Ponniyin Selvan: The arrival of the Indian epic on screen
Mani Ratnam ponniyin selvan (Son of the river Kaveri; Kaveri is Ponni) is a benchmark among the epic films of India. It’s disgustingly lush and loud, and just as good, if not better, than Wolfgang Petersen. Troy, If only because of the elements of drama and intrigue that helped the characters, especially the main female characters essayed by Aishwarya Rai (as the cold, unjust and scheming Nandini) and Trisha (as Kundhavai, very intelligent and accomplished) The princess, and daughter of the emperor Sundar Chola), and the hero, Vikram (as Karikalan, the son of Sundar Chola, betrayed by Nandini in love), came across as human beings with motive and edge.
in homer IliadAfter the war and the fall of Troy, the abduction of Helen (wife of the Spartan king Menelaus) by Paris led to her being taken back to Sparta and living happily with him. I have often thought of Helen after the war. She couldn’t be happier, no matter what the legend says.
Nandini’s character is much like a sequel, a traumatized Helen after Troy. Except, Ponniyin Selvan (PS1) is based on a historical novel by Krishnamurthy in the early 1950s, serialized in the magazine, Kalki, for four years, and then published as a novel in five volumes running over 2,000 pages. The story is set in the 10th century Chola Empire, and focuses on their dynastic intrigues, and conflicts with their traditional rivals, the Pandya kings.
The amazing thing about PS1, shot on a budget of Rs 250 crore, is that it shows that India has another history – as much the incarnation and perhaps the much-anticipated wave of the politics of the Mughals and British invasions and oppression of the more ancient north. The comparison has become so mythical that the BJP, which has exploited it with great vigor and brilliance, is in power now and for the foreseeable future.
Mani Ratnam is saying with this film that South also has a history and it can be internesine.
PS1 shows across tribe and clan, race and gender that everyone is potentially both a winner and a victim. Mani Ratnam dramatizes that essential understanding of human nature with spectacular violence and gripping narration: the kind of thrilling epic that Karan Johar tries to create. brahmastra and fails because of the fundamental defect of contingency with which he attains both life and art. PS1 is proof that the vein of the typical commercial movie isn’t over. All you have to do is tap it better.
Cast of Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan
The plot is complex because the novel is detailed, its canvas is expansive, and the characters are as many as warrants to feature. The essential plot however is driven by Vandhiyadhavan (Karthi pulling off a light and smart, rakish performance) as Karikalan’s friend and trusted commander, who is entering the difficult and dangerous Chola land from Tanjore to Kanchi with a message to the king. Is. The obstacles that stand in his way bring his enterprise and soldier to the fore. And it accelerates the development for the plot.
The film has been written by Mani Ratnam, Elango Kumarvel and B Jayamohan. The script and dialogues keep the story moving at a decent clip, despite the weakness of the vast and syncronous choreography.
The jokes are rather edgy and are often a drama about what the characters know about each other, and what is actionable on the surface. As in the example of the exchange between Aishwarya and Trisha. They very much complement each other’s beauty and finesse; Except they hate each other. What they say is not what they feel, which adds to the layers.
Trisha, Aishwarya Rai in character in Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan
Again, in Mani Ratnam’s world, what we hate the most is who we are. There is a big gap between where we started and where we ended. Aishwarya Rai’s Nandini is one such personality. As told in PS1, she changes her love very quickly, a transformation perhaps empowered and enabled by great beauty, and when a vengeful Vikram (Karikalana and Nandini are the Romeo and Juliet of the Chola period) her Rivals kill King Pandya in battle and love. Nandini begins her long drawn out and intricate plans from within the dim pools of her fort.
As you all know Mani Ratnam is trying to make PS since 90s. Like the fantasy-land of Indian cinema, a particular film like PS has had to die many times before it was born. The great Indian actor Mohan Lal once said that a ‘film is an event’, which means that everything is uncertain about the product until it reaches the screen. Maybe that’s why there is so much demand for stars. They probably offer some sort of minimum guarantee.
Of course, there are some issues with PS. For a man who wants to convey a secret message to the king, Vandhiyadhevan attracts a lot of attention wherever he goes. He fights, does all kinds of acrobatics, and takes up fights with great enthusiasm. A detective normally has to be a little more prudent. But it is a war epic, and without Vandhiyadhavan’s mischief, the first half has almost zero scope of action, except in the first battle scene as Kamal Haasan’s voice makes reference to the Chola/Pandya wars.
Wars are first class. So is the climactic battleship battle in the storm. You were on a broken ship, and the sea was heavy, shaking and sliding down on you. In other battles, horses and elephants looked like they were watching great action movies because they were so tall. The violence was very gratifying. Thota Tharani’s production design is as good as you can see anywhere in the world.
Sobhita Dhulipala and Karthi in Ponniyin Selvan. Screengrab: Tips Tamil/YT
Mani Ratnam always delivers great performances from his actors. Jayam Ravi, generally eye-candy in my mind as Ponniyin Selvan in this film, is gorgeous and powerful and never laughs with pity and madness whenever loss occurs – a compulsive habit of the powerful in Indian cinema. Amjad Khan as Gabbar Singh in Sholay was the only actor who put laughter to good use and turned it into something completely powerful and evil.
This movie is noisy. When one eats breakfast, it is like a storm breaking a branch from a tree. It can’t be helped, probably. But, when you leave the theatre, you doubt whether there was any variation in the sound levels. This is equally the Big Bang. AR Rahman’s music tries and often succeeds in keeping his head above the usual noise. But if you think Rahman is running out of ideas at all, you can be forgiven, just this one time.
None of this really matters. Ponniyin Selvan 1 A remarkable heroic achievement for Mani Ratnam. He brings the almost finished formula of the epic action film to life not only because of the special effects, but also because there’s a great story, a good story, and actors who perform as characters, not as themselves. In.
