'Aadujeevitham': Blessy dismisses rumors about controversial intimate goat scene
What's the story
Following the release of Aadujeevitham - The Goat Life, rumors circulated about a contentious scene from the source novel involving an intimate interaction between protagonist Najeeb (played by Prithviraj Sukumaran) and a goat.
Speculation suggested that this scene was filmed and later axed by the CBFC.
However, director Blessy has refuted these rumors in a conversation with Manorama News's Nere Chovve and stated that no such scenes were ever filmed or submitted to the CBFC.
Clarification
This is what Blessy said about the controversy
Blessy said, "This is an unnecessary controversy. I'm not sure if someone is deliberately creating these rumors. I hope the audience will distance themselves from [them]."
"Benyamin wrote the scene [quite subtly]. But for me to film such a scene is not easy."
"I could have shot the scene in various ways, but I was thinking about Najeeb. Wouldn't he feel guilt afterward? Perhaps the Najeeb in the book is without guilt, but my Najeeb isn't like that."
Adaptation
Blessy discussed the challenges of adapting the novel
Blessy shared his approach to adapting the 43-chapter namesake novel into a screenplay.
He explained that including every element from the book would have resulted in at least 10 films due to its complex nature.
His aim, instead, was to capture the essence of the novel, incorporating many elements into the film that were not present in the book.
Box office
'Aadujeevitham's global box office success
Aadujeevitham's production budget amounted to ₹82 crore, surpassing the initial projections of ₹80 crore.
Despite this significant investment, the film managed to earn over ₹65 crore globally within just four days of its release.
Blessy has also expressed confidence in the film's potential for universal appeal and justified its substantial budget.
According to the Sacnilk website, its domestic earnings are over ₹30 crore.