Movierulz
Tamil audiences are not seeing 'Ponniyin Selvan' as a movie. It is said to be a dream of fifty years. Not only the director Mani Ratnam but there were many Kollywood celebrities and audiences who wanted to see the glory of the Chola Empire on screen. It is said that the film is coming at the level of 'Baahubali', 'KGF', and 'RRR' from the Tamil film industry. And how is this movie (PS1 Review)?
Story (Ponniyin Selvan Story): Sundara Chola (Prakash Raj) declares his eldest son Aditya Karikalu (Vikram) as the prince the ruler of the Chola empire. He takes the crown. Palu Vettarayar (Sarath Kumar) unites all the vassal kings against that decision. Sundara Chola decides to make his elder brother Madhurantaka (Rahman) the king. Aditya Karikalu on receiving information that something is happening... sends his friend Vallavarayan Vandiya God (Karthi).
What did he do? What did Sundara Chola's second son Arul Mouli ('Jayam' Ravi) and daughter Kundaiwai (Trisha) do when they know that there is a conspiracy against them? Why is Aditya Karikalu saying that he will not come to Thanjavur as long as Palu Vettarayar's wife Nandini Devi (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) is there? What happened between them? What finally happened? is a movie.
Analysis (Ponniyin Selvan Telugu Movie Review): Filming historical stories, well-known stories and books is a knife-edged affair. Historians get angry if they change the story. It is a well-known story, but the audience is speechless even if it is not interesting at all. All this was not unknown to Mani Ratnam's intellect. He has made films inspired by Ramayana and Mahabharata in the past. He accepted the challenge of portraying the history of the Chola Empire as 'Ponniyin Selvan'.
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Kingdoms, wars, and conspiracies in the royal family are what first come to mind for the Indian audience of 'Baahubali'. Rajamouli and Co set the trend and standards. Will you like watching 'Ponniyin Selvan' with the eyes of that movie? If you ask that... you have to say 'very difficult. If you remove 'Baahubali' from your mind? This question should be called 'difficult'.
Mani Ratnam means that his fans have certain expectations. There is also criticism from some audiences that 'narrative is slow in his movies'. Such criticisms can be heard more in the case of 'Ponniyin Selvan'. There is a lot to the story. Mani Ratnam and Co failed to bring it to the screen without any confusion.
If Vikram is fighting... no goosebumps. 'Jayam' Ravi and Karthi's battle scenes are the same! The action is not impressive at all. 'Ponniyin Selvan' has more drama than battle scenes. The drama is also not impressive. If character names take time to understand... the lines between them take even longer to understand. It's like putting a history book in front of us and telling us to read it... The cinematic experience is nowhere to be found.
No emotions connect. It would have been difficult to sit in the theaters if not for Rahman's songs and the flashes of background music here and there. Visuals are good in some scenes. VFX is smooth.
How did the actors do? : If compared to Karthi... Vikram, 'Jayam' Ravi's roles are more like guest roles. Vikram appears once in the beginning of the movie, occasionally in the middle, and again in key scenes.
Jayam Ravi's character will be introduced after the interval. Both of them did well in the battle scenes. He was also impressed in the emotional scenes. Karthi's character has comedic shades. He acted according to the scenes of entertainment and heroism. Prakash Raj, Sarath Kumar, Parthiban, Jayaram, and others acted according to the roles. Except they brought sobriety to their respective roles... they didn't get a chance to act much.
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The heroines are Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Trisha, Sobhita Dhulipala, and Aishwarya Lakshmi... Mani Ratnam has given unforgettable characters to each of them. Especially about the way Trisha was shown on screen, no matter how much can be said. Kundavai character is the best and top in terms of looks in her career. Aishwarya was also shown well. She expressed her gestures with just her eyes. Although Sobhita and Aishwarya Lakshmi appear for a short time... they both did justice to the characters.
What is the final say? : There are conspiracies and conspiracies in ambition. There is heroism in the battle for kingship. 'Ponniyin Selvan' has all the moods a commercial movie needs. There is a huge cast and technical team that can unleash intrigue, machinations, and heroism on the silver screen. But... Mani Ratnam did not use the talent in his hand properly.
Except for taking something from the beginning to the end... there are few cases of interest in the audience. It takes a lot of patience to sit till the end of 'Ponniyin Selvan' in theatres. There are chances that this will remain a scar in Manihara. Mani Ratnam's mark is nowhere to be seen in the film. Let's show a scene to increase interest in the second part of the flag scenes!