While everyone praises Najeeb's survival story in Blessy's 'Aadujeevitham', it's worth contemplating the character of Sainu, Najeeb’s wife - in life, the book, and the movie. The film 'Aadujeevitham' has been garnering acclaim, with audiences especially appreciating Prithviraj’s performance. While he certainly deserves the accolades, Amala Paul's character, Sainu, Najeeb's wife, appears predominantly in the first half of the movie, largely as memories of Najeeb.
Interestingly, the film gives Sainu's character more prominence than the book does, diving deeper into the romance between Najeeb and Sainu. The movie and the book largely overlook the challenges Sainu faced in Najeeb's absence.
In an interview, Benyamin expressed that Sainu's side of the story deserves a book of its own. While both the book and the film focus on Najeeb's struggles, one can only imagine what Sainu endured.
She was eight months pregnant when Najeeb, the family's main provider, left for Saudi Arabia in the early '90s to seek better opportunities. Given the lack of internet and phone access at that time, Sainu would likely have felt a deep sense of uncertainty from the moment Najeeb departed.
Najeeb embarked on a journey to better their lives, leaving Sainu with a promise to call her at the nearby phone booth in their village. He keeps the promise while he is in Bombay, but situations prevent him from doing so once he lands in Saudi Arabia.
In the movie, we see Sainu watching her husband leave, knowing well that he won't be present for their child's birth but hopeful for a better future. However, after not hearing from Najeeb for 2-3 days, Sainu would have grown increasingly concerned. She might have shared her worries with Najeeb's mother, hoping for reassurance about his well-being. She would have contacted Karuvatta Sreekumar (who arranged the Visa) through Santhosh (Najeeb's friend).
As days would give way to weeks, a worried Sainu, shedding all her reluctance, would have sought help from her brothers to locate Najeeb. The first response from them would have been vicious insinuations citing various stories of deserters popular among non-resident Indians in the Middle East.
With no word from Najeeb and all these stories, Sainu's situation would undoubtedly have worsened. We're discussing a young woman and a new mother here. With no news about her husband, she had every reason to fear the worst.
After a year of silence from him, it's likely she, along with everyone else, began to accept that he might not return, even though they hoped otherwise. While Najeeb endured physical torment as a slave in the desert, Sainu experienced her form of emotional anguish.
She may not have faced the physical hardships Najeeb did, but like him, she likely had no one to confide in about her struggles. The person she most wanted by her side was gone, leaving her unsure of how to cope.
Just like Najeeb, Sainu must have lost all hope of his return. Then, almost three years later, her world is turned upside down when she receives a call from the Gulf saying Najeeb is alive.
It's almost certain her initial reaction would have been one of overwhelming relief and tears upon hearing that her husband, whom she had thought lost forever, is alive. In the movie, we don't see her reaction; instead, the scene focuses on a phone conversation between Najeeb and Sainu, capturing only Najeeb's response.
We don't see Sainu, we only get to hear her. And her broken voice gives a definitive picture of her emotional state. Her voice trembles as she says she can't believe he's alive, struggling to find the right words. More than Najeeb, Sainu must have felt that a miracle had occurred.
For her, it was like being trapped in a tunnel with no end in sight, and finally seeing a glimmer of light. In the movie, the song 'Omane' portrays the romance between Najeeb and Sainu, giving the audience a glimpse of the deep bond they shared.
However, even after Najeeb's return, things wouldn't have been the same. Not because their love had diminished—in fact, their profound love likely fueled Najeeb's resilience—but because of the trauma both had endured.
