| Aruvi | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Arun Prabu Purushothaman |
| Written by | Arun Prabu Purushothaman |
| Produced by | S. R. Prabhu S. R. Prakash Babu |
| Starring | Aditi Balan Anjali Varadhan Lakshmi Gopalaswamy |
| Cinematography | Shelley Calist |
| Edited by | Raymond Derrick Crasta |
| Music by | Bindhumalini Vedanth Bharadwaj |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Dream Warrior Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 130 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
| Budget | ₹1 Crore[1] |
| Box office | est.₹35 Crores[1] |
Aruvi (pronunciationⓘ;transl. Waterfalls) is a 2017 IndianTamil-languagecrime drama film written and directed byArun Prabu Purushothaman, in his directorial debut. Produced and distributed by S. R. Prakash Babu andS. R. Prabhu ofDream Warrior Pictures, the film starsAditi Balan, Anjali Vardhan, andLakshmi Gopalaswamy, while Pradeep Antony andMohammad Ali Baig play supporting roles. The film portrays the events that occur in the life of Aruvi, a rebellious young woman who seeks to expose theconsumerist and misogynistic nature of modern civilisation, while attempting to find meaning during a period ofexistential crisis.
Arun Prabu Purushothaman wrote a script based on global conflicts in late-2009, but as the scripting took a long time to materialise, he later halted the project and worked on another script in late-2013 which becameAruvi. The film revolves around howHIV patients are treated in society, and for the titular character, Prabu had approached leading actresses, however they rejected the script because of the sensitive nature in the topic and eventually, Aditi Balan was selected through an audition. The entire cast and crew were consisted of newcomers, Shelley Calist handled the cinematography, Raymond Derrick Crasta edited the film andindie musiciansBindhumalini andVedanth Bharadwaj composed the film's soundtrack andscore.
The film began pre-production in mid-2014 and was shot within six months acrossChennai,Trivandrum andKochi. Aruvi was premiered at various film festival circuits, the first public screening was held at theShanghai International Film Festival held during 14 June 2016. It was theatrically released worldwide on 15 December 2017 to highly positive reviews from critics. It was praised for the performances of the cast, especially of Balan, the film's direction and other technical aspects. It was considered one of the '25 Greatest Tamil Films of the Decade' byFilm Companion.[2]
At the65th Filmfare Awards South, Aditi Balan won theFilmfare Critics Award for Best Actress – Tamil, the only win out of its four nominations at the ceremony. The film additionally won twoSouth Indian International Movie Awards, twoVijay Awards, aTechofes Award, twoEdison Awards, fourNorway Tamil Film Festival Awards, fourAnanda Vikatan Cinema Awards and twoTamil Nadu State Film Awards. The film was a financial success, grossing₹350 million against a budget of₹10 million.[1]
The film begins with Aruvi (Aditi Balan) and Emily (Anjali Varadhan) being interrogated by law enforcement officer Mohammad Shakeel Waqaab (Mohammad Ali Baig), who suspects Aruvi to be part of a terrorist organization. Aruvi's parents and friends are called for interrogation and they talk about Aruvi's childhood and adolescence. She is a lovingly raised, innocent girl from a middle-class family. Things take a turn in her life when her[3] family turns against her and kicks her out of the house, accusing her of having brought shame to the family. Her college friend Jessy (Shwetha Shekar) takes her in for a while, then moves to a hostel and lives with Emily, who is atransgender woman. They work for a man called Arulmani (Madan Chakravarthy) as tailors in anNGO. One day, she goes to Arulmani crying, asking for a loan of 1 lakh rupees as her father (Thirunavukkarasu) has suffered a minorcardiac arrest. She then takes off and does not return. Occasionally, she undergoes touch therapy with a Swami who useshypnosis to heal stress.
Emily approaches the producers ofSolvathellam Sathyam, a reality show that showcases people's problems on TV. She complains about three men who raped her friend Aruvi. Assistant director Peter (Pradeep Antony) agrees to telecast their problem and calls the three men for interrogation. The next morning, shooting starts as the host, Shobha Parthasarathy (Lakshmi Gopalaswamy), asks Aruvi to narrate what happened to her. Aruvi then explains that the three men are Jessy's father, Joseph Mohandas (Mani Kutty), Arulmani, and the Swami. Joseph had sexually abused Aruvi when she took shelter in his house. Arulmani had taken advantage of Aruvi's situation when she begged for a loan, and the Swami had hypnotized and raped her. Aruvi then reveals that she has hadAIDS for the past two years (which occurred due to her getting infected through a wound in her mouth after an injury while having coconut water; the seller had inadvertently shed his blood into the straw while cutting open the coconut). She meets her friend Emily at an NGO as both of them have AIDS. Aruvi asks the three men to apologize, but Shobha turns against Aruvi, accusing her of intentionally infecting those men (who were all tested negative for anHIV test performed during the show). Aruvi is appalled and states everything wrong with the society and the unnecessary stereotypes that every common man has to conform to, in order to fit into this consumeristic world.
The director, Balaji (Kavitha Bharathy) used all this drama and hid the HIV test results from the three men so as to improve his show'sTRP rating. Aruvi pulls out a gun and shoots Balaji in the arm. Later, she calms herself and apologizes to everyone, but as she gets up to leave, Arulmani tackles her and hits Emily. This maddens Aruvi, and she starts hitting Arulmani with a rebar and takes everyone hostage, holding them at gunpoint. Aruvi then takes control and subjects the hostages to trivial games and activities; the main motive was to impress Aruvi and share others' feelings with each other, failing which Aruvi threatened to shoot them dead. The hostages abide by Aruvi's instructions and go with the activities. The sound of the commotions causes a wide public stir and police surround the premises. Aruvi gets a call from Shakeel, and she assures him of the safety of the hostages and her apprehension towards him after a while. During the course of the game, everyone seems to get affected byStockholm syndrome, and they become friendly with Aruvi. She even forgives the three men who raped her.
Aruvi suffers a nosebleed by the time she surrenders to the police. Since she and Emily are AIDS patients, they cannot be arrested and have to be isolated inside the camp. Aruvi's condition continues to deteriorate as she loses a lot of weight and becomes incapable of taking care of herself. One night, she disappears from the camp and moves to a village all alone. After a few days, all of Aruvi's friends (the hostages) receive a video from Aruvi on Facebook. The video shows her crying and explaining how she misses everyone and speaks about all the regrets in her life. On seeing the video, Peter gathers everyone and takes them to the village in which Aruvi currently resides (an allusion to Peter's story that he narrated to Aruvi during the hostage situation). Peter gifts Aruvi a card with "Love you Aruvi, Peter," written on it. Touched, she reciprocates his feelings (this too was a revisit of Peter's earlier proposal to Aruvi during the incident, albeit in a bland way before).
Everyone cheers Aruvi up by playing the bottle game and having a great time with her to make the last few days of her life sweet and memorable. The movie ends with Peter capturing an image of Aruvi smiling.
Everyone goes through boredom, frustration and they question themselves whether they fit in the society or not. I wanted to reflect all these thoughts and questions of youngsters. My story was about a person shunned by the society, but who still loved the society. I also don’t think that the stigmas that we talk about actually exist. It's just that we think they exist.
Arun Prabu Purushothaman, an associate ofBalu Mahendra andK. S. Ravikumar, wrote a script based on global conflicts in late-2009 and took more than three years for the writing, as he felt the script is a quite complicated process and not easy to transform it completely on-screen. As the scripting took more time, he eventually shelved that project and worked on another script during his final years of college in September 2013.[3][a] It was considered to be a two-page thesis and was entirely written within a span of 20 days. A one-line of the script was sent to cinematographer Shelley Callist, who later forwarded it toS. R. Prabhu.[4] When Arun Prabu narrated the script, Prabhu felt impressed by his narration and also he revealed that "he could not get the story out of his mind for a week", later giving his nod to produce the film.[5][6]
Prabu did not have an iota of the script when he started his concepts of the film during 2013. He wrote the film based on the day-to-day activities of youngsters in India, but the motive he focused on was based on the struggles faced by the youngsters in the current generation, as he intended to make a film that reflected the mindset of youngsters in all the countries. Prabu refused to describe the film as arealistic film, but said that the film is "complete fiction" and also a "new-agemasala film" since it mixes various genres, includingaction,comedy anddrama and also commercial films have huge exposure among audiences. He did, however, choose to avoid "songs with a number of dancers in the background", a recurring feature of masala films.[7][8]
The entire cast and crew members were consisted of debutants. In July 2014, the production team had been scouting for new Tamil speaking talent on various social networks.[citation needed] Over 600 applicants had applied and auditioned for the lead role, out of which the team choseAditi Balan, an advocate based fromChennai.[9][10] Shwetha Shekhar, who appeared in several commercials and short films, played in a supporting role, for whom it became her first feature-length film.[11]Lakshmi Gopalswami, appeared in the supporting role, who was the only cast member with acting experience. The film's cinematography was handled by Shelly Calist, while editing was done by Raymond Derrick Crasta.[12] Prior to the film's release, Arun Prabu approached established actors such asAnushka Shetty,Nayanthara,Samantha Ruth Prabhu andShruti Haasan but they declined due to various reasons.[13] But, Arun Prabu said that as the entire cast and crew are newcomers, the scope for revenue is minimal.[14]
Aditi Balan accepted the script while reading as it featured an emotional bond between father and daughter. Since the entire cast were debutantes, Arun Prabu decided to conduct an acting workshop for three months, to prepare shooting for the film.[b] Post the reading session, Aditi prepared a lengthy dialogue which was filmed in a single shoot. She had to undergo a lot of physical changes, in a climax sequence, Aditi had a strict diet to lose more than 10 kilos, and has to be isolated for 45 days, without communicating to person, so as to prepare for the shooting, describing it as "exhausting, both physically and mentally" but had loved the challenge.[15] Theatre personality Mohammad Ali Baig, played the role of Mohammad Shakeel Waqaab, aDirector general of police, interrogating Aruvi.[16] Made at a production cost of₹2 crore, the film began shooting inChennai,Trivandrum,Kochi and was completed within six months.[17]
The film revolves around the problems faced byHIV patients in the society, where the film focuses about love, humanity and compassion.[15] It is considered to be amulti-genre film, that considered to be anon-linear narrative, where multiple storytelling devices are used. Along with this screenplay, the film also showcases on theLGBT angle, as Aruvi (Aditi Balan) had a mutual relationship with Emily (Anjali Varathan). Arun Prabu, an ardent follower ofworld cinema, revealed in an interview withBaradwaj Rangan ofFilm Companion South, saying that inspired the works ofPedro Almodóvar,Robert Bresson,Jean-Luc Godard and also had inspiredThe Battle of Algiers (1966) byGillo Pontecorvo, which he described it as his favourite film.[18] He added that during the writing ofAruvi, he was highly fascinated byParasakthi (1952), where the interrogation scene of that film, withSivaji Ganesan in a court, was served as the inspiration for the film.[18]
Several allegations of plagiarism was levied against Arun Prabu as the film'sopening sequence shared a resemblance between theEgyptian filmAsmaa (2011).[19] Following the reactions in social media, Arun Prabu later watched the film before the release, saying that it is quite essential for film enthusiasts to discuss and compare two films which share a similar plot. But requested cinephiles to watch both films fully and express their point of views. He felt that "with the film, they had got an opportunity to watch both the films and after watching, they can understand the contrast difference between the two films". He added that " InAruvi, only the first 15 minutes revolve around the titular character’s life and upbringing. Later, the story entirely takes a shift to talk about the society and people’s problems more."[20] The reality showSolvathellam Sathyam featured in the film, was inspired fromSolvathellam Unmai.[21]Lakshmy Ramakrishnan, the host of that show expressed disappointment about the makers for making a jibe on it.[22]
Thefilm score andsoundtrack were jointly composed byBindhumalini andVedanth Bharadwaj, in their debut composition for a feature film. Arun Prabu had listened to the studio albumSuno Bhai, which he felt impressed and decided to approach them, as the film needed a "soulful sound". The duo worked on the film's music during the pre-production stages and planned for 33 original compositions — including the film's songs and score.[23] Despite theirCarnatic music background, the duo had composed a variety of genres.[23] Arun Prabu wrote lyrics for two of the tracks, while the rest of them were penned byKutti Revathi, and the film also included a classical song written by poetOothukkadu Venkata Kavi centuries ago.[24]
The duo worked on the film's music for three years, since 2014, and recorded the album and score inChennai andMumbai.[24] On the occasion ofWorld Music Day (21 June 2017), the track "Anbin Kodi", deciphered as the "Party Song", was released as asingle and received positive response.[25] The album consists of six tracks, was released on 1 September 2017 byDream Warrior Pictures and was widely appreciated by music critics.[26]
Aruvi was screened at various film festivals worldwide, with the first being at theShanghai International Film Festival held on 14 June 2016 and received acclaim from audience.[27][28] The film was initially scheduled for theatrical release on 1 December 2017,[29][30] but was postponed to 15 December due to various reasons.[31][32] The teaser of the film was released during 10 November 2017 and received positive response from viewers.[33] After the reception from the press show held atSathyam Cinemas on 11 December, four days before the release, Nikilesh Surya, owner of Rohini Silver Screens announced that the film will be premiered on a bigger complex during the theatrical release.[34]
The management of Sathyam Cinemas decided to showcase the film at the main Sathyam screen, after being premiered at Six Degrees and Serene from the opening weekend.[35][36] In Tamil Nadu, the makers increased the number of screens from 350 to 500. The film was distributed to over sixty screens across theUnited States,Malaysia,Singapore andSri Lanka.[37] In addition, the film was screened atKerala on 29 December 2017.[38]Amazon Prime Video acquired the digital distribution rights of Aruvi and premiered it on the streaming platform on 15 January 2018.[39] However, the pirated versions of thehigh-definition print surfaced through the internet, even before the digital premiere.[40] The film had its television premiere onStar Vijay on25 March 2018.[41]
Aruvi received highly positive views upon release. Critics were particularly appreciative of the performances of the protagonist Aditi Balan and the supporting cast, and the film's direction.[42] In his film review,Baradwaj Rangan ofFilm Companion South called it as "an ambitious, solidly written satire that takes an issue and does very unexpected things with it".[43] M. Suganth ofThe Times of India rated four out of five stars for the film, calling it as "a superbly written drama centred around a unique character that unfolds as a thriller, a black comedy, an awareness movie, and a tragedy".[44]
Praising the incredible performances by a team of newcomers, Vishal Menon ofThe Hindu called it as "one of the best films of the year".[45] Anupama Subramanian ofDeccan Chronicle said the film as an "exemplary work from Arun Prabu" and gave four-and-a-half out of five stars.[46] Writing for Hindustan Times, Haricharan Pudipeddi stated "Aruvi means waterfalls and the movie, starring Aditi Balan in a bold avatar, itself is a flow of emotions. There’s drama, anger, laughter and loneliness all packaged very well. Though unintentionally funny at times, the film is not for the faint-hearted."[47]
India Today-based critic Kirubakar Purushothaman rated four out of five and said "Aruvi (Waterfall) is of course about the heroine who lends her name to the film — Aditi Balan. But the name also stands as metaphor for the story itself. Like a waterfall — it gushes with force, hits the ground exploding at the interval, and flows fading away into nothingness in the climax."[48] Sreedhar Pillai ofFirstpost called it as one of the best films from Kollywood and further said "In an era of a shallow and fraudulent films masquerading as good cinema, here is something which is pure, and at the same time, entertaining. If you want to nit-pick, the film slides a bit by taking a preachy tone and overstretched melodrama towards the end. But these are just minor flaws in a gutsy and outstanding film."[49]
Vikram Venkateshwaran ofThe Quint reviewed it as "a social commentary that’s as much about ripping apart a popular talk show, as it is about holding a mirror to you, the audience".[50] Writing forThe Indian Express, Ashameera Aiyyappan said "the movie is a cascade of emotions: laughter, tears, anger, loneliness, the film has everything in a neat package and ideals presented with great craft. It is a struggle to find a beginning point when a film has almost everything working in its favour."[51] Rakesh Mehar ofThe News Minute said "Aruvi is not a perfect film. Some parts of the script do feel a tad contrived. And the film too lightly lets off three men who are accused of sexual assault or sexual exploitation. But these are minor quibbles in a film that otherwise works wonderfully."[52]Sify stated it as "one of the best films of this year, it handles a relevant topic with an engaging screenplay".[53]
| Award[c] | Date of ceremony[d] | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards | 10 January 2018 | Best Production | Dream Warrior Pictures | Won | [54] |
| Best Debut Director | Arun Prabu Purushothaman | Won | |||
| Best Debut Actress | Aditi Balan | Won | |||
| Best Editor | Raymond Derrick Crasta | Won | |||
| Edison Awards | 26 February 2018 | Best Debut Director | Arun Prabu Purushothaman | Won | [55] |
| Best Debut Actress | Aditi Balan | Won | |||
| Filmfare Awards South | 16 June 2018 | Best Film – Tamil | Aruvi –Dream Warrior Pictures | Nominated | [56] [57] |
| Best Director – Tamil | Arun Prabu Purushothaman | Nominated | |||
| Best Actress – Tamil | Aditi Balan | Nominated | |||
| Critics Best Actress – Tamil | Won | ||||
| Best Supporting Actress – Tamil | Anjali Varadhan | Nominated | |||
| Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards | 26 January 2018 | Best Production | Dream Warrior Pictures | Won | [58] |
| Best Actor Female | Aditi Balan | Won | |||
| Best Supporting Actor Female | Anjali Varadhan | Won | |||
| Best Editor | Raymond Derrick Crasta | Won | |||
| South Indian International Movie Awards | 14–15 September 2018 | Best Film – Tamil | Aruvi –Dream Warrior Pictures | Nominated | [59] [60] |
| Best Director – Tamil | Arun Prabu Purushothaman | Nominated | |||
| Best Debut Director – Tamil | Won | ||||
| Best Actress – Tamil | Aditi Balan | Nominated | |||
| Best Debut Actress – Tamil | Nominated | ||||
| Critics Award for Best Actress – Tamil | Won | ||||
| Best Supporting Actress – Tamil | Anjali Varadhan | Nominated | |||
| Techofes Awards | 17 February 2018 | Best Debut Female | Aditi Balan | Won | [61] |
| Vijay Awards | 26 May 2018 | Best Film | Aruvi –Dream Warrior Pictures | Won | [62] |
| Best Debut Director | Arun Prabu Purushothaman | Nominated | |||
| Best Story | Nominated | ||||
| Best Screenplay | Nominated | ||||
| Best Debut Actress | Aditi Balan | Won | |||
| Tamil Nadu State Film Awards | 30 January 226 | Best Film About Women Empowerment | Aruvi | Won | [63] |
| Best Actress (Special Prize) | Aditi Balan | Won |
... budget of Rs 1 Crore and it went on to collect Rs 35 Crores at the box office.
