Prithviraj Sukumaran portrays the real-life character of Najeeb Muhammad in Aadujeevitham – The Goat Life.
Pritvhiraj Sukumaran talks about Aadujeevitham — The Goat Life in an exclusive chat with us. He opened up about Bade Miyan Chote Miyan.
Prithviraj Sukumaran is all set to return to the big screen with director Blessy’s movie of the year, Aadujeevitham – The Goat Life. The actor is set to play the real-life character of Najeeb Muhammad. Ahead of the film’s release, the Malayalee actor sat down with News18 and spoke about all things Aadujeevitham. Sukumaran revealed that he had initially agreed to do this project back in 2008
“I don’t know if it can be classified as a movie experience any longer. It’s more like a part of my life now. I said yes to this film in 2008, and here we are in 2024, and the film is about to be released. That’s about a 16-year-long journey. I am only 41 now, so, 16 years of 41 is a substantial period of your life,” he said in an exclusive interview with News18.
Explaining how things were different back then when he agreed to do the film with Blessy, Sukumaran said, “When I said yes to this film, I was still single, obviously not a father, I had not turned producer and director. I have gone through so many steps of evolution in my life, both personally and as an actor. All that has been constant during this entire time is this film. It has been a long journey, but a gratifying one.” Sukumaran was quick to point out that the release of this film is a “culmination of a lot of things, not just for me, but for everyone involved with this film”.
The 41-year-old actor and filmmaker has directed two films so far and both have been massive hits starring megastar Mohanlal in the lead roles – Lucifer and Bro Daddy. When asked if he would wait for almost 16 years for a project like Blessy did for Aadujeevitham – The Goat Life, and he said, “I hope that I have that in me. Every time, if there’s something you have to submit yourself to, to create something you have in your mind, I think Blessy and Aadujeevitham will always serve as that one-yard stick with which we are all measured.”
“Make no mistake, Blessy was not a debut filmmaker trying to pull off his debut film. Back in 2008, he still was the coveted filmmaker that every big star in the industry was dying to work with. I know for a fact that he was the highest-paid filmmaker back then. And for someone like him at that stage of his career to decide, ‘No, I am going to do this, and this is the kind of time it will take, I am going to give that much time for the film’. [This] is an absolute epitome of submitting yourself to your vision. I don’t know if I will ever do this,” he added.
Sukumaran lost 31 kilos for his part in the film. He revealed his transformation process included fasting for almost 3 days at a stretch. “I personally never thought that this was possible. [The most grilling part about it was] the hunger. Because it didn’t involve dieting. It involved me not eating. My transformation was majorly based on fasting. There were times when I was on a 3-day fast,” he shared.
Sukumaran will also be seen in Bade Miyan Chote Miyan starring Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff in the lead roles. Speaking about his part in the movie, he shared, “It is an Ali Abbas Zafar directorial [film]. It stars Akshay and Tiger, and I play a very interesting character in it. I had a lot of fun playing the character, and Ali is a fantastic director.”
Aadujeevitham – The Goat Life is set to release on March 28, while Bade Miyan Chote Miyan will hit the theatres on April 10, 2024.
