Ponniyin Selvan 2: Jayaram on how Mani Ratnam canned the ‘stunning’ Aditha Karikalan, Nandini meeting scene

One of the most discussed scenes by those who have read Kalki Krishnamurthy’s Ponniyin Selvan is the meeting of two of its pivotal characters – Aditha Karikalan and Nandini. Malayalam actor Jayaram, who plays Azhwarkadiyan Nambi in Mani Ratnam’s magnum opus, tells OTTplay in an exclusive chat that the filmmaker has done justice to the sequence and “astonished” him by the way he shot the scene.

The makers let out a glimpse of the much-anticipated sequence through the minute-long video of the song Chinnanjiru Nilave that featured the meeting between Vikram and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s characters.

Also read: Ponniyin Selvan 2 star Jayaram: I don’t think for any other director, the entire team would have been on the same page 

Jayaram tells us it’s one of the highlights of the movie. “In Ponniyin Selvan 2, there’s a sequence where Vikram enters a fort. I can’t talk too much about the scene, but it’s where Nandini and Aditha Karikalan see each other. That sequence spans several pages in the book,” he says.

That said, the actor explains it wasn’t easy to shoot Aditha Karikalan’s entry as planned with the weather playing spoilsport. This, however, didn’t hinder Mani Ratnam or his cinematographer Ravi Varman.

“On the day we were shooting the scene, it was raining till 11am in the morning,” says Jayaram. “So, there was no chance of placing the camera outside. I wondered how someone could shoot the scene after the rain subsided, from the afternoon to evening. But Mani sir astonished me, and I am thrilled to be part of such a movie.”

The actor tells us that this wasn’t the only time where he had doubted if scenes would complete in time but was left dumbstruck by the filmmaker’s meticulousness in completing whatever was planned for the day – even when it included massive sequences featuring over a thousand junior artistes and set in a foreign country like Thailand.

“Ravi Varman’s attitude is such that even before Mani sir says where the next shot should be, he will position the camera there already. So, right after Mani sir says, ‘cut’, he would take the camera on his shoulders and hurry to the next position and then ask him, ‘Sir, is this where you want it?’” says Jayaram, adding that it’s a marvel that the team pulled off by travelling with such a massive team and executing everything as planned.

Ponniyin Selvan 2, which also has Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Trisha Krishnan and Sobhita Dhulipala, is set to hit theatres on April 28.