Sivakarthikeyan is a bundle of nerves as he awaits the release of Velaikkaran, in which he plays a blue-collared worker and has teamed up with director Mohan Raja for the first time.
Though busy with the promotional work for his film, he took out time to watch the critically-acclaimed Tamil film Aruvi, which is currently the talk of town. Aruvi is special for Siva because it has been directed by his cousin Arun Prabhu Purushothaman, and he’s really happy for the first-time filmmaker.
“I watched the film a couple of weeks ago and I was really moved. I really don’t want emotional films because they affect me strongly. I had to watch Aruvi because Arun is my ‘atha payyan’ and it moved me. I’m glad it had a positive ending,” Sivakarthikeyan said in a group media interaction on Wednesday.
Having impressed critics and audiences alike, Aruvi has also won over superstar Rajinikanth and has earned his praise. After watching the film in a private screening, Rajinikanth apparently called and spoke to the director for nearly 20 minutes.
In a statement, the Sivaji actor said: “Aruvi made me laugh, cry and think about many things in life. This film will be much talked about for years.”
The team, according to the statement, is exhilarated over this unconditional appreciation from Rajinikanth. Being raved as the film of the year, Aruvi features debutante Aditi Balan in the titular role. It’s a socio-political drama that revolves around a woman who rebels to get accepted by a society which has problems with the way she is.
Produced by Dream Warrior Pictures, Aruvi released in cinemas last week after a successful run at several film festivals across the globe. It had its world premiere at 16th Shanghai International Film Festival last year and was even screened at Mumbai Film Festival in 2016.
On Wednesday, producer S.R Prabhu in a tweet revealed that the film has done exceptional business in the US by grossing around $70k in just five days. Hopeful that it’ll breach into $100k club by second week, he said, adding that the response so far has been terrific for such a small Tamil film.