| 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 | ₹10 million[1] |
| Box office | est. ₹350 million[1] |
Aruvi (; transl. Waterfalls) is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language political drama film written and directed by Arun Prabu Purushothaman, in his directorial debut. Produced and distributed by S. R. Prakash Babu and S. R. Prabhu of Dream Warrior Pictures, the film stars Aditi Balan, Anjali Vardhan, and Lakshmi Gopalaswamy, while Pradeep Antony and Mohammad 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 the consumerist and misogynistic nature of modern civilisation, while attempting to find meaning during a period of existential 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 became Aruvi. The film revolves around how HIV 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 and indie musicians Bindhumalini and Vedanth Bharadwaj composed the film's soundtrack and score.
The film began pre-production in mid-2014 and was shot within six months across Chennai, Trivandrum and Kochi. Aruvi was premiered at various film festival circuits, the first public screening was held at the Shanghai 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' by Film Companion.[2]
At the 65th Filmfare Awards South, Aditi Balan won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actress – Tamil, the only win out of its four nominations at the ceremony. The film additionally won two South Indian International Movie Awards, two Vijay Awards, a Techofes Award, two Edison Awards, four Norway Tamil Film Festival Awards and four Ananda Vikatan Cinema Awards. The film was a financial success, grossing ₹350 million against a budget of ₹10 million.[1] In 2021, the makers announced a Hindi remake of the film.
- ^ a b c "Director Arun Prabhu of 'Aruvi' fame begins work on his next". The News Minute. 31 May 2018. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
... budget of Rs 1 Crore and it went on to collect Rs 35 Crores at the box office.
- ^ "25 Greatest Tamil Films Of The Decade". Film Companion. Archived from the original on 29 October 2019. Retrieved 1 September 2021.