Ponniyin Selvan : 1 (PS: 1) Film Review

 

Release date: September 30, 2022 (India)

Director: Mani Ratnam

Music composed by: A. R. Rahman

Adapted from: Ponniyin Selvan

Producers: Mani Ratnam, Suhasini Maniratnam, Subaskaran Allirajah

Cast - 

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan - Mandakini Devi, Nandini

Vikram- Aditya Karikalan

Aishwarya Lekshmi - Poonguzhali

Karthi - Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan

Sobhita Dhulipala - Vaanathi

Jayam Ravi - Arulmozhivarman

Trisha Krishnan - Kundavai

Vikram Prabhu - Parthibendra Pallavan

Jayaram - Azhwarkadiyan Nambi

Sara Arjun - Nandini

R. Parthiban - Chinna Pazhuvettaraiyar

Jayachithra - Sembiyan Mah

The film Ponniyin Selvan (PS ) is based on the 1955 historical novel of the same name written by author Kalki Krishnamurthy. The origin of the novel written by Krishnamurthy is the Chola kingdom period that ruled South India in the distant past. If we consider the effort taken to rise the cinema in the first place, it goes back to a history of 64 years. It was an attempt by the great Tamil film actor M. G. Ramachandran (MGR) to make this a film in 1958. Many great actors and actresses like Vaijanthimala, Gemini Ganesan, Padmini and Savitri have been suggested for this, including MGR. But due to an accident that happened to MGR, this project never happened. This is discussed again in 1994. That is in view of a statement made by director Mani Ratnam. He said that it was his dream to make a film based on Kalki Krishnamurthy's PS. Although there was a discussion about this with Kamal Haasan at that time, it was abandoned due to high production costs. But Mani Ratnam is not giving up on his long-term dream easily.

Once again there is talk about this in 2010. Mani Ratnam after preparing a confirmed script at that time. It had Vijay, Mahesh Babu and Anushka Shetty in the lead roles. The pre-production phase had started here, but problems related to the backdrops and high production prices put an end to this. In the year 2019, Mani Ratnam is associated with Lyca Productions. After contributing to the production of Chekka Chivantha Vaanam directed by Mani Ratnam in 2018, they decide to contribute to PS as well. Accordingly, in 2019, Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jayam Ravi and Vijay Sethupathi will be the main characters. With the start of the production here, there will be a change of actors and actresses once again. The main difference is that instead of Vijay Sethupathi, Karthi is involved. At the same time artists like Trisha Krishnan, Aishwarya Lekshmi and Shobita Dhulipala are also involved in this. Finally, PS starts with the best cast of actors and actresses. This is how a long-term dream of Mani Ratnam, who came in the middle of various collisions, becomes a reality.

Nothing is going to be mentioned about the story here. The reason is that this is a movie that should be seen in every cinema. Don't expect elements of Baahubali or RRR movies through PS. The reason is that PS is a slow-burn period film that gives more attention to the story and the characters. Translating many characters and events into one film is not an easy task at all. Here, the script and the editing of the film are two aspects that need to be handled very quickly. Mani Ratnam's direction and screenplay (along with Elango Kamuravel) and S. Sreekar Prasad's editing, despite some flaws, were on the whole very successful. What appeared to be some shortcomings was the vague nature of some of the characters in building their relationships and matching their hearts. Therefore, this is a movie that should be watched very carefully.

Apart from the part related to Sri Lanka, Thotta Tharani's background designs were also at a very high level. At the same time, Eka Lakhani's clothing design was also seen at a very high level. In the part about Sri Lanka, I felt some inconsistency in the temples, kings' crowns and clothes in Sri Lanka. But it didn't appear to be a major flaw that hindered the story. However, the Sinhala dialogues used for the limited scenes here were seen at a better level than the dialogues of the historical films made in Sri Lanka. At the same time, Ravi Varman, who is associated with cinematography, has also done a very good job. Although not impressed with the VFX and CGI here, it didn't bother me as PS gives more space to the story. And A. R. Rahman's music direction also contributed to the film as usual.

The performances here were also seen at a very high level. Karthi has the maximum screen time in the film. Karthi has portrayed the grit, determination, and occasional humor of the character very well. Aishwarya Rai as Nandini Devi gives another memorable performance in her film career here. Especially she presented the elegance and seductive nature of that character very wonderfully. I haven't seen most of Vikram's works. So even though I don't know much about his acting range, this is one of the best performances I've seen. Although he has a limited amount of screen time, the various complex aspects surrounding the character were highlighted due to his powerful performance. Trisha Krishnan, Aishwarya Lekshmi, and Shobita Dhulipala also did perfect justice to their roles. At the same time, we cannot forget our actor Shyam Fernando, who acted as the fifth King Mihindu. Although he has very limited screen time, Shyam Fernando gave a good performance to the character.

Finally, I would like to mention this point. Mani Ratnam realized a dream of nearly 30 years as a filmmaker by creating PS. Therefore, if you have a dream, don't give it up easily. Through this, you can understand that it is very important to be patient and wait for the right time for certain things.