How Prithviraj Sukumaran lost 31 kg in seven months for new film

Prithviraj Sukumaran's Aadujeevitham (The Goat Life) is currently on a roll at the box office. The film, directed by Blessy, is based on Benyamin's bestseller 2008 novel of the same name and portrays the actual tale of Najeeb, an immigrant labourer from Kerala who is forced into slavery on a distant goat farm in a Middle Eastern nation.

"I knew as an actor that this was a prerequisite; that to portray the entire character arc, I'd have to go through this drastic physical transformation of losing a lot of weight and looking very emaciated," Sukumaran told Variety. The actor increased his weight to 98kg for the Kerala part of the shoot and for the scenes where he first arrives in the Middle East. The production then paused for seven months while Sukumaran shed 31kg. "I surprised myself and everyone in the film crew, because when I landed up the next time in Jordan, I was almost unrecognisable," Sukumaran said.

The actor did not anticipate Covid-19, which halted the filming immediately after a scene where his emaciated body was revealed, leaving the team stuck in locked-down Jordan for months. They ultimately returned after a year and a half, during which time Sukumaran had to acquire weight to remain healthy.

"But then I had to redo the whole thing. I didn't count on having to do the whole weight loss transformation process two times, which I ended up having to do, because it's a trap. Once you get to that level and you do a portion of the film, then it almost becomes like a thought process in your head. 'No, I can't let it go.’ I put in so much effort. I can't let all that go to waste," Sukumaran said, according to Variety.

• Prithviraj Sukumaran gets candid about 'The Goat Life' with real life Najeeb