Aadujeevitham: Why The Prithviraj-Blessy Film Is Not Released In Gulf Countries Except UAE

The stellar performance of the Prithviraj-Blessy movie “Aadujeevitham” (The Goat Life) at the box office, surpassing more than Rs 15 crore worldwide in two days, sans the Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman, has attracted the attention of many. The original film is made in Malayalam, and the absence of the survival-adventure movie in the theaters of West Asian countries, except the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is significantly reducing the business prospects, as the region is considered one of the major cash cows for the small movie industry from South India. According to sources, the release in these countries, except the UAE, is delayed or banned due to the content of the movie. However, a report suggests that the distributors of “Aadujeevitham,” the cinematic adaptation of the best-selling Malayalam novel written by author Benyamin of the same name, are working to ensure that the movie will be released in all Gulf countries.

The movie depicts the adventurous escape of a Malayali labourer from the clutches of slavery enforced by a Bedouin Arab sponsor. This “Kafeel” or sponsor, as in the real-life story of Alappuzha native Shukkoor, now famous as Najeeb Muhammad (character portrayed by Prithviraj in the film), picks him up from the arrival area of King Khalid International Airport while he is waiting for his actual sponsor, and then keeps the labourer for an extended period without letting him leave a goat farm inside the Saudi Arabian desert. However, after several months of harrowing life on the farm, Najeeb manages to escape the place.

According to an insider from the Aadujeevitham team, earlier, the efforts to shoot the desert scenes from Arabian peninsula went in vein as they were not allowed to proceed with that. Then, the source said, the shooting was fixed for the desert in Rajasthan, however, that was not also materialised after they were denied permission by officials to import a herd of goats from Arabia for the shooting purpose. That was the reason they chose Jordan and Algeria for the cinematography, according to the insider.

The movie releasing in Bahrain?

Some social media posts and reports said on Friday that the movie has passed the censor exercise in Bahrain and the advance booking has already started there. But, some checks with the theatres show that the movie has not been listed in the upcoming list there. The social media posts have also said the censoring bodies in Qatar and Oman may take call on the release on Sunday, but, Timeline could not verify these claims as well.

An Oman-based actor is part of the movie and plays an important role in the movie. Dr Talib Al Balushi, who has several shorts and features in his credit, plays the role of the Kafeel in the movie. He had earlier told a group of NRIs that the film society in his homeland is trying their level best to release the movie in Oman, and he is hopeful about its outcome. The critics have lauded Dr Balushi’s performance in the movie.

The translation ‘ban’

According some reports from 2014, the Arabic translation of the book (Ayyamul Maaiz) was also banned in some Gulf countries. Suhail Abdul Hakeem Wafi, Qatar based scholar who translated the book to Arabic, said he was told by the Kuwait publisher of the translation that it was banned in some places, but, revealed more details about the truth about the so called ban in Gulf countries.

”The Arabic translation of Aadujeevitham was released at Riyadh Book Fair (Saudi Arabia) in 2014. Since then, the book is available in Riyadh Book Fair, Sharjah Book Fair, Abu Dhabi Book Fair and Jiddah Book Fair. The book is also available at the Lagoon Mall here (Qatar). I had the doubts that the ‘ban’ story was somehow a cooked up story to amplify the sales,” he said in a recent interview.

Why the release in UAE possible?

Some suggested that the delay in the release of the movie in countries like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman might be due to the perception of the authorities that the movie’s central theme will be against the Arabs.

“The book was reportedly banned earlier, and it is quite natural that the movie might also face the same fate. There were instances like this earlier, for example, the restrictions film ‘Gaddama’ faced years back,” an observer said. Like in Aadujeevitham, Kamal’s 2011 film Gaddama, which was also banned in some Arab countries, is about a Malayali women who went to Gulf to work as a housemaid and the difficulties she faced from her sponsor, and then her escape.

But, Aadujeevitham was released on March 28 in UAE with its global release. “UAE had already done away with all these perception battles long back. And the authority here is well aware that the labour issues are things of past,” an observer commented when asked about the said release of the movie in Emirates.

Is the book and the movie really anti-Arab?

According to Suhail Abdul Hakeem Wafi, his translation of the book is well received among the Arabs, especially in the youth population of the peninsula. The Arabic version of Aadujeevitham has already seen several prints. The villainous character in the story is an aberration, even for the characteristics of a Bedouin, according to Mr Suhail.

“People will be undergoing the same experience like what Najeeb went through, where there are the feudal system still exist. But, what happened with Najeeb is a rare occurrence, Najeeb himself believes this. Najeeb says that 99 per cent of Arabs are not like the sponsor he had. All those who have lived in the Gulf region know the true nature of Arabs,” Mr Suhail added.