Writer, muse hope summit will ease NRIs’ woes

Now that Benyamin’s ‘Aadujeevitham’ is all set to make it to the silver screen, will Najeeb, the real-life herder of goats who inspired the eponymous character in the novel, have a role in it? Prithvi
Writer Benyamin with Najeeb | Manu R Mavelil
Writer Benyamin with Najeeb | Manu R Mavelil

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Now that Benyamin’s ‘Aadujeevitham’ is all set to make it to the silver screen, will Najeeb, the real-life herder of goats who inspired the eponymous character in the novel, have a role in it? Prithviraj is set to play the younger Najeeb in the film.

“Blessy (the director) said he wants to see Najeeb,” Benyamin said on Friday. “Who wants to see Najeeb in a movie? People want to see all the big people,” said Najeeb with a laugh.The writer and the man who inspired his best-known character were at the Kerala Assembly for the Loka Kerala Sabha summit which, they hope, would solve at least some of the problems faced by the hapless Gulf Malayali.“Now, things are much better. You have the media and mobile phones,” Benyamin said.

Benyamin’s novel hit the stands at an important juncture in Kerala’s relationship with the Gulf; when the Gulf boom was waning finally. And thanks to the growth of social media, the plight of the men and women toiling in the Arab countries was suddenly out there for all to see.“Gulf is not the first place Malayalees have gone in search of jobs. They went to Ceylon (Sri Lanka) first, then Malaysia and Africa,” Benyamin said.

Employed in the Gulf, Benyamin had a novel in mind, but he did not know anyone who went through such bitter experiences.“Of course, we knew there were people here and there. From newspaper reports and such. I personally did not know any of them,” he said. Then he met Najeeb M of Arattupuzha through a friend. “We were working in the same place in Bahrain. We used to meet every day,” Najeeb said. However, ‘Aadujeevitham’ is not completely non-fiction. “That wouldn’t have worked. It would have looked like an article,” Benyamin said.

The book was such a big hit that it has been translated into English, Arabic, Tamil, Kannada, Thai, Odia and Nepali.“Everyone is hoping that the Loka Kerala Sabha will help NRKs. When they return home, they need job opportunities,” said Najeeb.

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