Ponniyin Selvan 1

 When a much loved literary work is made into a movie, the expectations are sky-high. It takes a crafty film maker like Mani Ratnam to meet the expectations atleast three quarters of the way.

I read the epic Ponniyin Selvan way back in 2006, one of the very few times when I felt handicapped not knowing how to read Tamil. I read the English translation of the work, I fell in love and got lost in the epic, I never found the way out, not to this day. It is one of the most beautiful pieces of Indian literature I have ever read. The epic is set in the time at the onset of the glorious era of the Chola dynasty; just before the emperor ,Rajaraja Chola, the first ruler after Ashoka to annex most of the Southern part of the Indian subcontinent under his rule and even went ahead to expand his empire to Maldives and Srilanka, took over the reins of the country. The storyline is primarily political, on how he teamed up with his allies, conquered over his enemies, the Pandyas and ousted the treacherous plot to overthrow him within the dynasty . It is a magnificent epic with a very strong storyline.

After years of waiting, Mani Ratnam finally brought the first half of the epic on the silver screen. The latter half is slated for a release next year.

It is a very sincere effort from him, he has remained loyal to the book though there are few instances where the romance is glorified and the sequence of events is moved back and forth for a smooth narration. The cinematography is brilliant, ManiRatnam’s signature is found in every scene with his fast moving cameras. The settings are grand and costumes elegant. The two lead actresses are enthralling and the background score is very engaging and brilliant. The dialogue delivery is perfect and the actors deliver the dialogues very skilfully. There are a lot of sword fight scenes, taken quite well without much blood shed and gory scenes.

If there is something I did not like in this movie, it is the dance sequences. The movie is a class and I felt those dance numbers primarily showcasing the Asura culture were not necessary. But it is just my opinion. I also do not remember Aditya Karikalan so pronounced about his obsession for Nandini in the books, but I think I must reread the epic once more. It has been ages.

I would recommend that you read the epic before watching the movie, it will help you imbibe the full gist of the political landscape during that Chola era.

Overall, the movie is a magnum opus , the expectations were high, Mani Ratnam did not disappoint. The movie manages to showcase the glory of the Chola Empire very well. When the Chola Flag flies high once again after so many years, albeit on the silver screen, we do the same thing we did centuries ago, “Take a bow”.

Rating: 👍👍👍👍👍