Director of "Aadujeevitham," Blessy, discusses his labor of love

Gulf News

Indian filmmakers are notoriously prolific. In 2023 alone, over 1,300 movies were rolled out, indicating that when it comes to cinematic quickies, speed is expected and appreciated. But National Award-winning filmmaker, Blessy, doesn’t let time dictate his filmmaking process. His latest Malayalam-language survival thriller, ‘Aadjujeevitham’ (The Goat Life), which continues to play in UAE cinemas since its release on March 28, took over 16 years to make.  Read the full story here:  https://gulfnews.com/entertainment/south-indian/i-am-not-the-one-talking-about-the-oscars-aadujeevitham-director-blessy-talks-about-his-labour-of-love-1.102402885  Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV  See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km  #UAEnews #India #Aadujeevitham

Transcript

00:00In the book, there is a sequence where he tells the sheep that they are going on a journey.

00:05You can write anything, but how does he behave with the sheep?

00:12Because this is the most heartless thing I have ever seen in the world.

00:17I don't think there is any headache at all.

00:30When I came back, I just felt sad because you are from this region and you know there are many people like that who come here clueless.

00:38For you, how difficult was it? How emotionally draining was it for you, bless you, to make this movie?

00:45I read the novel, Adi Jeevanam, in 2009.

00:51Actually, I visualized it as a movie when I read it for the first time and that is why I am reading it now.

01:01But my difficulties started when I thought I could make it into a movie.

01:11Because a novel that I have read so many times has not grown so many images in Malayalam cinema in recent years.

01:29The fact that a 250-edition book has been sold means that there is a vision in the minds of millions of people.

01:42So, for a filmmaker, the most critical thing is whether he will stick to it or not, or whether he will create an image that is better than this.

01:53Because we are going to be with so many people and their experiences.

02:02At the same time, you have a lot of possibilities when it comes to writing a book.

02:10Because you just have to write it in your mind. It does not have to be created.

02:16So, you do not need the support of VFX.

02:20You just have to say it.

02:23You just have to say that there are snakes crawling on the ground.

02:29Then we will be able to see the snake of our choice.

02:33It is a side-liner.

02:35You do not have to say that the snakes on the desert floor belong to which day.

02:40The most interesting thing is that when you say that they belong to Chemmeryad, you just have to write that they belong to Chemmeryad.

02:48But the fact that there is a difference between Chemmeryad and Chemmeryad and that it belongs to a different family is what makes a filmmaker.

02:57My research is that the snakes seen in Arab countries belong to a particular family called Awazi.

03:08So, as I said earlier, it is more complicated than that.

03:12These are all layers.

03:14These are all situations that come later.

03:16The first situation is when Benyamin Najeeb is alone in solitude, he tells his story in soliloquy.

03:26So, narration is a soliloquy process.

03:30But a film does not have such a soliloquy.

03:34A film should be seen with a lot of continuity.

03:38So, the first challenge is to tell a big story written in 43 chapters in three hours.

03:53So, that challenge is what I call the biggest critical stages for a writer.

04:03We have to look at the logic there.

04:08We have to look at the continuity.

04:10For a filmmaker, continuity is very important.

04:12We have to look at the continuity.

04:14Books do not need this.

04:19So, if someone's mental state is like this,

04:27the next chapter can be someone else's.

04:29That does not affect us.

04:31Because we also take breaks in between.

04:33Even if we say that I read it alone,

04:37we conceive it through breaks and edits when we need it.

04:43So, the big difference between these two mediums,

04:47can be understood even by those who analyze it.

04:51So, how to cover up this?

04:55How to cover up brilliantly?

04:57So, the first decision is not to cover up a book called Aadu Jeevitham.

05:07I am not doing a documentation of it.

05:09I have my own perspectives on it.

05:13When a person is in a coma,

05:15when he tells a story about his past life,

05:19I have my own perspective on it.

05:21That is why I have not taken many scenes from his book.

05:27I have added my own new scenes to it.

05:31I have added small experiences to it.

05:37When I have these experiences,

05:39I feel that cinema is a good medium.

05:43Especially the characterization of Najeeb,

05:47the meaning of his life,

05:51the hope he has for his family,

05:55the relationship he has with his family,

05:59the relationship he has with his family,

06:03after two years,

06:05he becomes an animal,

06:07or a person who forgets his wife and mother.

06:13This is not realistic.

06:17I am in such realistic situations.

06:21From the very beginning,

06:25to the critical stages,

06:29there are many stages.

06:31There is a big production for a film like this.

06:35There are many critical phases.

06:39Location.

06:41For a Malayalam film,

06:45location is the main budget.

06:51We cannot shoot in a Rajasthan location.

06:59In many other countries,

07:03there were many unnecessary incidents

07:07that were not realistic.

07:11That is why I am very happy that

07:15cinema is being censored now.

07:19I am very happy that

07:23cinema is being censored now.

07:27I am very happy that

07:29cinema is being censored now.

07:31Let's talk about the casting.

07:35Why did you choose someone like Prithviraj?

07:39I was very surprised.

07:41Most of the time,

07:43actors like Prithviraj don't give time.

07:45They don't have the patience.

07:47In your case,

07:49you chose a bankable actor.

07:53We don't see Salman Khan in a film like this.

07:57They don't have the time.

07:59Why did you choose Prithviraj?

08:05I chose him 15 years ago.

08:11I chose him 15 years ago.

08:13He was a bit younger than me.

08:17He was a bit younger than me.

08:19He was a bit younger than me.

08:21At that time,

08:23everyone asked me,

08:27Would Prithviraj be an average actor like Najeeb?

08:31Would he be up to the challenge?

08:33Would he do well in the casting?

08:36Will Prithviraj handle the character Hmanchil?

08:38So there were a lot of questions.

08:42In my case,

08:44it is the people asking me

08:48about the preparation for my next film.

08:50So, most of them do not know.

08:53It is only when I understand the demands of the characters and the possibilities of acting that they have more work to do.

09:03That is only possible for a director before he makes a film or before he acts.

09:09For Prithviraj, he is a person who is dedicated and ready for this.

09:18That is how he impresses me.

09:21He is a youngster for me and for this film.

09:27Even in the very beginning, we saw this film as a 5-6 schedule.

09:34He is a person who is able to dedicate that much time.

09:41It is only when a person who is beautiful, intelligent, healthy and determined makes a change,

09:48that is when we see a change.

09:51It is not a normal change.

09:55It is only when there is a change like that,

09:59that we get a very drastic feeling like this.

10:06When we see a survival thriller like Cast Away, we are more bothered about the survival part.

10:15You have to make it emotional.

10:18At the end, it shouldn't be a spectacle.

10:21It looks beautiful and you see them suffering, but there is no emotional resonance.

10:26Were you worried at some point that it shouldn't be about a survival thriller?

10:31It is also about this man becoming almost a beast or not knowing what is the difference.

10:37When it comes to making a film,

10:42I don't see it as a spectacular film or a survival film.

10:52I see it as a film.

10:54I see it as a film because I need my land.

10:58Why do we use nature?

11:01Only those who have critical views about nature can understand this.

11:08There is a relation between water and sand,

11:11and there is a relation between heat and humidity.

11:14They are two identical worlds.

11:16The sand is taken from water.

11:19the soil that is lost, the soil that is eroded,

11:27we experience the same content.

11:30These are the life-changing events in our life.

11:33We experience the ups and downs,

11:36the erosion and erosion that takes place in our life.

11:43But we are more than just living through all of it.

11:47Our human mind, our body is very strong.

11:54That mind, that's why she has such a mind.

11:59She doesn't need education.

12:02Yes.

12:03She doesn't need education.

12:04That's why that little lamb touches her soul.

12:10She shares her pain.

12:12That's why a bottle of cola makes a sound to her and makes her dizzy.

12:18That's how my narration is.

12:31There was a scene when he was about to leave our farm.

12:36He is saying goodbye to all the animals.

12:39I thought that was very touching.

12:41That also showed how it's almost like he is going to miss them.

12:45It's like a Stockholm syndrome.

12:47He is almost attached to the animals.

12:49That scene was very interesting.

12:51Was it there in the book?

12:53Did you want that connection?

12:55It's almost impossible, right?

12:57It's like saying goodbye to your kidnapper.

12:59Or saying I'll miss you to the kidnapper.

13:01Why would you do that?

13:04There is a sequence in the book where he says goodbye to the sheep.

13:10You can write anything down.

13:15But how does he behave with the sheep?

13:17Because this is the most heartless thing I have ever seen in this world.

13:22I don't think there is any headache at all.

13:26I don't think there is any headache at all.

13:28Because we can train the dogs and cats.

13:34We can train them.

13:36I think everything is the same.

13:38In the first schedule,

13:40in the second schedule,

13:42when I went to shoot Jordan for the first time,

13:44I went with a trainer from Bombay Circus.

13:48But he was disappointed with that and didn't come to the second schedule.

13:52That's the truth.

13:54There is also a saying that this movie is Oscar worthy.

13:58It's Oscar material.

14:02It's a different matter whether it gets selected or not.

14:04Do you guys think of awards?

14:08This is an award-friendly movie.

14:10Or it will go to Oscars.

14:12Have you ever thought of that?

14:14Never.

14:16I have never thought of that for any of my films.

14:20For me,

14:22for me,

14:24for me,

14:26for me,

14:28for me,

14:30for me,

14:32for me,

14:34for me,

14:36for me,

14:38for me,

14:40for me,

14:42for me,

14:44for me,

14:46for me,

14:48So when people asked me about my first day of filming,

14:52they went and asked me what an emotion I had right now.

14:56What I said was,

14:58At least it is a movie.

15:00This episode happened with your help right?

15:02This was not really mine alone,

15:04it was us alone,

15:06It was your experience right?

15:08In this film,

15:10there was a last day for film making.

15:12It was it was over right?

15:14Actually, that's the only way we have been able to make money.

15:19Now, my life is not in my hands.

15:23It wasn't there before I wrote it.

15:26It wasn't there when I shot it.

15:28It's the public who will talk about it.

15:33So, the first thing I talk about Oscar is the public.

15:39We know that we are not able to think about it in a financial way as much as we used to.

15:52But the public says that.

15:54That's when we start thinking about it.

15:58It's the public's wish.

16:03I think Balaiyalam cinema is very interesting now.

16:07Because, again, Netflix, Amazon, all have come in.

16:11People are watching it.

16:12Do you think that we have been doing good cinema for a long time?

16:15This is not the first time.

16:17Suddenly, there is more acknowledgement.

16:18What do you think?

16:20Is it because of the lack of budget?

16:23Is it because of the lack of stories?

16:26It's not about songs, budgets.

16:29No, because, in Malayalam cinema, the budget is a big issue.

16:36Now, we have seen a lot of changes in the last two or three films.

16:41We used to say 100 crores, but now it's 8 crores.

16:48But in this film, it's more than 100 crores or 200 crores.

16:53That's when it becomes a break-even.

16:56It's a very expensive film.

16:59But, the business of Malayalam cinema is to see the audience at the level of the audience.

17:08Because there are a lot of people watching it, it reaches 100 or 200 crores.

17:14But, when it comes to other businesses,

17:19I feel that the business of Malayalam cinema is to give a little more than what it did before Prithviraj.

17:33That's the biggest problem I have.

17:35That's a problem.

17:37Thank you so much.

17:40It was a good movie and it was also emotionally touching at the end of the day.

17:44There are a lot of people who come to the airport and don't know where to go.

17:51That was a long time ago. Now, a lot of situations have changed.

17:57Now, when we go to the airport, they don't know where they are going.

18:02It's a little better now. There are mobile phones.

18:04Maybe that's why it's different.

18:06But, I don't know. Maybe it's changed.

18:08I really hope it has changed.

18:10But, this movie was good. Thank you so much.

18:12It's your labour of love.

18:14You put aside 16 years.

18:16It's there to see on the screen.

18:18It was very entertaining and also very touching.

18:24Is there anything you want to add?

18:26We have two more minutes.

18:28Anything you want to say about the movie?

18:30When we think about a movie, the first thing that comes to mind is the story of the travellers and their experiences.

18:44Now, when it comes to the last stage of the movie, I feel that this is a story about the survival of all humans.

18:54In today's situation, especially for small children,

19:00when they don't get anything in life, they experience a lot of depression, loss of consciousness, and suicidal tendencies.

19:08In this situation, there is a hope that what happened today will not happen tomorrow.

19:20That is the hope that this movie gives.

19:22It is a story about the survival of travellers and migrants.

19:34In any situation.

19:36It doesn't have to be a desert.

19:38It doesn't have to be a job.

19:40It doesn't have to be a jail.

19:42It can be a small experiment.

19:44It can be a love.

19:46It can be a movie that can help people to survive.

19:50It is a movie that can help people to live without losing their love and affection for life.

20:00I feel that this movie is a great movie.

20:02It's true.

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