away at a wedding with the hope that they would reach a road, but the goal looks more elusive every passing day. The survival thriller features moments of suspense, despair, relief and incomprehensible trauma.

The dexterity with which some of the scenes are created is proof of Blessy’s superlative skills and devotion to his project. He has not only highlighted the intensity and natural talent of his actors but also integrated the contrasting landscapes of Kerala and the deserts of the Gulf region into the storyline. This tranche of success looks like a new beginning for the consummate filmmaker.

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Ullekh NP

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