PS1 Verdict : Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan is in theaters. The magnum opus first day first show has raised huge expectations and Mani did not disappoint his fans and film audience. It turned out to be a stellar movie of our times, it remained true to the book narrative, and stayed away from unnecessary extravaganza. And, the Verdict is out.
Ponniyin Selvan is based on the novel of the same name by Kalki Krishnamurthy, which was first published in 1955. Before its release, the creative genius talked about adapting the book into a film, Mani Ratnam told , “I think when you adapted it (novel) into a script, you have to follow some spine and go with it. My writer told me the best line I heard before the film. He said, ‘Read the book once, throw it away and then you write.”
PS1 Verdict
An admirer of Mani Ratnam wrote: I was curious to see #ManiSir’s version. Our generation grew up watching his films and the magic he manages to create on screen with incredible talent. He has delivered a master class on filmmaking. I loved watching it. Don’t miss this epic on the big screen
PS1 Performances and fans review
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s Character
A fan @okimmthinking tweeted, “Just watched Ponniyan Selvan #PS1 Karthi steals the show. Detailing could have been better for outside Tamil audience. Can’t imagine another human being in Nandini role the Queen Aishwarya Rai Bachchan 👑.”
A stellar cast and all around performance
A Twitter user @Devanayagam shared, “The true success of a film with such an ensemble cast lies in how every character is registered long after the film! #PS1 does it comfortably! Everyone delivered their best & that’s the reason the film stands true to its novel! Thanks to MR for making no compromises whatsoever!💥.”
Ponniyin Selvan 1 movie review: Our verdict
Mani Ratnam’s film is a ‘largely faithful and brilliant adaptation and has no dull moments’. Indian Express critic gave the film four stars and wrote, “Mani Ratnam understands Kalki’s novel is a mainstream page-turner, so he retains its flavour and neither intellectualises it, nor dumb it down.”
Ponniyin Selvan 1 movie review: Our verdict
Mani Ratnam’s film is a ‘largely faithful and brilliant adaptation and has no dull moments’. Indian Express critic gave the film four stars and wrote, “Mani Ratnam understands Kalki’s novel is a mainstream page-turner, so he retains its flavour and neither intellectualises it, nor dumb it down.”
‘Masterpiece’
Karthik Subbaraj tweeted, “#PS1 Spellbound…. Mindblowing….. Masterpiece!!!! Crown to Indian Cinema 👑👑👑 Big bow to King #Manirathnam sir & team.. 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼.”
‘Hearing the most amazing things’
Dulquer Salmaan tweeted, “Hearing the most amazing things about #PonniyinSelvan1 #PS1 ! With so many friends like family in the film it feels like a personal victory ! Take a bow team ! @MadrasTalkies_ #ManiSir @arrahman.”
‘Super screenplay’
Director Ponram tweeted, “Finally I watched #PonniyinSelvan1 in cinemas, epic cinema Wow super screenplay! Finally, Thanks to the Legend & Ace Director #maniratnam sir and the entire #PonniyinSelvan1 team for making this happen.💚💚💚 A.K, A.M.V and V.D these are all the main grips of the story.”
Vikram, who plays the role of Aditha Karikalan, the crown prince and the commander of Northern troops in Sundara Chola’s reign, recently noted, “It’s a very rare thing to feel comfortable and not feel threatened by your co-actors. It’s very rare that you want them to excel in what they’re doing and want to keep up with that.”
Admiring Karthi and Jayam Ravi, he said, “Karthi carries the whole film on his shoulder. The whole story goes through his character… It’s not straight at all, there are so many ups and downs. It’s a crazy trip for him. It’s a trippy character. And Ravi’s character is again something else, very different where he’s so composed and he’s so calm but there’s so much confusion and so many things going on in his head. At the same time, he has to be princely. And so these are roles that as actors you really want to get into.”
Starring Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Sobhita Dhulipala, Prabhu, R Sarathkumar and Vikram Prabhu in significant roles, PS 1 has been in the making since 2019 and in a recent interview, Jayam Ravi revealed that both the parts of the film were shot in 150 days.