Director Blessy interview: On Oscar bid for ‘Aadujeevitham - The Goat Life’ and AR Rahman’s magic

As ‘The Goat Life’ gets nominated at the prestigious Hollywood Music in Media Awards (HMMA), seasoned filmmaker Blessy talks about his collaboration with A.R. Rahman, his interpretation of the literary source, and the symbolism that dots the tale of survival

This has been a rewarding week for Blessy. The musical score of the noted Indian filmmaker’s survival drama Aadujeevitham – The Goat Life has secured nomination in two categories at the prestigious Hollywood Music in Media Awards and is set to compete for the Golden Peacock at the upcoming International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa, 2024.

In Los Angeles with composer A.R. Rahman to make a bid for the Academy Awards in the general category, Blessy says the film has received widespread appreciation globally, leading to excellent viewership on Netflix, reaching audiences in 192 countries. “I was anxious about how the film would be received, but to my surprise, after the first screening, an older American woman approached me with tears in her eyes. That moment made me realise the film is truly connecting with people. Screenings are underway, and we’re hopeful for a positive outcome.”

Unfolding like a spiritual cousin of Ang Lee’s Life of Pi, the film is an adaptation of Benyami’s best-selling Malayalam novel Aadujeevitham. It follows the travails and tenacity of Najeeb, a Malayali immigrant labourer who ends up herding goats in the Arabian desert. After years of struggle in deeply inhuman conditions, where every breath is a battle, he finds a way to escape with the help of a mysterious Somalian goatherd, Khadiri.

Shot in punishing conditions, the film’s theme of migration and survival evocatively expressed by Prithviraj Sukumaran has cut through geographical and linguistic barriers to become a symbol of the human spirit amidst adversity.

Blessy describes his collaboration with A.R. Rahman as “incredibly thrilling.” “I could feel that, like me, he was experiencing something almost divine while working on this film,” he says.

Excerpts from an interview....

The brief I gave him for the Arabic song was that the character, struggling to survive the relentless desert, has lost all hope. The song is their cry – a prayer to a higher power for salvation. They feel as though they’re sinking into a bottomless pit, clinging to each breath to stay alive. It’s intensely powerful. I truly believe Rahman has woven magic with both the songs and the background score. The BGM alone captures the character’s struggle, the raw emotion of their fight for survival in the desert. In a way, the score itself tells its own story, mirroring the depth of the character’s emotions.