CHENNAI: The Tamil version of the 4-part collection of short films on AIDS, commissioned by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, was released in the city on Thursday. Filmmaker Mira Nair’s Migration, Farhan Akhter’s Positive, Santosh Sivan’s Prarambh and Visha Bharadwaj’s Blood Brothers form the 2007 AIDS Jaago anthology, renamed Vazhkai Mukkiyam - Vizhithidu.
The short films take on different travails faced by HIV positive people and their families served as an inspiration for HIV positive people, who were present at the screening, organised by the Tamil Nadu AIDS Initiative.
Many in the audience, who were victims of the killer disease, spoke of their plight on being identified as HIV positive, likening themselves to the central characters of the short film. Like Gunavathy, who said she wanted to draw a leaf from the short film ‘Blood Brothers,’ in which a HIV positive exuded confidence about living a long life.