1 year of Ponniyin Selvan: Fans go gaga over Mani Ratnam's magnum opus and epic storytelling

The film was released in two parts and the first instalment released on September 30, 2022

Ponniyin Selvan

It's been a year since the first instalment of Mani Ratnam's magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan hit screens. The film is an adaptation of eminent writer Kalki's eponymous novel of the same name, which is considered one of the most popular literary works in Tamil in the contemporary times. While the first instalment released on September 30, the second part hit screens earlier this year on April 28, earlier this year.

Also Read: Ponniyin Selvan 1 movie review: Mani Ratnam's dream project is a compelling saga; Karthi's Vanthiyathevan steals the show

Mani Ratnam's dream project
Mani Ratnam had stated time and again that it was his dream to make the film adaptation of the novel. He had also come close to making the film with Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth and Sridevi at first in the 1980s, however the film didn't materialise. He later revealed that after SS Rajamouli's idea of splitting the film into two parts, he decided to give it a go as the Bahubali franchise was a huge success at the box office.

The star-studded cast
pulled off a casting coup with Vikram, Trisha and Jayam Ravi playing the Chola king's children, Aditya Karikalan, Kundavai and Arulmozhi Varman. While Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was roped in to play the Queen of Pazhuvoor Nandini, Karthi played the Chola commander and spy Vallavarayan Vanthiyathevan. The supporting cast included Aishwarya Lekshmi, Sobhita Dhulipala, Prakash Raj, Jayaram, Prabhu, R Sarathkumar, R Parthiban, Rahman, Lal, Vikram Prabhu, Nasser, Jayachitra, Ashwin Kakumanu, Mohan Raman to name a few.

Also Read: Ponniyin Selvan 2 review: Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan steal the show in Mani Ratnam's epic

A fine technical crew
Academy Award-winning composer AR Rahman scored the music for both parts of the instalment. While Ravi Varman cranked the camera, editing was by Sreekar Prasad. Thota Tharani handled the art direction. The film was jointly bankrolled by Madras Talkies and Lyca Productions. Ponniyin Selvan turned out to be one of the most watched films in Tamil cinema and also heaped praises from critics and audience. The film also set the cash registers ringing and how. Ponniyin Selvan is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

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