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Prithviraj Sukumaran breaks down the making of his recent survival drama Aadujeevitham

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Prithviraj Sukumaran is not someone who rests on his laurels. Just a week after the release of Aadujeevitham, the actor is all set for the second schedule of L2: Empuraan. “I’m proud and happy about Aadujeevitham and couldn’t be happier with the way it’s being received. It’s a film I’ll cherish for life but nothing is going to change. The very next day of the film’s release, I was back at work to wrap up another film.”

But for now, he is happy to discuss his epic project, based on the reallife story of Najeeb, a man who ends up living in slavelike conditions in a goat farm in the middle of a desert. Excerpts from a conversation:

Question:

What kept the team going, especially through the tough stretches during the pandemic?

I have to be very honest; the single reason that kept us going is director Blessy. The entire process never really shut down because of that one man’s conviction and focus. We started shooting only in 2018 though we set out to do this film in 2009... and that’s almost 10 years. During that decade, the whole world was telling me and Blessy to move on as this was not going to happen (smiles). I have asked Blessy multiple times if we can do something else and circle back to this script later.

Answer:

Q:Staying in character is one thing, but showing the years of abuse and illtreatment that transforms this character into someone who can’t talk or walk properly probably needed constant tweaking as the film progressed. How did you go about it?

Blessy and I decided to compartmentalise it into three phases. For convenience’s sake, we keep referring to it as the “three weeks, three months and three years” phases. The first one would be Najeeb’s first three weeks in the desert. Then we see him three months later for an episode there. Then the narrative breaks, and we finally see him three years later.

I had specific body language additions and changes in mind for each phase, and they were designed as part of the story.

A:Q:Arguably the best sequence of the film is when Najeeb sheds his clothes, revealing how impoverished he has become over time, as he walks to the water tank and gets to wash his face. Can you walk us through the shot?

I kept telling Blessy to push that shot to the end because I knew I would continue my weight loss journey to that point. Unfortunately, when the pandemic struck and we got the news that the shoot might soon get shut down, Blessy wanted to get that shot out of the way and gave me a date on when we would shoot that scene. I got into this heavy fasting cycle where I was fasting EEfor 72 hours at a stretch and towards the end, I had dehydrated myself for 48 hours.

I know there’s a shock value to it... but it’s not just that. The only instrument available to me to show what he has gone through over the last three years, was to show how he has transformed physically. The body is pretty much a screenplay instrument then. I’ll never claim it was easy and I’ll never advocate it to anyone else, not even to other actors.

A:Q:The film has opened to positive reviews but a section of the audience finds some portions, especially in the second half, a tad too long. How do you react to such criticism?

I respect all opinions and if someone feels the film didn’t resonate with them, I respect that. No

A:film is perfect, neither is Aadujeevitham. The second half... once the escape starts, it almost feels like there’s no end to it. The helplessness Najeeb feels should start to set in, and make the audience think that his escape is a neverending ordeal until he finally finds the road.

Q:You have headlined great titles on your home turf in Malayalam, while also being a part of noteworthy films in other languages. Is this a planned strategy?

This question is an opportunity to sound really cool by saying this is all part of my grand design, but unfortunately, it’s not (laughs). I think I’m lucky to resonate with filmmakers across industries who want to work with me, and it’s strange because I have never gone in search of my next film thinking this is the genre or language that I want to work on now. The next film I do is the next good script I find. If tomorrow I find an interesting Assamese script or a Bhojpuri filmmaker comes to me with a good story, even if I don’t know the language, I’ll do it and even try my best to dub also.

A:Q:A recent viral video of yours was about your take on nepotism and the comments on it were appreciative of how you were open about it. But does it bother you that it’s still a topic of conversation though it’s been more than two decades since you became an actor?

I get the question quite often. It’s not something I want to show off, but it’s not something I’m ashamed of either. Did I get my first film because I’m my father’s son? Obviously, yes, I did. I’m intelligent enough to understand that it’s because my surname is Sukumaran and he was a famous Malayalam actor. But I believe I only got my first film because of my surname, and from there on, I was on my own. That way, cinema is a great leveller. Cinema is not a field where you can be safeguarded by a board of directors you have hired. How much ever you’re protected, come that Friday, you have to bear it all and stand for judgment.

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