Chola king Sundara Chola had two sons and one daughter. The eldest son, Aditya Karikalu (Vikram), the crown prince, conquers the Pandyas and conquers each kingdom. On the other hand, Aditya Karikalu’s younger brother Arunmoli Varma alias Ponniyin Selvan (Jayam Ravi) invades Sri Lanka with an army to occupy it. Emperor Sundara Cholu (Prakash Raj) in Thanjavur fort’s health deteriorates. At such a time internal conspiracies take place in the Chola kingdom. Some try to usurp the Chola kingdom. Also, others conspired to end the Chola kingdom. A collection of these conspiracies is the story of ‘Ponniyin Selvan: 1’.
Review:
‘Kalki’ Krishnamurthy’s popular novel ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ written in Tamil has been tried by many filmmakers since time immemorial. But, finally Mani Ratnam unveiled this great novel on the silver screen. In fact, making this 5-volume novel into a movie is like a knife. Because, the characters in it are their way.. It is very difficult to show those characters in a way that the audience can understand. However, ace director Mani Ratnam was brave. Divided into two parts.. the first part has now been brought before the audience.
In this first part the conspiracy in the Chola kingdom is mentioned. It will be shown in the second part how Chola Emperor and his sons will reverse it. However, the director who showed Nandini (Aishwarya Rai) as the real mastermind of the conspiracies and schemes in the Chola kingdom gave a twist by showing that a woman in her form jumped into the sea to save Ponniin Selvan in the climax. If you want to reveal this twist, you will have to wait until the second part.
Although the story is titled ‘Ponniyin Selvan’, it revolves around Nandini. Aditya Karikalu loved Nandini.. Why Samantha married Raju Paluvetta Rayu, who was his grandfather’s age, remains in suspense. This movie is a bit difficult to understand when watching it for the first time. Because even Mani Ratnam’s screenplay is not smooth. It’s a bit confusing. Narration was a bit slow in Mani Ratnam’s style. Action sequences are plentiful but not too impressive. It’s like watching a drama. Audiences who want action scenes that give goose bumps like ‘Baahubali’ are bound to be disappointed.
When it comes to the characters.. Vallavaraya Vandiyadevu’s character has more scope in the movie. Karthi acted very well in this role. As Aditya Karikaludi’s trusted pawn and fighter, he has cultivated comedy in his own style. Vikram plays a prince who goes through hell after losing his girlfriend and remembering her betrayal. Such roles are for him. And Jayam Ravi looked handsome and majestic as Ponniin Selvan. There are two important characters in this movie.. One is Nandini and the other is Kundavi. Aishwarya Rai as Nandini, Trisha as Kund.. One can’t help but feel wow when seen on the silver screen. The beauty and elegance of both of them captivates the audience. Another notable character in this story is Nambi, a Vaishnava devotee. Jayaram played this role brilliantly. The dubbing of Tanikella Bharani also suited him very well.
Technically, the film is visually good. Although Ravi Varman’s cinematography is good, the visual effects added to it are not that great. AR Rahman’s songs and background music are impressive. However, nothing new was found. Tanikella Bharani provided the words for this movie. It can be said that the Telugu audience understood the movie because of Tanikella Bharani’s words. His dialogues are so clear and thorough. Mani Ratnam completed this film in just 155 days. However, there is no compromise in the construction values.
Finally..
This is a drama in the style of Mani Ratnam.. But not adventurous action!
