Actor Prithviraj Sukumaran believes in doing what his character demands but he doesn’t like bragging about it. The star underwent an intense physical transformation for his latest Aadujeevitham: The Goat Life, which required him to fast for as long as 72 hours to achieve the physique of a man surviving in a slave-like situation in the middle of the Saudi desert.
In an interview with Galatta India, Prithviraj said the physical transformation was a major part of Aadujeevitham, and was achieved under expert guidance of trainers, nutritionists and doctors on set. “All of them jointly agreed upon the fact that there is no healthy way to do this. My whole transformation was primarily based on fasting. There were times when the fast used to be up to 72 hours long. In fact, the most dramatic part of the transformation… I don’t think you have seen in any of the footage. That shock value we have reserved for one scene in the film when you finally get to see his body after the three years he has spent in the desert,” he added.
Aadujeevitham is an adaptation of the 2008 best-selling Malayalam novel of the same name by Benyamin and follows the life of Najeeb, who, employed as a goatherd against his will, survives in a slave-like situation in the middle of the Saudi desert. Though the transformation was intense, Prithviraj was against the idea of using it as a marketing tool as it would have been insensitive to Najeeb, who lost weight due to his unfortunate circumstances.
“Obviously when an actor goes through such a transformation, the first thought of a PR team is to do a documentary on it. I was against it, because this is not a fictional character. This is something someone really lived through and I am doing it in six months with a trainer, nutritionists, doctors and going to Austria to get expert guidance on how to lose weight.
“But someone actually went through this (ordeal) and lost weight. So, what am I marketing my weight loss for? It just didn’t sit right. What matters to me most is that people come in large numbers and watch this epic true story,” he added.
Aadujeevitham opened to rave reviews on Thursday and has so far minted Rs 14.1 cr in India.
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