Aruvi

Aruvi, the debut feature of director Arun Prabu Purushothaman, is a Tamil film about a young woman shunned by society who is drawn into a hostage crisis while trying to publicly expose, on a live reality show, three men who wronged her. When Aruvi's HIV status is revealed, the show's host accuses her of deliberately infecting them, when in fact the show's producer had falsified the men's test results to boost ratings. The director first took the script to established actresses like Nayanthara, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, and Shruti Haasan, all of whom turned it down over the sensitivity of the subject; the role went instead to Aditi Balan, cast through an open audition with no prior acting experience. Balan lost more than ten kilograms and isolated herself from all contact for 45 days to prepare for the role. Made on a low budget, the film grossed roughly 35 times that amount through word of mouth, and Aditi Balan won multiple Best Actress awards for the performance. Who it's for: anyone curious about a Tamil film where a woman's live televised disclosure of her HIV status spirals into a hostage crisis, delivering a sharp critique of consumerism and ratings driven media, and became a major box office success from a low budget. Who it's not for: those wanting a film that stays in one genre, since it constantly shifts between family drama, black comedy, thriller, and tragedy.