Ponniyin Selvan I: Here’s What We Can Expect From The Mani Ratnam Directorial!

The grand audio launch and trailer release event for Ponniyin Selvan 1 is all set to happen today. Ulaganayagan Kamal Haasan and Superstar Rajinikanth have been announced as chief guests for the event, and it can't get any bigger than this.

What can we expect from this story?

The story follows a contest for the throne of the infamous Chola Kingdom in the late 10th century Tamil Nadu. Aditya Karikalan is the crown prince of the kingdom, Arulmozhi Varman is the younger prince, and there is a cousin of the siblings, Madhuranthagan, who also puts forth a claim to the throne, discretely.

Meanwhile, the royal family also faces threats from a loyal group from the Pandya Kingdom, who have sworn an oath to avenge their king's brutal death on the battlefield, caused by Aditya Karikalan.

The story narrates the attempts of the avengers from the Pandiyan Kingdom, and how the game of thrones in the Chola kingdom gets affected by this group.
There is also the unrequited love story between Karikalan and Nandhini, which eats Karikalan up psychologically, and Nandhini's current life hugely disturbs his peace.

The story is from the perspective of Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan, in the novel. Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan is a soldier who also happens to be a close friend to the crown prince. Karikalan sends Vandiyadevan with messages to his siblings, and that journey takes Vandiyadevan on a rollercoaster ride that makes up the novel.

Vandiyadevan learns about the conspiracy for the throne and also about the assassins targeting the royal family. How he manages to communicate this to the relevant people and how he takes part in averting unfortunate events forms the core of the story.

While the story does involve major historical figures and key historical events, it has to be noted that there are some fictional characters in the story, and this is largely a work of fiction, based on history, and should not be considered as a documentation of historical facts. Historical fiction is a complex genre and needs some research for us to be clear about what is fact and what is fiction.

Arulmozhi Varman is definitely an important character, and he goes on to become one of the few globally acknowledged Tamil Kings, Rajaraja Chola I and is also the titular character, the story is not just about him. In fact, it is more about a few other characters rather than him. That understanding might help avoid assumptions about the screen space for this character.

Ponniyin Selvan Has A Great Cast And Crew

Although it's an adaptation, Mani Ratnam has spared no effort in assembling a great team for the film. Jayamohan, one of the biggest names in the Tamil literary community, has come on board to write for the project. Elango Kumaravel, whom we have seen as an actor in films, particularly Abhiyum Naanum, is part of the writing team as well. Elango has worked with a team, that staged Ponniyin Selvan as a play.

The casting choices have been getting a variety of reactions. People who have read the novel, have had their own versions in their heads, and have their favorite actors as certain characters. It's obviously not possible to satisfy everybody's personal taste.

But here are some casting choices that we felt are exciting.

Aishwarya Rai as Nandhini: Considering Nandhini's mesmerising appearance and a mystical charm that makes anyone go powerless, Aishwarya Rai fits in perfectly well.

Karthi as Vandiyadevan: The character is funny, friendly, flirty, adventurous, and definitely intelligent, and Karthi seems like good choice for the character.

Aishwarya Lekshmi as Poongulali: This is a bold and rebellious village girl who is devilishly attractive and is quite intimidating to the average person, and looking at the posters Aishwarya Lekshmi has got the role right.

The crew is also a carefully picked lot. The film is shot by Ravi Varman, edited by Sreekar Prasad, and the music is composed by AR Rahman.

Ponniyin Selvan Has Been Picked Up For An Adaptation Many Times Before

Ponniyin Selvan has been picked up for an adaptation many a time before, in different timelines of the Tamil Film Industry. Legends including MG Ramachandran, and Kamal Haasan have made an effort to kickstart this project but had moved on due to practical challenges and incompatible timing.

Mani Ratnam himself had initiated this project a decade back, allegedly with the plan to cast Vijay and Mahesh Babu in the lead roles. The project didn't go on floors, and now, finally, the script has found its way to getting filmed. Let's hope that this Magnum Opus comes out as magnificent as we are expecting it to be!

We will get a better idea about how the film has turned out after we watch the trailer. The audio launch and trailer release event will happen in Nehru Stadium, Chennai, this evening. Ponniyin Selvan I is scheduled for release on September 30.