The Goat Life (2024) on Netflix
Najeeb Muhammad travels to Saudi Arabia for work. Stranded at the airport with Hakim, a local Arab fraudulently takes them away. Najeeb is left herding goats in a remote desert.
- Netflix3.7/5
- IMDb7.1/1050,789 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes78%
Trailer
Plot summary
Najeeb Muhammad, a Malayali immigrant worker, arrives in Saudi Arabia with Hakim, a fellow immigrant, seeking a better life. Their acquaintance Sreekumar arranged their visas, but they arrive without knowing their employer. A local Arab approaches them and fraudulently takes them to his place. After a long journey the two are separated. Najeeb is left to herd goats in a remote desert for a boss called Kafeel. He endures harsh conditions and isolation, and he does not understand the Arabic spoken around him.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Goat Life (2024)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- During the COVID-19 pandemic, The Goat Life's 58-member crew was stranded in a desert camp in Jordan for 70 days and managed to shoot for only 25 of them before the Indian government repatriated them on 22 May under the Vande Bharat Mission.
- Prithviraj Sukumaran built up to 98 kilograms to play Najeeb's early scenes in The Goat Life, then cut down to 67 kilograms by the end — a 31-kilogram loss on a diet he said he would not recommend — and once blacked out while filming a scene.
- The Goat Life was initially banned in GCC countries except the UAE; the ban was later lifted everywhere except Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, where the novel it adapts had also been banned.
- Suriya was initially considered and cast as Najeeb Muhammad in The Goat Life after discussions with director Blessy, but he opted out due to busy schedules and prior commitments.
- The Goat Life is set in Saudi Arabia, but the production team was not granted permission to shoot there and had to move to other countries.
- Because Najeeb does not understand Arabic in the film, the makers avoided subtitles for those parts so viewers would share his experience; Prithviraj Sukumaran said only about 20 percent of The Goat Life contains dialogue.
- The Goat Life crossed ₹100 crore at the worldwide box office in 9 days, becoming the fastest Malayalam film to reach the mark and surpassing the 11 days taken by 2018.
