Ratnam redeems epic saga in its second outing

Ponniyin Selvan 1’ had garnered mixed reviews. ‘Ponniyin Selvan 2’, on the other hand, is packed with drama, unrequited love, conspiracies, and war, and it satisfies all the anticipation that the first instalment had left behind.

The historical romance of Nandhini (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) and Aaditha Karikalan (Vikram) takes centre stage, and the rest of the palace politics becomes irrelevant for some time. The movie commences with the blossoming of love between young Nandhini and Karikalan. The intense pain that they bear upon separation is told artfully with minimal to no dialogues. The backstory is told at a quick pace, and soon, the narrative shifts to the present day where different groups are plotting against the Chola kingdom.

A significant portion of the movie depicts the recovery and valour of Arulmozhi Varman (Jayam Ravi), ‘Ponniyin Selvan’, the titular character. Parallelly, we see conspiracies arising within and outside the Chola kingdom to bring down the king (Prakash Raj) and princes. Hearty dialogues by Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan (Karthik), and ephemeral comic counters of Azhwarkadiyan Nambi (Jayram) break the monotony of serious drama and palace politics.

The female characters become a vehicle to divulge details about all the characters. For instance, it is through Kundavai (Trisha Krishnan) that director Mani Ratnam develops the subplot of ‘Oomai’ Rani (also played by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), who is later revealed as Mandakini.

While Kalki Krishnamurthy’s five-volume novel has been an important piece of literature in Tamil and Indian history, the film adaptation marks a sincere tribute to the written work, and at the same time stands independent as a visual delight for those who have not read Krishnamurthy’s works.

‘Ponniyin Selvan 2’ captures the essence of Krishnamurthy’s work and at the same time sings the history of the glorified Chola empire. The beauty of Mani Ratnam’s movies is that he keeps the setting as realistic as possible. The land and sea journeys and war sequences are carved well and appear credible in visuals and tones. Unlike the first part, this movie does not dwell on long music tracks, instead they stay for a few minutes only to foreground the actual narrative. The performances of all the artistes are commendable and everyone seems to exude their involvement in the assigned roles brilliantly.

Without a second thought, the two-part ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ is surely Ratnam’s chef-d’oeuvre.