Mani Ratnam has had a special interest in legends since ancient times. Dalapati borrowed from Karnakatha in Mahabharata and Ravana inspired by Ravana in Ramayana are proofs of that. But this time, Mani Ratnam is bringing to the screen an epic novel with a historical background.Mani Ratnam's adaptation of Kalki's Tamil literary epic 'Ponniyin Selvan' of the same name is a unique moment in the history of Tamil cinema and literature.
Imaginations have no boundaries. Mahishmati and the Kundala empire can be created from the imagination of the country, people or the universe itself.Even in Baahubali, we have seen such visions of the magical world. Fictional characters as heroes, tiger, deer and tiger to thrill the screens. So we have seen a lot of movies lately that mix drama and cinematic elements and keep a distance from reality.But not so in Ponniyin Selvan. Ponniyin Selvan has done complete justice to the novel, which is one of the wonders of modern Tamil literature, about great heroes who lived centuries ago.Only those who understand Tamil well should watch the Tamil version of this movie. For those who are not, it is preferable to choose Malayalam so that the story and story premises are clear.
Parantaka Chola I, who started the Chola Empire, had two sons. Gandaraditya and Arinjayan. After the death of Parantaka Chola I, power passed to Gandaraditya. But after the death of Gandaraditya, Arinjaya becomes the king.Gandharaditya's son Uttama Chola was young at the time so the power goes to Arinjayan. Soon Arinjayan also dies. With that, Arinjaya's son Parantaka Sundara Chola became the king. Uthama Cholan lives with anger and a sense of loss that Sundara Cholan got the power he should have received from generation to generation. Parantaka Sundara Cholan has three children – the eldest being Aditya Karikalan.The second is the daughter Kundava Devi. Youngest son Arulmozhi Varman. According to tradition, Aditya Karikalan was the next king after Sundara Chola.
But as Parantaka Sundara Chola's era comes to an end, the country faces two major problems. There are kings under Chola kings and vassal kingdoms. A conspiracy develops between them. It leads to civil unrest.The Chola dynasty rose to power by defeating many important kings. It was headed by Maduraantaka Uttama Cholan and the first judge was Periya Pashuvettaraiyar. The second problem is the Pandyas who are out to destroy the Chola clan in revenge for the Pandya king.Nandini, the girlfriend of Veerapandya Kattabomman, is leading the Chaveras of the Pandya clan. Their aim is to eliminate Parantaka Sundara Chola's generation.Mani Ratnam Ponniyin Selvan introduces this story and characters through the first part. Mani Ratnam has completely succeeded in the great task of narrating all these characters in two hours and 47 minutes. Vallavarayan Vandiya Devan, who is the protagonist of the novel and the fictional character of Kalki, is the character who has the most screen space in the film.He is the right-hand man of Aditya Karikalan and the confidant of the empire, who thinks of the sky above and the earth below. Karti has made Vandiya Deva, who is a bit mischievous and has a great jump. The most complex character in this story is Nandini, who is haunted by love's fuming revenge.Aishwarya Rai can't be imagined as Nandini, who is full of mysteries. Aishwarya has given a performance that mesmerizes the audience with her beauty.Vikram played Aditya Karikalan, a hero coming to terms with his lost love. Even though the screen space is less, he has done a great job in the scenes. Jayam Ravi, who plays the titular character Arulmozhi Varman, is another star who is getting applause. Ravi has been able to portray a historical role in its entirety which he has never done before in his career.He has a strong performance in battle scenes and adventure scenes. Trisha gives a mature performance as Kundava Devi, the intelligent and keen thinker. Jayaram was living as Azhwarkadiyan Nambi, a heroic Vaishnava Brahmin.Abhiyam is careful even in body movements with the belly and the belly. It is the combination scenes of Nambi and Vandiyadev that open the doors of humor in the story which proceeds very seriously.
Sarathkumar and Parthipan are coming as Pahuvettaraiyar brothers. Sarathkumar excelled in his voice and appearance.Aishwarya Lakshmi, who appears as Samudrukumari or Poonguzhali, has also been given the main role by Mani Ratnam. Rahman as Madhurantaka, Vikram Prabhu as Parthipa, Sobhita Dhulipala as Vanathi, Prakash Raj as Sundara Chola and Prabhu as Senapati. Babu Antony, Lal, Nasser, Kishore, Riaz Khan and Ashwin Kakumanu also did justice to their characters.The hand of master craftsman Mani Ratnam on the medium of cinema is evident in Ponniyin Selvan. It is doubtful if anyone but Mani Ratnam could turn this film into an epic poem without even an iota of commercial ingredients. A classic touch to Ravi Varman's frames that capture the beauty of women's bodies without ignoring their curves.A.R. When Rahman's music is added, those scenes will rise to another level. The music starts with the song Ponni Nadi Pakaname and continues till the end of the movie. Especially the intro BGM of Nandi and Kundava Devi is awesome. Shyam Kaushal is the stunt director of the film. It seems that the battle scenes and the fight sequences could have been done a little better.The sea fight in the climax scene is beautiful. Sreekar Prasad's editing also suited the film.The production designer is Thotatharani, who is a master of art direction. Mani Ratnam and Thota Tarani had previously worked together in the film Bombay. What happened when this combo reunited after 28 years was an indescribable miracle. Tarani has managed to recreate the palaces and equipment of the story set a thousand years ago in a way that matches the reality.Special kudos to the cost and designer Eka Lakhani and the 13 member makeup team under Jagdish Yere.Mani Ratnam narrates the first part of an exciting epic, opening the door of anticipation for the next part. Those who have read the novel will not be left wondering what awaits the Chola princes and their brave warriors. But those who have seen the first part will definitely be interested to know how Mani Ratnam will tell that story.Poniyin Selvan becomes a complete cinematic experience by watching both the parts together. Let's wait for that.
