Aadujeevitham – The Goat Life has been receiving acclaim ever since its release last month. Actor KR Gokul, who played a pivotal role in the Blessy directorial, opened up about his journey on preparing for the role in a new interview with India Today. The actor shared that he ‘starved himself’ to lose weight for the part and survived on a water diet. It resulted in him suffering a collapse on the third day itself. (Also read: Prithviraj Sukumaran exclusive interview: We wanted either Hans Zimmer or AR Rahman for The Goat Life)

What KR Gokul said

Speaking about his process, the actor shared, “All the experiments I carried out to lose weight for Hakeem helped me play the character realistically. It took a toll on me physically and mentally. I was on a water diet and cutting calories gradually. I had to push myself to the maximum for the last 15 days. I was starving myself and was on black coffee for 15 days. I collapsed on the third day itself. It was my family and friends who suffered the most. It really took a toll on my mental health.”

The actor had shared a picture of his physical transformation on his Instagram account where he replicated the pose of Christian Bale who also underwent a physical transformation for his work in The Machinist. He offered his role as a tribute to that artistry.

‘I was the youngest person on the sets’

He further continued about his experience working with Prithviraj in the film. “During the shooting, I was the baby on the sets. I was the youngest person on the sets and everyone treated me as their brother and son. That kind of nurturing and care always helped me to be comfortable on the sets. You can work freely when you’re comfortable. Raju ettan [Prithviraj] treated me as a co-actor and not as a newcomer. He told me, ‘you are doing the same job as me’,” he added.

Based on the 2008 novel Aadujeevitham by Benyamin, the film tells the true story of a man from Kerala called Najeeb, who migrated to the Gulf in the early ’90s for work. The film follows his desperation to go back home. Academy Award winners A R Rahman and Resul Pookutty have provided the music and sound design for the film. It received highly positive reviews upon release and has collected over ₹100 crore in worldwide gross collection so far.

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