Director: Mani Ratnam
Series: History, Action, Drama
Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
Rating: 3.5/5
The film ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ is based on the story of the rise to emperor of the mighty Choula king Arulmorivarman, the so-called son of Kaveri. It was Ponniyin Selvan who ruled the Choula kingdom under the name Rajendra I, popularly known as Rajaraj Choula. ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ is one of the most expensive films of Indian cinema. Made on a budget of Rs 500 crore, the film is based on the 1995 novel of the same name by renowned author Kalki Krishnamurthy, Ponniyin Selvan.
Story of ‘Ponniyin Selvan 2’
In the first part of the film ‘Ponniyin Selvan’, it was shown that Arulmorivarman (Jayam Ravi), the younger son of the ailing Choula emperor Sundar Chaula (Prakash Raj), is lost at sea during a war in Sinhala Island (Sri Lanka). Aditya Karikalan (Chiyan Vikram), eldest son of the Chaul emperor, blames his old lover Nandini (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) for his brother’s death. Nandini now wants to destroy the roots of the empire by being the wife of the Chaul commander Parvateshwar. Rajkumari Kundavai (Trisha Krishnan), the daughter of the Chaula emperor, along with her lover and Aditya’s friend Vandhyavan (Karthi) starts foiling these conspiracies. On hearing the news of Ponniyin Selvan’s death, Aditya and his uncle Maduranthakan compete to seize the throne of the Choula kingdom. Meanwhile, the film uncovers many secrets and conspiracies related to the kingdom. Who finally ascended the throne of the Chaula Empire? You have to go to the theater to find out.
Review
Mani Ratnam has tried to make the second part of the film grander than the first. The story of the second part of the film makes the audience more curious. The almost three and a quarter hour film keeps you hooked from start to finish. Due to the weakness of the script and screenplay you sometimes get confused between the Rashtrakuta, Pandya and Pallava kings who were enemies of the Choula kings.
How is the acting?
Before the interval, the film confronts you with the challenges of the previous part, while in the second half, one aspect after another unfolds. In the climax of the film, an attempt has been made to make the war and court scene grand like in ‘Baahubali’. Talking about the actors, Chiyan Vikram has done a great job. Aishwarya also plays a double role. The layer after layer of his character sometimes confuses the audience. Jairam Ravi, who was less visible in the first half of the film, has shown his spirit in the second half. Karthi and Trisha have also done a good job.
Why watch?
If you love to watch historical films then don’t miss the opportunity to watch this film on the big screen. If you haven’t seen the first part of ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ then watch it on the OTT platform before going to the theatre.
