Spoilers ahead…
Read the full review on Film Companion, here: http://www.filmcompanion.in/article/aruvi-movie-review
Who is Aruvi (Aditi Balan)? That’s what the interrogator (Mohammad Ali Baig), at the police station, wants to know. He sits opposite this twenty-something woman, staring at her bloody face, wondering if she’s a Naxal from Dantewada. The title of the film — also Aruvi (Waterfall / Stream) — suggests that our heroine is something of a metaphor (that eco-friendly name! the gradual “pollution” of her body we will soon learn about), but the first half of Arun Prabu Purushothaman’s movie positions her the way Raj Kapoor presented his heroine in Ram Teri Ganga Maili, an innocent from a pristine town who becomes increasingly corrupted as she moves to the big, bad city.
The early portions paint a picture of Aruvi’s life, back home, but these aren’t scenes so much as scenelets. Amidst vignettes of her father (Thirunavukarasu) sniffing food simmering on the stove and a family trip to a nearby waterfall, a life flashes by. With flavour. When Aruvi asks her father to stop smoking (“It stinks!”), he doesn’t toss the cigarette away at once. He inhales one last lungful and then tosses it away. The gesture lingers. I remembered this bit when, later, he begins to smoke again — this time, too, due to Aruvi. She made him stop. She makes him start again — because she vomits. After 19,837 films featuring this situation (and much wailing about “family honour”), we think we know the reason. Turns out we don’t.
Continued at the link above.
Copyright ©2017 Film Companion.
Baradwaj Rangan 
writeawordatatime
December 14, 2017
So where does one get to watch the complete trailer of this film with no beeps pl.? I want to know every word heard, said in this video but there is that ridiculous beep at specific places.
Leads apprec. Thanks.
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jaga_jaga
December 14, 2017
Hey pardon the digression – Can you kindly review Richie and Satya?? How are they?
And giving this “Aruvi” 4 stars? Perhaps the first 4 * movie ever since you started giving *s? Am very curious to watch it soon!
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Vivek narain
December 14, 2017
Somebody should have told the father to stop smoking when Aruvi was still in the womb, for the passive smoking by mother plays hovoc on the foetus, stunting the baby’s growth and what not. No wonder Aruvi became a metaphor, of all things; a waterfall, to extinguish all smoke sources.
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Rohit Aradhya
December 14, 2017
@jaga_jaga OKKM got a 4 star 😀 Still its freaking rare BR gives a 4* to any movie. So so excited to watch the movie!
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Balasubramanian Ramakrishnan
December 14, 2017
Maanagaram had a 4-star rating as well. But it is always weird to see BR giving star ratings to movies.
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Akash Balakrishnan
December 15, 2017
@jaga_jaga Richie has potential but it’s wasted by bad storytelling, mediocre filmmaking(direction) and commercialization, if that is the term. Sathya on the other hand is badly adapted, at places, for Tamil audience and spoilt by bad filmmaking and a hero who just can’t act. Given the psychological thriller kind of premise it should have been nailed in terms of making. This too has commercialization. IMO both are ‘a good source wasted’ type
I haven’t seen the originals, but I have read the plots and stories.
PS : The way I wrote this review, if you will call it that, is rating the filmmaking first and stories next. Because they already have a good source
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Akash Balakrishnan
December 15, 2017
@jaga_jaga
To detail those movies, Richie tries so hard to be like d-16(I assume). The whodunnit conflict, the non-spoonfeeding way the scenes play out, the final monologue. D-16, no matter how fundamentally flawed it was, worked. Here we don’t sense the whodunnit conflict at all. The post-opening stretch informs us that we are gonna be detailed about a specific event. But we don’t know what happened (the only clue is that we get a news paper article – Christmas iraivil damaal dumeel – and we are told “intha mathiri chinna vishayam nadakarathellam satharanam. So when we are introduced to characters, in a way we don’t take them seriously, and subplots, we assume that they are just random people who witnessed the event and don’t realise that they add to the big picture, not until the interval.
This practice of holding every information to make every reveal epic is what makes the storytelling bad and slow. Even the reveals aren’t epic. There is no sense of psychology. It is almost a hyperlink and yet we don’t get a hint/underline, the way a d-16 or a maanagaram did, when a character receives or gives out a key information which they/the film will take action on later. These scenes are as flat as the drama except a portion in the second half. There is a genuine moment of drama which is dealt plainly and then there is unwanted melodramatic song between two characters whom we know, but not to the extent of rooting for them.
And then there is a love story and a song which has some purpose but left unused by the makers. There is a flashback which is clearly an example of cheating(in a not so good way) the narrative pattern. A shot which explains the villain’s motivation which is a blink and miss type inspite of the overstretched narration. Another scene too is dealy in the same way. This affects the way we and the filmmakers confuse the reason behind the action of a character in the end.
I liked the idea of using the same flickery random editing to make a reveal instead of making Nivin sentimental. I felt for Richie, at least. Nivin’s character was too comercialized and stylised. The final monologue in D-16 was relevant to the theme of the film, and thus added to the filmmaker’s maturity in life. Here, it is just there for the sake of making a statement about stories, except a line or two. More than that this film has many aspects which can be exploited to infinity by a good filmmaker. Had to watch this twice to analyze,as a filmmaker, as I missed that shot I said above and didn’t think about how the scenes worked together to form the whole film since the clock was ticking for me for sathya on the next screen in the next few mins.
Now, Sathya.
A terrible remake IMO. It suffers from the same problem to a certain extent. It deals with the film in a whodunnit fashion except that it is a true whodunnit thriller source. Instead of getting the hero introduced through whom we will get to know the incident the first scene focuses on the event itself. Nothing wrong, except that we see the same scene in the same way a couple more times in the film. It is just there to hook the audience and yet it makes us ask “what happened to her after that?” and “Why did they do it ?”, if you are more impatient and wise than the movie, instead of… Whodunnit? Then we get the hero Intro. A self-embracing persons touch.
Sibi acknowledges that he doesn’t know acting and this is the only time we laugh. He has an unwanted date which aims at communicating his grief and past with the audience but ends up doing nothing as we have seen it a billion times ago. Suddenly he gets a phone call and he flies back to India to meet her disguised as an visit to a marriage. We get a back story as bits and pieces in the middle. A pure idiotic love story which is neither interesting nor exciting. She is now married(we don’t know why they fell apart, yet.) She asks for his help and this is where we should have been introduced by the conflict. I am not gonna reveal it but it is already spoiled by teasers and promos. Wait… We get to that psycho thriller part after the start of the second act. And we are asked to buy that he is willing to do the favour no matter what the perils are for an absurd love in the past.
Okay, that’s what heroes do. But it is that hard to buy. Then we constantly switch between scenes that tries to confuse us between it existed and it didn’t. In the middle we get the parts of that love(i was rolling my eyes ever since the start of the movie) and few characters who are strange enough to make their lines sound suspicious. And we get another version of that opening scene, then the original one. At interval this movie makes a bold move and then does very little with it( or is it sibi’s casting ?).
The second half is somewhat deceptive. By the time we get to the end of the love story, their is a sigh of relief but it is temporary. This time it is worse. We see him convincing officers that he is innocent and to co-operation with him which we know already. A nice twist here. We see someone turning good(nth eye roll) for a somewhat good reason. But yet undigestable because.. You guessed it. FUCKIN’ BAD FILMMAKING REACTS WITH A BREATHLESS SCREENPLAY.
There are moments of tension and drama but… You know it. And then we get to the final reveal which is somewhat buyable (mainly due to Varalakshmi’s acting) which we can’t notice in a highly emotional story turned a rushy, unsentimental screenplay shouldered(:p) by a lead who can’t act. And then all those cheesy stuff. The last reveal is deep and subtle but then… It is the director’s touch to give a endless bukake in the form of V.O’s and implied shots. Kshanam(the original) worked, according to Wikipedia, maybe because it was executed well with correct emotions and it was a different Telugu film(I haven’t seen it). Here the hero’s motivation, the love story is dumbed down in order to have a dumb lead and a stupidly fun flashback. So the last reveal affected me. I wanted him to hesitate at first, because she left him, and then help her as he is alone and in grief which will make the final reveal impactful.
Technically, Richie has a good cinematography except for a couple of shots which aren’t matched and has great music.
Sathya’s cinematography was bad, for me, and the lensing was terrible at parts. Music – okayish
PS : I haven’t watched both the originals, so I don’t know how much dumbassery belonged to the source.
And… My newspaper reads, Pradeep Krishnamoorthy is planning a bilingual remake of u-turn.
The psycho thriller aspect I spoke about in the previous comment was about those confusing parts which would have made us more in the place of the hero.
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Akash Balakrishnan
December 15, 2017
And about those grammatical mistakes and typos – was typing and editing on phone consecutively. So some sentences may read different meaning from what is intended and some other might be incomplete or confusingly constructed. Hope you get the intended meaning. About aruvi, planning to watch it today. Excited
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phaneendra201
December 15, 2017
I really wanted to look reaction of BR, when he saw reviews of Richie or Sathya here, especially in the space which is allocated to Aruvi
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Sanjeev
December 15, 2017
This SR Prabhu is turning out to be one hell of a producer.. I mean look at the movies he has produced.. Maya, Maanagaram, Theeran, Joker, ARUVI… I am wondering how Suriya’s next film will be in Selvaraghavan’s direction Produced by this man
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jaga_jaga
December 15, 2017
@Rohit – Thanks man! Incidentally, I am yet to see OKKM still!
@Akash – Thanks a lot for your elaborate reviews! I’ll watch Richie today, and will get back man! The premise sounds enticing, but everyone says somewhere something is botched up, so the movie isn’t what it could/should’ve been.
@BR – Please don’t mind the discussion of other movies in this thread! After all, isn’t it common that a movie leads to an issue, which leads to another, and so on, and the comments thread no more discuss the movie, but end up talking about the nth issue??? Likewise, kindly permit one movie leading to another!
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Akash Balakrishnan
December 15, 2017
Just watched Aruvi BR. I interpreted the title Aruvi as a metaphor to her qualities. The post interval hostage stretch where she brings out the child in all of them the same way a waterfall/stream would bring out the child in us. Agree with you about the music – sounds outlandish as we follow a girl who is brought up in a conservative environment – and the climax. But it wasn’t hard to digest as her character had suffered a lot. Unlike any other media satire, say a Kavan, here these people don’t cause chaos in the society and physical destruction to make news instead they(mostly) react in a way how the major part of the society would. A lesser movie, if it came with the idea of making her suffer from that disease(I don’t wanna spoil it), would use it just as a reason to make us sympathize for her. But here we get more of her character through that when she approaches the show and also asks questions. Personally I felt her actions during the hostage stretch uncharacteristic. A result of more than enough fun during the pre-interval sequence ? Was it because of the interval break ? Or was it the reason it was listed under fantasy genre ?
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Aadhy
December 15, 2017
Ah, how long has it been since I’ve watched a movie, in Chennai, on the first day, that’s still lingering in my mind long after I’ve driven back home.
Spoilers
BR, regarding why Aruvi seeks the help of a reality show rather than using the internet, it could be due to a number of reasons.
1) It’s Emily who seems to approach the show producers and not Aruvi herself. Maybe its Emily’s idea after all and Aruvi just goes along with it.
2) Aruvi, coming from a small town herself, would’ve thought that a popular prime time TV show would reach more homes than a youtube video. The probability of an internet video going viral is totally random and unpredictable. The time she resorts to internet, it’s when she really is not a mental & physical state to approach any other medium.
The music was certainly very distracting. It felt like a constant attempt to stand-out. For such an irreverent and dark movie, I would’ve liked a bit of atonality to the score, with more emphasis on creating more atmospheric sounds than melody and tunes. Plus, there was a LOT of music. The frenzied editing is already creating the required mood, a bit of silence and restraint from the music would’ve made this a far greater movie.
The casting was spot on. Right from Aditi as Aruvi who looked every-bit belieavable as a school girl, college student, a person undergoing life-crisis, a beast, a patient to the other characters like Subash or the cameraman shouting “Rolling, Sir” as if he was trained in a military camp, not one person was miscast.
I have similar thoughts as yours about the finishing portions. I hoped for a more morbid ending with Aruvi dying a bad-ass death as she’s carried in that ambulance. It’s more in tune with the dark tone of the film. Instead the film goes on and on about her wanting to lead a normal life. But I could see why the director went for a bit of warmth at the end. The tears and the resounding applause from the audience as the credits rolled is a direct payoff of that climax, what would’ve remained a cold film otherwise.
Though I also certainly preferred a ranting, raging, gone-berserk Aruvi who has absolutely 0 fucks to give to the world, the decision to sanitize/humanize her (conventionally) does seem to make her more relatable to the audience, which I’m not complaining about because you want such kind of movies to be made again.
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brangan
December 16, 2017
Aadhy/Akash: Glad to see you felt similarly about the music and the end. I was beginning to think I was in a minority.
It’s a terrific standalone album, but as BGM, too attention-grabbing.
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Akash Balakrishnan
December 16, 2017
@BR Especially Anbin Kodi – ‘Picasso meets early Pink Floyd’ as you said
I thought the video message, at the end, was sent only to those particular set of people as there is no new coverage at the end. The artist’s son refers to it as an video message in facebook from Aruvi Doss and not as a viral video. Peter is on the phone and he aborts the call to see the video message Aruvi sent him. So it wasn’t Aruvi’s message to the world but to her family and friends. On why she sent it to those who cheated her and the artist maybe she has a message for them too. But she remarks, “Neraya yosichu vachirunthen ippo yellam maranthuduchu”. How she got their profiles ? Who knows ?
BTW I thought only Mysskin could write and film such a poetry out of melodrama(The part with that old lady back in one the bad guys’ hometown). I was quite surprised and moved by that bit
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Hari
December 16, 2017
One refreshing message from Aruvi is that it believes that the world would be a better place to be if we could all come up with random acts of kindness. In my opinion, Aruvi’s motive to participate in the reality show wasn’t to seek justice or an apology from her molesters. It was just a desperate attempt to garner attention. To make an escape from her almost reclusive lifestyle which was a repercussion of the stigma surrounding aids.
In the face of death, Aruvi seems to believe that revenge is futile and it’s better to forgive and forget the injustice that hit her. The joy she experiences during the sequences where Anbin Kodi song plays sums up her needs. She wants people to tend to her. There are a lot of other scenes that suggest so. Like say, the importance she wants people to attach to her birthday or the anger she displays when her mother turns her brother against her.
In the end, there is this beautiful infusion of hope into her life. From being a woman who wants to wipe out the human race for leading a consumerist lifestyle plagued by monotony, she transforms into a woman desperately seeking for a few more days in her life even though it could be painful. She wants to be a part of a few more joyous memories. From being a woman who says that she isn’t bothered about her life or being caught by the police, she becomes the woman who fears the possibility that she may end up not living her life to the fullest. I believe that the director wishes to say that these small of random kindness have the power to infuse such a powerful amount of hope.
Thank you BR sir for stimulating people to think about movies. 🙂
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doctorhari
December 16, 2017
This was an earnest and worthy movie definitely. It had many things going for it, and a few things going against.
The first half-an-hour or so was easily the best stretch of montage shots I’ve seen in Tamil cinema for a long time. What details and nuance! I was transfixed.
However, once Aruvi walks out of the house and then into the studio, I felt the film couldn’t make up its mind on whether it was about adolescent-rebellion-gone-awry or a satire on the mad conventions of the society. As the film veered towards the satirising in its middle portions, the personal connect I had with it in the earlier portions, somehow, felt broken. By the time it came back to her personal story in its last part, the sentimentality started feeling mawkish. I started wondering how this film would have worked, if the social satirising hadn’t been given centerstage and was kept to a minimal, and it had instead focused on her story throughout.
And even the satire wasn’t even-toned. At times, it was beautifully subtle, and at other times, too on-your-face.
That comparison with ‘Dog day afternoon’ was spot on. Both the stories were very similar, though that movie felt more integrated and even toned.
‘That eco-friendly name! The gradual pollution of her body’, ‘Topography as psychology’…Wow! It’s for the this we readers religiously follow you, BR. 🙂
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bart
December 16, 2017
A very captivating movie. The portions running through Aruvi’s early life were sharp, brief, a poetry in motion and gave just enough details to build the movie beyond. The second half for the same reason felt a bit prolonged and over-done (the portions inside the TV show set). The movie engages and delivers what it sets out to inspite of this minor over-indulgence. Aditi Balan is a solid find. Hope she goes beyond the path of Anjalis / Priyamanis (after Angadi theru or Paruthiveeran respectively) in Tamil Cinema.
This year has been a solid year in Tamil cinema – Maanagaram, 8 thottakkal, Oru Kidayin Karunai Manu, Kurangu Bommai, Aramm, Vikram Vedha, Theeran, Thupparivalan, Tharamani, Kutram 23, Aval, Pa Paandi, Kaatru Veliyidai amongst other decent efforts (Adhe Kangal, Kadugu, Rangoon, Meyadha Maan, Thiruttu Payale2 etc…), topping with Aruvi. The quality index has generally gone a few notches up with a couple of weeks to go. Bravo!
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Arun Prabhu
December 17, 2017
I also thought that this movie was a female version of the Tamizh MA movie (Kathradhu Tamizh) by Ram…there, a male protagonist moves from a village to the big bad city, loses his parents, tries to survive and the city abuses and mistreats him. He goes out on a rampage, delivers a monologue on the ills of globalization and finds a way to broadcast his thoughts and feelings to the entire world (through Karunas). He finally makes peace, finds Anjali and goes back to his hometown to die….Aruvi’s plot follows the exact same structure
That being said, I loved this movie and I am happy that there are writers like Arun Prabhu Purushothaman who have such a deep and powerful viewpoint on our society and culture…
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brangan
December 17, 2017
Arun Prabhu: But that said, don’t you think Aruvi is far purer “cinema” than KT, which was all fury and little craft?
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Arun Prabhu
December 17, 2017
BRangan – I am not knowledgable enough to comment on the quality of the cinema. All that I know is, both Ram and Arun Prabhu Purushothaman come from the Balu Mahendra school of film-making…so they must be GOOD!
But, considering the sordid state of affairs in Tamil Nadu today, I would prefer to see more movies like Kathradhu Tamizh and Aruvi, that take a sledgehammer to society…I hope people will not just shed a couple of tears, clap at the closing credits and move on…Instead, I hope people will reflect on the messages conveyed through these movies and change their ways.
At the end of the day, movies are all about affecting change in our society…the cinematography, acting, music and everything else is just a means to get there…
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brangan
December 17, 2017
Arun Prabhu: At the end of the day, movies are all about affecting change in our society…
Okay, completely and utterly and totally disagree with you here 🙂 But I see where you are coming from (it’s a place a lot of film viewers come from). Thanks.
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Rohit Aradhya
December 17, 2017
Aruvi – Loved every bit
It was a beauty how the Nattamai story (right from the beginning) was a metaphor to Aruvi’s own life.
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Akash Balakrishnan
December 17, 2017
Arun Prabhu: He goes out on a rampage, delivers a monologue on the ills of globalization and finds a way to broadcast his thoughts and feelings to the entire world (through Karunas).
In Aruvi, unlike KT where Jeeva goes on a rampage, she just wants a sorry from them. She wants them to be exposed for their mistakes in order to make them realize. She is someone who loves everyone and expects the same to be returned. The whole HOSTAGE scenario is neither planned nor used as a way to broadcast her feelings to the world. She loses her cool when she is antagonized and stopped in order to let in commercial breaks. She does accidental mistakes(Shoot the director) which are not a part of her nature. She isn’t bothered about asking a sorry. Then when that political man beats her up, she realizes that this won’t work. She threatens them yet never kill or hurt them. Look at the way she says “Nandri nga” to the artist who tried to shame her. The real fun of movies is that it is,
IN A WAY, a reflection of society. What separates mediocre hero-boasting, manipulative movies such as KT or the recent Mersal is that movies such as Aruvi are pure cinema. Movies like Mersal characterize their heroes as invulnerable, perfect, qualified to receive a noble prize, politically perfect, meta – human types which we can never find in the real world( I’m just 16. So don’t complain about me if you’ve already met one). Here, too, we get a lead who wants to teach mankind to value human emotions. But instead of giving sermons through her, we experience her character development, her journey, her flaws, her tragedy, her starving to be moved emotionally(Watch the first 30 minutes of the second half of Aruvi separately and you would go WTF is that quirkiness. But what keeps us watching is the question of what happens next and our desire to see her smile), her small love, her longing to be loved by her family etc. She isn’t painted a god-like picture. She isn’t preaching. In fact, she isn’t even teaching. She finds herself in a situation and brings happiness to her and the people around her. Having said that KT has a flaw in its character too. In fact too many flaws and a manipulative narration. It would work better as, say – a case study of human hatred, but not as a genuine satire against globalization. Note that I said the word genuine. Mersal conveyed its message too(for fanboys and family audience who just want to spend time in movies for entertainment) but it had political inaccuracies, poorly fleshed out characters and manipulative story(?)telling (If all they wanted was to show the plight of the auto driver’s family then why can’t they make it a separate movie. It would be a treat them to write such a melodrama)
Two or three days ago BR posted a tweet. I thought it was the best way of putting it:
I hope the positive responses to #Aruvi lead to some re-evaulation of the fact that it’s not enough for a film to have a “message.” It’s the FORM that’s important, HOW this message/content is delivered — a sneak attack through a reality show rather than preaching to the audience
I think this is what separates the so called message movies into two types : The classy, cinematic, innovative movies like Aruvi, Iraivi, Onaayum Aatukuttiyum(It was more expressionistic). And the massy ones like Mersal + …
PS : I am not saying that every film must hold a great social responsibility. As a legend once said (I think it is Mysskin) If you wanna make a socially irresponsible movie go get a ‘A’ certificate. (I was paraphrasing). The post I wrote was in relation to the so called message movies.
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sachita
December 17, 2017
I didnt want those 3 men to join the bus trip. It bothered me quite a bit.
Superb movie though. Based on all the reviews, I thought movie would be little more light hearted, but turned out to be quite an emotional one for me.
Not sure how well the tv show fitted with rest of story line but absolutely loved those scenes. It felt like a sweet revenge on the original.
(anbu udalukku ayul adigam – wonderful lyrics)
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Arun Prabhu
December 17, 2017
Akash Balakrishnan – You are overlooking one important difference – Jeeva in Kathradhu Tamizh was a MAN (or AAN, as Iraivi would call him) and Aruvi is a WOMAN. I feel that Jeeva’s masculine response to being cornered and ill-treated by society was to go out on a rampage and kill them all, while Aruvi’s feminine response was to reach out to them and humanize them.
These are intrinsic gender differences and therefore, there is no question of right or wrong. They both reacted in ways that seemed rational to them.
P.S. Mersal is a terrible movie and should not be brought into this debate, in the first place 😦
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sachita
December 17, 2017
Arun Prabhu: “Kathradhu Tamizh was a MAN (or AAN, as Iraivi would call him) and Aruvi is a WOMAN.. feel that Jeeva’s masculine response to being cornered and ill-treated by society was to go out on a rampage and kill them all, while Aruvi’s feminine response was to reach out to them and humanize them.”
Oh really, it is strange when we have examples otherwise all over history, mythology, real life stories from our own time that this random sweeping statements
The director of Aruvi talks about how he was taught in college about how a writer should never write a movie with only character’s pov into account. Every character should be written without any right or wrong bias. This is very much the director’s response as well.
I havent watched KT. But pretty sure Aruvi had lot more reason to go on rampage than KT’s hero.
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brangan
December 17, 2017
Rubs hands and runs to get popcorn
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Udhay Sankar
December 17, 2017
Terrific film. 3 hours since I watched it and still can’t stop thinking about it. Loved the performances, music and writing.
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Udhay Sankar
December 17, 2017
Superb review too. Can’t wait for other blog regulars reactions to the film.
Regarding KT and aruvi, I felt KT kept judging its characters relentlessly for the choices they take and aruvi doesn’t do that. Aruvi doesn’t beg you to feel for the characters even if we do so, expect till the ending which was explained by BR in the review.
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Akash Balakrishnan
December 17, 2017
Arun Prabhu: “Kathradhu Tamizh was a MAN (or AAN, as Iraivi would call him) and Aruvi is a WOMAN.. feel that Jeeva’s masculine response to being cornered and ill-treated by society was to go out on a rampage and kill them all, while Aruvi’s feminine response was to reach out to them and humanize them.”
Was busy with office work and came back to see this surprising comment.
Ok. Let us assume that you are right. So what are your thoughts about Aruvi shooting the director in his arm ? Didn’t you think it as an uncharacteristic behavior (from your POV) for a woman to act violently and threaten them during that whole hostage stretch. Wasn’t Prabha in KT a man enough to beat the hell out of that man who misused his love letter ?
It is the human condition. As I said in my previous comment, KT could work better as a case study of human hatred. No would would’ve bothered to give a fuck about Prabhakaran in KT had it been a case study of human hatred without the inclusion of the whole US vs THEM thing. What a difference it would have made had it been made as a part of a fictional socialist revolution in future CUBA(Assume that the death of Castro has lead to America exploiting Cuba post WW3. A character like Prabha(or Prabhakari if you will) rises down from the ground to becom. His gf dies or gets lost in the whole slavery thing. He has nothing more to lose. No one to live for. He jumps into war and goes on a rampage).
Man.. these are movies. The characters are developed according to the theme of the story to suit the plot points. Remember Lakshmi menon from jigarthanda. She does things that no heroine would do. Yet It rings true due to the realism of it in the life out of movies. Say, I am making a movie like Uriyadi. The girl must be underwritten as cute because she has nothing to do with the film except a fight involving her which leads to the development of hatred
Primarily, both these films dealt with the loss of innocence/ human values in this globalized society. But what makes Aruvi more of a cinematic approach is that it not only plays as a satire but also gives an outlook of life, a solution(kind of) to the whole thing. Its minor characters are well developed too unlike KT where we wonder, at times, if the hero himself is a caricature. Aruvi could have easily been a terrorist/extremist like Prabha. Infact the main conflict of the story was our curiosity to know how she lost her innocence(We get to know her as a terrorist in the start and.. cut to her being a child. No words spoken). The writing could have easily gone like – She was brought up in the family of industrialists. The story goes on about all the bad things she has done and ends with her death. But that would be a satire and not an emotional story. Here instead we get a story of a girl who is brought up in a semi-conservative environment who longs for love. As Sachita said she had more reasons to go on a rampage(even she acknowledges that – ” Ivanga ellarayum bomb pottu kollanum” “Intha kevalamana vaazhkai vazharathuku AIDS vanthu sagalam”). But she knows that she gains nothing out of it. She is not in the show to kill them all. She delivers that monologue not as a part of her plan but as a genuine reaction to being cornered. She could have easily been a he who was brought up in a village and suddenly shifted to a city. The main reason for the character to be a female, IMO, is that a man with AIDS can easily get away in the society. Also to serve as a metaphor for the word stream (Female qualities of being unbiased and expressing lots of love). The main misconception is that females tend to pour love while men dictate war. It is the bringing up(not only paternal and maternal but also societal). The circumstances they face during their life. Even the movie you used as an example acknowledges it in the end. Paraphrasing : Ooru pakkam vanthu paarunga sir. Intha mathiri neraya Prabhakarum Aanandhiyum avanga naai kuttiya thedi sutharatha paakalam. Both men and women have equal love and hatred inside them. After all they are humans. It is just that women express their love quite aloud and men express it subtly.
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Akash Balakrishnan
December 17, 2017
[B]Sachita :[/B] [I]The director of Aruvi talks about how he was taught in college about how a writer should never write a movie with only character’s pov into account.[/I]
Not sure about that point. It is based on the type of movie. It has got to do more with ideology than perspective. You can’t make a d-16 without narrating it from one character’s pov.
BTW it is what i found hard to buy in KT. I can’t go behind his ideology, his bias. And halfway I stopped rooting for him.
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Akash Balakrishnan
December 17, 2017
To clarify on my previous comment, It is ok to write a story from one character’s ideology and perspective if their character arc is about how they find the bad in them, correct their ideology or how they rectify their mistakes and learn to be a part of the society. I am not sure, though.
Am i right, BR ?
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Arun Prabhu
December 17, 2017
Sachita: You don’t need guns and bullets to go on a rampage and kill people. What Aruvi did was another equally lethal form of violence – she intentionally transmitted HIV to others, which is a crime in many countries (unfortunately, the rapists did not get infected and got away scot-free 🙂 ). So, if you think Jeeva’s actions in Kathradhu Tamizh were morally wrong, then so were Aruvi’s.
Anyways, I am not trying to argue that KT is a better movie than Aruvi or vice-versa. I am just happy we get to see such socially conscious movies in Tamil and I hope they will have the intended effect on our people…
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SR
December 17, 2017
SPOLIERS *
My favourite part of Aruvi was how it overturns the familiar trope of wronged-woman-seeking-revenge. In the post-Weinstein age, when plenty of women are – for very valid reasons – baying for the blood of the men who raped, harassed and threatened them, this woman who makes such men actually feel sorry for their monstrous behavior was cathartic, to say the least. In a world where hate is countered with more hate, Aruvi changes the focus where everything is seen against the backdrop of our collective impending doom. Death is a great leveller.
In college, we used to have discussions about what to do if we were unfortunately caught in a situation of rape. Many suggestions flew thick and fast – kick him in the crotch, spit in his eyes, karate moves, use keys like a knife. Then one girl from Kilakkarai said, “Enakku AIDS irukkunnu solluven, ennoda sex vechukittanna sethruvaannu solluven. Adhaiyum meeri yedhaavadhu senjruvaana?” All of us had a good laugh.
I remembered this incident when I saw Aruvi – here is a girl who actually suffers from the disease, and three men exploit her vulnerability and rape her. We live in a world where if you are vulnerable, you can be raped or worse. Literally the only person who can be above this reality, not give a single fuck, is a woman who is going to die, who can infect and mark the men who want to exploit her by giving them that dreaded disease. She has faced, is facing, the worst; only she can deliver us. Aruvi is a goddess figure by every measure. Yes, it matters that she is female, at least to this member of the audience 🙂
This film brought to mind all those films where the heroine suffers from a dreaded disease, yet makes the world a happy place because she is a manic pixie dream girl. Think Mili, Poove Poochoodava, etc. What a changeover!
This could have easily been Emily’s story too. Not only does she suffer from AIDS, but she must have had the additional trauma of struggling with her gender identity. It got me wondering – where’s her family? What was her journey to make it out into the margins? And why could she not be cast as Aruvi, the truth-or-dare playing girl who wants to live?
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Akash Balakrishnan
December 17, 2017
[B]Arun Prabhu :[/B] [I]You don’t need guns and bullets to go on a rampage and kill people. What Aruvi did was another equally lethal form of violence – she intentionally transmitted HIV to others, which is a crime in many countries (unfortunately, the rapists did not get infected and got away scot-free 🙂 ). So, if you think Jeeva’s actions in Kathradhu Tamizh were morally wrong, then so were Aruvi’s.[/I]
Unfortunately is not the word, IMO. She clarifies that she was secure so that they don’t get infected. She doesn’t use the word ‘Nalla Velai’. However, in KT he was going after people and killing them. You could argue that he gets irritated on the acts of random people and he kills them. But remember, the trigger was at his end of the gun. Aruvi on the other hand wasn’t the one spreading her legs for these people. She explains “Thoongitu irukara friend oda ponna thadavuraan. Ivanaala angayum iruka mudila”. The priest says that she has attended only 4 out of 10 sessions. It is left to us to assume that the fourth session turned ad and she ran away. The owner is her only option to gather money for her father. She isn’t planning to kill them. You could argue that it was up to her to agree with them. But she pinpoints that two of them raped her(How can you make a point when you are raped). With the owner she had no chance to negotiate. So she agrees but stays ultra safe.
How could you argue that she was morally wrong ? If men try to rape a HIV affected girl(without knowing it) why should we blame her ? Why can’t they keep their dicks zipped in. All the countries you mentioned may punish the criminal only for spreading HIV Intentionally(I assume). But here she wasn’t doing it on intention with the first two guys. With the third guy her intention was just to stay safe. Those rapists better die
About the second part of the comment, we too will be happy if such movies are made. But we argue that KT is bad as it is socially irresponsible/incorrect. KT had the intended effect on people ? Yes, I agree. But we argue that the intention of asking us to pick sides wasn’t good. Just look how the lead is named. Prabhakaran(connect the dots).
PS: Don’t call me a feminist or feminazi. I am not related to those concepts. I am not a anti-tamil either. I love it when I am recognized as human rather than a tamil or an Indian.
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Akash Balakrishnan
December 17, 2017
[B]BR :[/B] [I]Rubs hands and runs to get popcorn[/I]
By now that canteen would have ran out of popcorn stocks.
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GODZ
December 18, 2017
Tamil cinema is really reinventing itself now. One cannot overlook the contribution of online and Twitter reviews. I don’t know a period of time in Tamil cinema where great cinema release on a weekly basis. BR can we please have an interview with the producer of the movie and Ask if he is really making a profit by doing these kinds of movies. If so it will be a revelation for others to follow.
But I do feel our Tamil mass heroes are zeroes in many aspects. Why cannot we ban these mass zero movies forever. Take Akshay Kumar. Entire India is celebrating the movie padman. its a biopic about Arunachalam Muruganantham from Coimbatore who revolutionized female sanitation in India. Ideally, that movie should have come out from Tamil Nadu. But how many do really know this man who owns Padma Shri. He was Time magazines influential person in the world. But who cares, for our Tamil mass zeroes they are the most influential person in the world.
I really want our Tamil filmmakers to make interesting biopics. But its unfortunate the man has not received any following, recognition or awards in his home state.Of course, how can he be in a state where people believe in mass and reel heroes than they believe in themselves. Pathetic.
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myheru
December 18, 2017
Brangan sir , Why is that all brahmins and Christians are considered as evils as far as Tamil cinema is considered ? Even Nirmala Periyasamy had hosted this show earlier . I still believe that Tamil cinema is hypocrite ,when it comes to handling caste issues. Why cant anyone make a Lipstick in Burqa in Tamil .
Not all men are rapists , Not all Muslims are terrorists but why all brahmins are shown as casteist ?
In what way ISIS issue is less important than RSS ? When it comes to Tamil Cinema, when will Brahmin bashing stop ???
I am neither a castiest nor a criminal.
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Sathyanarayanan N
December 18, 2017
My 2 cents, I said after watching the movie ” world would be a dry place if Aruvi’s are exploited”. The stage was just a metaphor where everything is a trade. Aruvi was the darling of home under ideal conditions but once they came to know she was thrown out. Likewise, the stage is not set to empathize with the victims rather it’s just to make more money. Hard hitting!!
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sachita
December 19, 2017
I really wish you would write a review with spoilers for this movie( with the alert ofcourse).
I am not sure if this movie is about move to city (accompanying corruption) at all.
Yes, like all children who had to deal with a move, Aruvi wants to go back. But she settles well. To me, the film just shows how usual her life has been has been upto that point- lots of love, care, security. There is a proposal from someone, a rejection, a late night birthday party and so on.
She was just another girl. And then rug gets pulled off from her.
Even the few page dialogue that she delivers during the TV show just captures how aruvi feels at that point. At that point she has already had few years to deal with issue and what she sees as life around her( filled with commercialism) doesnt seem worth much anyway.
But when things get closer, she realizes she does crave life(not talking about the commercial aspect) – marriage, kids. The aruvi is her security place from nostalgia perspective.
Movie is almost a documentary (masqueraded very well). Also with current advancements, I hear a sad ending can be avoided in real life scenario so ending is even more justified.
The bizarre dream sequence that they show when she had to leave her friends house was superb. the elani guy( must have been in aruvis mind a lot).. her scooty ending with guitar delivery.
Ps; I obviously still cant get the movie out of my head.
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sachita
December 19, 2017
Arun Prabhu:
Again, i havent watched KT. Your earlier comment that being male/female has to somehow decide the course of action that they have to take was offensive. So was your later comment that rape victim is responsible for the consequences of her rape.
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Ram
December 19, 2017
I am waiting to see the movie after all the rave reviews, including our thalai Rangan’s. Not that it matters to me, but I heard its inspired by Egyptian movie Asmaa. Any comments from people who have watched both?
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Udhay Sankar
December 19, 2017
Had noticed that you had called the film mind blowing during the trailer credits. Was it when you watched it at the festivals or a preview show? 🙂 Must be awesome getting early access to such films.
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Rohit Aradhya
December 19, 2017
Has anyone been following the series of tweets made by Lakshmy Ramakrishnan against Aruvi?
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brangan
December 19, 2017
Rohit Aradhya: I’m a little puzzled that she seems to think it’s aimed at HER show. It isn’t. It’s about her TYPE of show — and even then, the show isn’t so much the target of the satire as a sort of enabler.
I mean, Lakshmi (the 70s/80s actress) did a show like this too.
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Honest Raj
December 19, 2017
Oh, must have started to blow her own trumpet then?
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praneshp
December 19, 2017
@Rohit: At the risk of fire from Ishwarya/Rohini et al, Lakshmy Ramakrishnan can go fuck herself.
@brangan: Sure, but I feel for the general pubic, LakshmyR is synonymous with this type of show, like Kamal is for Bigg Boss. Actresses like Kushboo couldn’t pull off literally the same concept on a different channel. I find it difficult to buy the argument that it was a satire on that type of show, and not HER show. Not that I find that incorrect at all 🙂
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GODZ
December 20, 2017
Honestly the Tweets reminded me of Vadivelu comedy “Naanum rowdy..Naanum Rowdy”…The moment she invoked a community shows her menacing side. Someone here mention that why Brahmins are always targeted. The same can be said of Christians too. I am not christian but you take even Recent Mersal movie. The villain is a christian and so in Baadsha. Can they say being a christian in tamilnadu is more horrible than death? Seriously? Her tweets are so childish. Lack of tolerance is whats currently tearing apart people all over the world. Tolerance is not sign of weakness. Its show of strength. After these tweets, she has become one among a elite group of TN comedians.
http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/intolerance-censorship-democracy-india-freedom-of-speech-expression-needed-discrimination-religion-4364832/
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Rahini David
December 21, 2017
Well I am not surprised. She was so damn offended by “Ennama neenga ippadii panreengalea ma”. Satire and Parody just means that a person or program is popular enough.
And it is not exactly a classy show about social conscience (at least in the episodes that I have seen) It is a trashy show anyway.
GODZ: “The moment she invoked a community shows her menacing side.”
Which tweet was this?
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Ram
December 21, 2017
Watched Aruvi at a houseful show yesterday night in Bangalore. Must see movie. I’m a movie buff and have seen countless movies… This movie was an experience.
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Aditya (Gradwolf)
December 21, 2017
Rahini: https://twitter.com/mazhai_magal/status/943106892091482113
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Raju
December 21, 2017
@Rahini: I quote Lakshmi Ramakrishnan: “Being a Woman, that too outspoken, in media , successful in some ways and happened to be born in the so called ‘ brahmin’ community, that too having a Palakkad Iyer accent and settled in Tamilnadu is worse than being affected with HIV.”
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Rohit Aradhya
December 21, 2017
@brangan Completely agree with you, sir. But may be the accent of the anchor and the title of the show made her think that they targeted her?
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GODZ
December 22, 2017
Fellow Baddies (Just like followers of Justin beiber called as beliebers..haha).. Thanks for sharing the link.. I was looking at her latest tweets and its all trash. But any one can see the hidden message in the tweet. “Guys and Girls..i am being attacked. Help or support me..I am one among you”. I mean honestly what else is she trying to convey? Its just plain English.
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sachita
December 22, 2017
This whole lakshmi ramakrishnan controversy is ironical because
a. the movie was shot/written 3-4 yrs ago – most likely as you mention when senior actress lakshmi was hosting the show.
b. Is lakshmi ramakrishnan an indie filmmaker herself? havent seen her movies, but have always seen interviews of her about her love of good cinema. it did come across earnest then.
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Uncouth Village Youth
December 22, 2017
And I was promptly blocked, after I questioned her assertion. So much for Solvathellam unmai.
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Srinivas R
December 22, 2017
She has directed 3 movies -Aroganam, Nerungi Vaa Muthamidathe, Ammani. All 3 got positive review from BR. I watched her TV show once, too much dirty linen washed in public and put me off instantly She did say in an interview that she attended training fand is a certified counselor before taking up this role. She generally touches the raw nerve of MCPs in Tamil Cinema in her interviews and has earned the wrath of lot of industry folks. Her only mistake , IMO, is that she is taking the satire on her show a little too seriously and this is not the first time. Any popular TV show will be spoofed, needs to learn to laugh at herself. About the caste thing in her tweet, that’s an opinion lot of people share, I wouldn’t beat her for that.
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Srinivas R
December 22, 2017
Apologies for too many typos…
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Enigma
December 24, 2017
@myheru, don’t hold your breath. Not only tamil cinema, but the entire tamil society is casteist and anti- Brahmin. I hate Chennai and TN, their movies, politics – everything. Glad I left that shithole.
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Vivek narain
December 25, 2017
The Iyer brahmins, followers of advaita principle, wearing horizontal lines, are the traditional inheritors of the science of simulation and its source code. As much was implied by T.N.Seshan..
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GODZ
December 25, 2017
Whats sowed is what reaped. When in the name of religion and system, few 1000 people oppress millions not for some few 100 years but for generations what u get is a shit hole. Fortunately, people like Enigma are in the head of that shit hole so they can easily leave. Imagine the lives of the people who caught in the feet of that shit hole. Only God can save them. Unfortunately, the same God says that they are fit to be only on that feet.
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Thupparivaalan
December 26, 2017
Great film and review. I found the film a bit warm after the interval. As in the review, she makes peter propose to her, and sort of wants to fulfill her inner desires and have some control. It was touching because very rarely do Tamil cinema have women who want to be loved and are feeling lonely, even though (Spoiler) the loneliness here is obvious given her condition.
Regarding the soundtrack, I didn’t feel that it was a problem. The film is very dense both visually and aurally. It grabs our attention and gives us no room to breathe, which is fine by me. And I found myself going back to the soundtrack after the film ended.
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sathya kumar
December 29, 2017
I fall in love with a girl who smoke, drink, rapped, slept with a man for money, had AIDS and her name is Aruvi.
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Shubranshu Mishra
January 2, 2018
I found the film to be both very promising and problematic: It has a female protagonist to represent the rage against the society (not an ‘angry-young-man’) and because she is a woman and of a particular class, it is incredible how audiences themselves are prodded to construct their own narratives of what happened to her. Aditi Balan is perfect in her ‘not-so-moral’ character and owns this film with her performance. The film also humanises the transgender by not only having a very prominent role but have a transgender actor (not a heterosexual/homosexual male/female) play that character. Anjali Varadhan does a brilliant job. Director Arun Prabhu Purushothaman stitches in satire, emotions, awareness, empathy and sympathy (not preachy) with ease and does a wonderful job in the first half.
The feminist standpoint in foregrounding the hypocrisy of society is praiseworthy but the problem I have with the film is that, in a way, it humanises the rapist. While the protagonist wanted the rapists to be tested for HIV and apologise to her, she is later shown to be casually socialising with them (even when there is neither real remorse nor punishment). I understand the duty of the actor is to humanise the character s/he is playing and by that logic the actors playing the rapists will do so but the director has to project them and the survivor in a way so as to not humanise the former. The film fails there.
The film however is great in initiating a discussion not only around issues but representation in cinema.
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babablacksheepweb
January 3, 2018
Wikipedia says, “To cast the titular role, established actors Nayanthara, Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Shruti Haasan were approached by Arun Prabu but denied due to various reasons.” These denials ended up being a fortune in disguise for the director – imagine one of these stars talking about advertisements forcing people to buy things that they don’t need (btw Aruvi’s speech reminded me of the famous Fight Club quote).
Even otherwise, Tamil cinema has gained a solid performer named Aditi Balan who is arguably better than all the names mentioned above. Also, it was unlikely that the above stars would have allowed all the vijay bashing and Tamil commercial cinema bashing had one of them taken on the title role.
In short, casting a newcomer has benefited the movie, the Tamil film industry and also has given a talented actor a much deserved chance.
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Thupparivaalan
January 3, 2018
baba black sheep web: I’m thankful big stars didn’t do it. Part of the indie-rebel appeal is lost and it wouldn’t be a fresh experience anymore.
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C. MOHANARANGAN
January 9, 2018
Great film ! Great review ! Nice moment when Aruvi takes a childish revenge on ” What no Sar ” master 🙂 It was “pinch” perfect. When we are doomed to watch ” Kuppai padangal ” as told by Aruvi, we hear director Arun’s voice shouting, ” don’t worry guys, sensible and good film in tamil film industry will continue to be RRROLLING SAAR !!!
C. Mohanaranan (PCMOHANARANGAN@yahoo.com)
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wilfredwiz
January 12, 2018
Yes i too saw lady tyler durden in her
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Enna Koduka Sir Pera
January 13, 2018
I just got to watch Aruvi. Loved it despite some flaws here and there. The first half was so interestingly written and the interval point was such an unexpectedly mass moment in this movie. The way Aruvi ties her hair in a knot and walks off had much more mass than so many other generic mass moments shown in many masala movies. Then enters the second half and I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I still don’t get why she wanted to play that game with the bottle with them. I understood some points where she makes the TV show host realize the misuse of her position and her desire to get proposed by a guy.. but really, I didn’t understand her overall drive to do these things and why everyone at the end of it was having fun and taking selfies with her. I would like to read about others’ interpretations of these scenes. I was ready to forgive minor flaws in the movie – like the too cinematic portrayal of the TV show host, police force and CRPF shown to be so inefficient, an otherwise fantastic performance by Aditi as Aruvi marred by her Tamil pronunciation (mixing of chinna ‘na’, periya ‘na’, hard and soft ‘la’). Overall, this was my favorite Tamil movie of 2017!
Would love to see an #AskBR episode on Aruvi.
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phaneendra201
January 14, 2018
I felt like reading Chalam’s novel while watching this movie. I was into the movie right from first shot. This movie is my all time favorites besides Nayakudu and geethanjali
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Rahini David
January 14, 2018
There is already an AskBR on Aruvi.
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Purple Sky
January 14, 2018
Enna koduka : why she toys with everyone in the studio. After being buffeted by fate this way and that, with a feeling of helplessness and loss of choice over her destiny (she knows she is going to die), finally comes a moment where she realizes that she is the puppet master, they her puppets and the gun is the string. She is shown to be very mischevious (oru game velayadalaama) all through her childhood montages and after life plays such a game out of her life, she decides to have fun.
Laughter is a great leveller and tension reliever. The moment when everyone has a laugh over what the security guy says is a mood changer and probably there is a Stockholm syndrome like situation happening here, where the hostages start emapthising with the captor. Hence the selfies.
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Gautham
January 15, 2018
Did not think the movie was bad but didn’t like it either. Was just wondering if anybody else felt the same way ?
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Enna koduka sir pera
January 15, 2018
@Rahini – Thanks for the link! I somehow missed it. Interesting points there on the questions I had asked.
@Purple Sky – Thanks for your interpretations. They do make so much sense now 🙂
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Thupparivaalan
January 17, 2018
I have a few doubts in the plot, and it would be great if someone can clear it regarding the men offenders in the movie. Aruvi was raped by her friend’s father and the Godman. And the intercourse with owner of tailoring class, that was consensual. So, had she anticipated the first two men to violate her, and she remained safe. Am I right here?
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San
January 17, 2018
@Thupparivalan You are right about the first two men raping her. And she felt she had no option but to have sex with the tailoring class guy. I guess the dialogue “naan unga kuda safe ah dhan irrunden” was only directed towards the tailoring class guy. She could’nt have possibly expected the Godman would hypnotise and rape her.
I loved a lot about the movie. But I could’nt comprehend one thing, how could she be friendly and jovial with the men who raped her in the latter parts of the movie. I can understand her forgiving them. It’s a part of moving on from it. But them being present even in the final scene and exchanging smiles with Aruvi without being ashamed, did’nt make sense to me. I would like to know the views of the people here, on this.
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Thupparivaalan
January 18, 2018
Yeah, not just that. I could take aruvi forgiving them. But, even peter who has reasonable morality, rings up those men to join them on the trio. It is very jarring, and sort of normalizes their behaviour without any closure. But, then again the film for me ended on a emotional plane when aruvi is taken into custody. What follows through is excess.
Plus, is it possible for aruvi to contract the condition as it is shown in the film? A commentor before me raised the same question. Not that it makes much of a difference to the movie, but I am eager to know.
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Rahini David
January 18, 2018
San: You are right. If there is some scene showing that the rapists go to Jail after everything comes to light, maybe forgiving to the extent of being friends may seem acceptable. Or perhaps some scene that the Godman is exposed as fake or the daughter realizing what the father had done to the friend she brought in as a guest. Once the focus moves to what Aruvi faces in the camp and how Emily takes care of her, we lose sight of that angle completely. I really wish that they hadn’t forgotten it completely as it would have taken only a couple of scenes to include this into the movie. Maybe scenes of comeuppance for the rapists would have shifted the focus from Aruvi’s suffering to the rapists and the makers did not want that at all.
Maybe they wanted to focus the emotional angle of Aruvi missing the father and college friend to be sidetracked into it. I actually liked it that Aruvi misses her father and speaks to him through social media and misses her college friend but not the mother. Not everyone is close to both parents and you can’t have perfect rules for emotions. She just seems closer to the father.
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Vivek narain
January 18, 2018
Aruvi endures,like an enigma. The regular hustlers & hookers would certainly get bewildered at this kind of attention.
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Aadhy
January 18, 2018
Regarding the rapists not suffering any comeuppance, I viewed it this way. The film a la its voice, shows no mercy or emotions towards anyone until before the closing stretch. It has an indifferent tone which made it gripping to watch, and all of us were eager to know where this is going, what Aruvi’s fate eventually is.
Going ahead with this tone, I feel the fate of the rapists is the movie’s voice being indifferent to justice or closure, just like how reality is. It’s a satirical take on how sex offenders roam around freely in this world, and it also tests our perception of the crime and retribution by putting them around the victim again. Going a step further, it shows them empathizing with Aruvi like how we do, like a brutal reality check on how these are totally normal people like one of us, capable of humanitarian emotions, and yet commit these acts. It’s an unpleasant yet important reminder that we all are in this, sometimes as better individuals, and in some moments, worse.
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Gautham
January 18, 2018
Rahini, Thupparivaalan: Agreed that it was understandable, maybe even rational, that Aruvi forgives them. I wouldn’t have been able to buy the friendliness, even with some sort of resolution (ala Death and the Maiden), though I don’t think there was a need to show retribution. There was hardly any attempt at resolution though.
The movie felt like a bunch of ideas that sound great while writing but without actually translating to the screen. Subverting Tamil cinema’s premarital pregnancy taboo, for one, felt a bit presumptuous, as it felt like the writer would have expected the audience to have been judging Aruvi. If you aren’t, pregnancy or AIDS, your sympathies lie with Aruvi, it’s the family that deserves scorn and the reveal becomes inconsequential.
Likewise the 3 men, the host and the director – while metaphorically, possibly, representing society, religion, the political establishment, self-appointed arbitrators and those willing/wanting to profit from another’s misery and meant to be exploitative of other humans and nature – were superficial caricatures (reminding me of Vazhuku En).
Peter’s village chief story felt like an obvious set-up to be milked later on and even ignoring that, it was a let down as it felt like an extension of sympathy than love.
If Aruvi puts a face to a statistic, so to speak, then the whole slew of characters at the camp towards the ending, only serves to render them nameless and faceless again.
The one thing that I liked was the slowly shrinking world for Aruvi and it slotted in well on multiple levels – claustrophobic nature of modern society; the moving away from nature and increasing artificiality; shrinking set of possibilities as one grows out of childhood, etc.
Also felt that both Aruvi’s character arc and the movie’s tone were scattershot. Would Aruvi bring a gun unless she was raging and was considering the possibility of harming someone ? Would she not have taken an opportunity to harm someone given that pretty much everyone continually gave her ample reasons to do so ? Wasn’t the rant against consumerism too coherent for someone seething underneath ?
The movie wasn’t underpinned by realism enough to take it on face value and wasn’t transcendental enough to view it as, say, Aruvi’s experiential POV.
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Rahini David
January 19, 2018
The rant against consumerism did not seem natural at all.
The three men consenting to come to the sets at all, given that 2 of them know they were going to be exposed as rapists did not seem believable at all either.
When Emily holds the gun for sometime and gives in back to Aruvi, I found it difficult to believe that absolutely no one tried to seize the gun from her.
I find it completely unbelievable that no one thought of sneaking out when the dumb charades was on. There seems to be only one door. Giving Aruvi and Emily a miss can’t be difficult at all.
I found it unbelievable that a talented asst. director could have written a pannaiyaar story as mokkai as all that. Sure, I can see what he was going for. But still.
You said “Did not think the movie was bad but didn’t like it either.”
I say “The movie was not perfect, but that was ok with me”
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Thupparivaalan
January 19, 2018
Rahini: Now that you list those stuff they seem very contrived to me. But, inside the theatre I was gripped. And also as BR had pointed out the film slips into surrealism and is throws logical logic through the window after interval. It is more about emotional logic.
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Aruvi
January 20, 2018
I had two questions about how AIDS was handled in the movie. Will a family chase out a girl who has AIDS (possible I guess). Don’t we have medicines to make sure AIDS patients can live a long life now ?
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Enna koduka sir pera
January 20, 2018
Rahini: All great points. But, as Thupparivaalian mentioned, I only looked for emotional logic in the film and was willingly overlooking all other logical bypasses.
The emotional arc and her dealing with the three rapists in the end felt too simplistic and unbelievable to me, but at the same time, looking at it from another angle, it was heart wrenching for me to see that all she wanted was affection and care from others for people like her, who are generally not accepted anywhere, and once she got it, she simply overlooked their past mistakes. It is unrealistic, but I surrendered to the simplicity of that emotion.
This is an interesting point that you raise about the rapists agreeing to come to the show: “The three men consenting to come to the sets at all, given that 2 of them know they were going to be exposed as rapists did not seem believable at all either.”
I have the same question with the actual TV shows in this format.Why would people ever come to be shamed on TV screens playing across lakhs of households? The scene with Peter calling them up provides sort of an answer. He says that the show organizers will go to the police if they don’t come. If you look at the demographics of the participants in the show, it’s mostly the low-income group that comes to the show. It is likely that they don’t want their income destroyed if they spend their time in court/police station and would rather be done with it in one day on this show. Any other thoughts on this?
I understand the legality of discussing rape/sexual abuse on this show. But, what about extra marital affairs/love affairs, which forms quite a lot of their episodes? Does it come under the purview of law or is it a personal matter that should not have come on the show, legally speaking? As in, in this case, can the TV show hosts technically threaten to bring the accused in by saying they would file a police complaint otherwise? If not, I wonder how they agree to participate in the show.
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SM
February 4, 2018
I think the objective and profit of this film lies in the discussions we see on this page. The so-called logical loopholes in the film that have created debate in whether legitimising it as ‘real’ can be another ploy by the director to affirm ‘reality’. As some have pointed out here, in reality closure is not always gained by revenge/punishment/conclusion but rather not gained at all. Yes we may have been very well satisfied if the perpretators were jailed, seropositive or if Aruvi’s family were more sympathetic with her situation but I believe by avoiding these cliches, the director wants us to share Aruvi’s struggle for closure. This is just my justification (if not previously stated here) for those who feel the film did not work ‘enough’ for them.
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pady
February 4, 2018
Finally watched on Amazon Prime. Totally blown away…great performances. It was stupid in some places but who cares…the core was just too good. I cried a full 30 minutes atleast…too touching…
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Sr
February 6, 2018
It is a well written movie but for me, I had the feeling all throughout that it isn’t written by a woman. When all forms of support have given up on you, like your parents and the society and you are dying in your prime, shouldn’t there be more anger? She dancing with the guy who raped her, who gave money for sex entirely a male fantasy that a woman would ultimately forgive all the male sins. Where are the stages of loss? Also I don’t believe the father giving up on his princess daughter believable at all.
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Honest Raj
February 6, 2018
Watched this a while ago. No film has “touched” me more than this one in the recent times – maybe, Masaan comes a little closer.
I absolutely enjoyed the dumb charades stretch – especially when the girl says, “Vijay padam … nalla padam … epdi da kandu pudikradhu” 🙂
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Mugglewizard
February 7, 2018
Just curious…… I never thought this movie would be liked by most of the people. Do you think Tamil people have become more broadminded now or has it always been there? I’m happy that people accept women as it is with their strengths and flaws. What is your take on the people’s acceptance of people like Aruvi?? Also want to know your opinion on Oviya phenomenon pertaining to the above question??
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Rahul
February 7, 2018
The montage section in the beginning and the game play section towards the end are enough for this film to be accorded masterpiece status.
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Daredevil
February 9, 2018
Watched aruvi but my boyfriend works with HIV patients and says that the way she contracted the disease is impossible. Is it possible to get HIV the way its shown in the movie?
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Rahini David
February 9, 2018
Daredevil,
I was thinking about it too.
You know how early movies about widow remarriage used to have “she may have been married, but she was a virgin” clause built into them so that the audience can relate to it? The makers want their audience to have sympathy for the heroine but know that the majority of the audience aren’t like that. It may seem absurd in retrospect, but that was important for all widow remarriage movies back then. I don’t think that our society has even now gone past that stupidity.
This whole “Virgin who fell into an infected dustbin” clause is also nothing else. Maybe 20 years later the SJWs of the next generation would ridicule “Aruvi” for its Virgin-HIV patient plot. Most people infected with HIV or any STD would have contacted it through unprotected sex, or intravenous drug abuse or at least a careless blood transfusion.
The very point of being accepting and compassionate towards HIV+ or AIDS patients is not about ‘judging’ them to be person who might have had imprudent sexual liaisons in the past when they did nothing of that sort. It is in accepting that their past does not matter when they are suffering badly in a life-threatening, soul-destroying situation.
What if a 7o’clock razor blade infected with HIV+ blood just happens to be in a dustbin and you fall on it? You can get tetanus. But can you get AIDS? Have there been such cases? I don’t know enough about it. But I do know that Aruvi would not have worked as it did with a huge number of people if it had shown date-rape or drug-addiction as its reasons for Aruvi contacting this disease. People would have seen it as a lesson against dating or drugs and not received the movie as it was received.
It is wrong that Aruvi’s parents judged her and turned her away. But it would have been wrong even if Aruvi had had a boyfriend (or two). But then, It would have been a different story altogether, I guess.
What about blood-transfusion? If that had been shown to be the cause would people have had moved on and seen it as a part of the plot or become paranoid about health professionals.
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phaneendra201
February 9, 2018
Mugglewizard: in my opinion, this film is liked by many because direction is good. If this story was given to someother person and if there is poor screenplay and direction, then this could turned out to be a flop. Audience are always the same.
Simple example is super hit of sankarabharanam movie which released around 1978.
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BumbleBee
February 24, 2018
I am quite surprised that you thought music didn’t elevate the film. For me, it did. Montages and flowy music were wonderful.
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