Aadujeevitham (The Goat Life) is a tribute to Malayalam cinema with its unique genre and the amount of hard work and dedication went into it. Hats off to the entire crew and director Blessy for keeping a dream alive for more than a decade. While depicting the harrowing life of Najeeb in a faraway land Prithviraj Sukumaran tries his best to be the reel-life persona of the real-life hero. But it’s not a steady character arc.

Aadujeevitham has a shaky first half and an evolving second half. When Najeeb and his young friend Hakeem land in Saudi with the dream of a better life like any migrant, their naivety and poor language skills connect us. That paves an easy route for some Arabi at the airport to transport them to a masara in the middle of a desert. Then a brutal separation. In the very first shot, Blessy establishes Najeeb’s pitiable life. He is a slave trapped in a goat farm disconnected from the world. What keeps him alive is the lovely memories of his wife Sainu (Amala Paul). Since Najeeb is hostile in an arid land, Blessy is very liberal in showing the wet shots of the couple on their honeymoon back home. Neither the song nor those exotic visuals create any impact in Aadujeevitham. Overly cinematic.

In the second half, the goat life of Najeeb is very evident. He is accustomed to the desert and dunes and started talking to goats. At this well-shot phase, certain expected scenes based on Benyamin’s lines are missing. There are whiplashes, vulture attacks, and other horrifying desert scenes that should work in favor of Najeeb. Prithvi’s effort is tremendous. Although, I couldn’t connect emotionally as I expected. Some discord.

The most anticipated escape shots in Aadujeevitham, were captured brilliantly by Cinematographer Sunil KS. I am also impressed by the natural performances of Jimmy Jean-Louis and Gokul in this tough terrain. The length could have been trimmed. ARR magic is limited to background score. I couldn’t differentiate Resul Pookutty’s sound design.

Aadujeevitham as a survival thriller may not lure an international audience.