MOVIE REVIEW: PONNIYIN SELVAN PS-1 TAMIL MOVIE IS PRIDE HERITAGE AND A MAGNUM OPUS (VOL 26) DOWN MEMORY LANE

                                  

Ponniyin Selvan Movie Review 

It is a pride for every Tamilian to read the history of the Cholas who ruled almost 1000 years back, whose footprints are everywhere to be seen today not only within South India where they ruled but their kingdom went far across the globe. Every temple like Brihadeeswara Siva Temple at Tanjore which became their capital built during their period still are monuments for us to marvel at the architecture and cultural heritage of Cholas with their governance, taxation and panchayat raj and maritime trade across seas a model for the modern India.

Kalki Writer

Ponniyin Selvan the historical with fiction the 5-book volume a masterpiece of Kalki Krishnamoorthy about the Chola rule created history written as a novel in the 50s which came weekly in the journal Kalki for almost 5 years. The novel made the entire generation engrossed and kept the readers spellbound with his characters based on research and fiction to create a magic.   Every generation from then could relive the past glory of the clan of Cholas and this book even after 70 years is the best seller in Tamil literature. I lived my younger days at Chidambaram which was the initial capital of the Cholas where the Parantaka Chola (907-950) also known as Sundara chola did the golden roof for the Lord Nataraja Temple. Their rule from the 10th century extended until 14^th Century which is the longest reign in south india that even extended beyond the shores of India through Ceylon,Malaysia,Thailand upto Indonesia.

Although Kalki’s other novels like Parthiban Kanavu on Pallavas could be brought to celluloid this book  Ponniyin Selvan with 5 Volumes was so complex with so many characters. All attempts including by late MGR and Kamalhaasan failed in their attempts as a movie to reach the present generation. It was left to ace director Maniratnam who could finally realize his lifetime dream of making it into celluloid in a lavish scale using current technology.

Mani Ratnam

 Has he done full justice to the novel? Could he recreate the golden era of Cholas? Are the characters able to portray their role as defined by Kalki? These were the questions for all those older generation who grew with this novel. The promos for the last one month raised the expectation of every film lover. Will the movie live up to the expectations or we are going to return disappointed? With all these questions looking forward to this FDFS the premiere show in IMAX Format in US the first Tamil movie to be released in this format.

The movie which ran just under 3 hours (2 hours and 50 minutes to be exact) was mind blowing experience the like of which never seen before. The movie was visual extravaganza presented in grand scale and every character owned their role. There was never a dull moment in the whole movie, and the technical values were excellent on par with any international movie.

AR Rahman has given his career best background score with heart and soul for his Guru. All the songs were based on situation as depicted by the writer in his novel and unconventional and it was blend of period and modern music. Rahman used all his collaborative efforts with his musicians to create a magic with background score with his use of sound and various instruments which took us to that era of triumph. The IMAX and VFX scenes make the music special.

What a art direction by Thotta thorani reuniting with Maniratnam after 28 years creating the sets for this magnum opus as if we are in that era with the marvellous Kingdom created from his imagination. The cinematography of Ravi Varman is a visual treat, and he has made the entire cast look pleasing with his photography. Maniratnam like a symphony director has chosen the best technicians who have all elevated the movie.

The movie is fast paced, and characters are given their role as in the book. The director has introduced characters like a gentle breeze, and he satisfies both the viewers who have read the book by not deviating from the original as well as one who sees the movie first without seeing the book.  That shows his class as a director!

The story and the characters are same as in the novel but presented cinematically with the dialogues necessary to make the movie move fast. As an ace director Manirathnam touch is there in many sequences with fun,crisp dialogues which we can relate to the characters.

Every artist has put their best performance as their character and not their individual and it is team effort.

Vikram is outstanding as Aditya Karikalan with his vigour  and his confrontation sequences with Nandini and sister Kundavai shows his class.

Karthi as Vandiyathevan steals the shows as the whole movie revolves around him and makes the movie lively with subtle humour and personality.

Jayam Ravi as Arulmozhi Varman who is the ponniyin selvan in the movie in total contrast to the other 2 heroes of the movie is calm and compassionate prince who lives for the welfare for the kingdom.

Trisha as Kundavai the smart princess is outstanding and is so natural with her talent and gives life to the character.

Aiswarya Rai as Nandini fits the role and the whole movie revolves around her. A young nandini with the young Aditya is beautifully shot like a poem by the director.

Aiswarya Lakshmi as Poonguzhali steals the show in the second half of the movie.

Jayaram as  Azhwarkadiyan Nambi lifts the movie with his witty dialogue and his interaction with Vandiyathevan is a pleasure to watch as depicted in the novel.

Shobita Dullipala as Vanathi has a limited role in the first part and will have bigger role in the second part.

All other characters live their role, and the director has made sure that every characters from the novel are presented however short their duration true to the novel.

The VFX technology is fully utilized to bring the action and war scenes and the money is well spent. The water sequences towards the climax are shot superb.

I wonder how this movie was made in the most difficult COVID situation and it must have been the challenge for not only the director to manage the risk without compromising on quality, but the entire star cast who worked as a Team.

The locales of Thailand Ceylon and at Tamilnadu add to the visual appeal. The use of actual jewels and costumes makes it authentic. Everyone has contributed with their own research on the period of the movie.

Mani Ratnam has employed the good literary writers like JayaMohan and their team and has started with the complete script before shooting and every character is taken as in the novel.

To cut it short Maniratnam has done an outstanding job and this is the crowning glory of his illustrious career. Being smart, Part 2 the concluding part is already filmed, and we will see soon the Part 2 in theaters in the summer of 2023.

This movie in my opinion will create box office history both in Tamil and overseas Indians who look forward to such movies and I will not be surprised if the overseas collection alone crosses 15 million $.

As the movie came to an end the entire audience clapped in the theatre a rare gesture and that shows much it has touched the viewers.

Hats off to Mani Rathnam and his team for all the hard work to make this movie a magnum opus!

Rating   *****