Prithviraj Sukumaran Still Bitter About Aadujeevitham - The Goat Life National Award Snub? Actor Says, 'Film is Not Made For Ten People To Sit And Grade'

Prithviraj Sukumaran's Aadujeevitham missed out on the National Film Awards, sending shockwaves to industry insiders as well as fans of the film. Blessy's survival drama won high praise from cinegoers and critics alike, with social media users and makers convinced that the movie will bag an honour at the coveted awards. However, the snub of the Malayalam film stirred a controversy. Prithviraj Sukumar recently received the People’s Choice Award for his role in The Goat Life at the BOTIM Onamamangam 2025 awards in Sharjah, UAE. In his acceptance speech, he seemingly addressed the National Award snub.

Prithiviraj Sukumaran says the love of fans is bigger than any awards for Aadujeevitham 

Speaking at the award ceremony, several media publications quoted Prithviraj saying, “A film is not made for ten people to sit and grade on it or for a jury to judge. Nor is it created for international festivals, though those are certainly valuable.” Expressing further gratitude to the viewers, Prithviraj Sukumaran added in Malayalam, “At the end of the day, movies are made for the audience—for the people who buy tickets, come to theatres, and enjoy the experience. In that sense, viewers have already given Aadujeevitham its biggest award. For that, I am grateful.”

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In an earlier interview with Mid-day, Prithviraj Sukumaran stressed that winning awards for Aadujeevitham is not the ‘goal post’ for him. He shared that he wanted to share the story of Najeeb to the world, and “There’s nothing else that I want from the film.” He concluded by saying, “If I get a National Award, great; if I don’t, congratulations to whoever gets it."

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Several reports claimed that the National Awards jury overlooked Aadujeevitham because it lacked "naturality" and the performance didn't seem "authentic". Reacting to this, in a conversation with OnManorama, director Blessy recalled how jury member Ashutosh Gowariker had once praised that film and compared it with Lawrence of Arabia (1962). “If someone appreciated the film in such detail before, how can they dismiss it on technical grounds? This seems like double standards," he added. Aadujeevitham grossed over ₹158 crore, exceeding its budget of ₹82 crore. It is currently the 5th-highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time and the 2nd-highest-grossing Malayalam film of 2024. The film is streaming on Netflix. 

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