Senthil Kumar

"Awesome!!!!" ... That was my one word which summed up my feeling spellbound as I stood outside the cinema hall. But couldn't give a one word feedback on Google as it asked me at least a 30 worded feedback. And I agree, 30 words are too less for expressing my delight about the work and too many words for a guy stumped spellbound in the middle of the road outside the cinema hall. I have read Ponniyin Selvan novel, all the five volumes. I went to the flick armed with a scrutiny lens. 15 minutes through, Mani sir successfully managed to disarm my scrutinizing lens and got me fully engrossed into the story with his brilliant adaptation through great visuals, characterization, bgm with a care duely given to every aspect of the movie technique as a periodic piece deserved. In his book Ponnyin Selvan the Author "Amarar Kalki" has already stated it to be a historical fiction based on true events that took place in the past. As did Kalki justifiably excercise his creative Liberty in drawing the interest of the folks in the form of weekly parts published in a magazine, instead of it being just related as historical events based on dates blandly; it is only fair and justified by Mani sir to excercise his creative Liberty to adopt a story into a movie format. And yet it is so relishing to note that he has captured the true essence of the novel with such alacrity which only a very seasoned director of his calibre can pull of. Hats off! Kudos to every actor for their amazing performances. Being inclined to Ilaya Pirati (Kundavai) seconding only to the protagonist Vandiyadevan Vallavarayan from the books, I went with the notion that Karti was a biffiting characterization for Vandiyadevan, however had a trepidation of Trisha Krishnan pulling of Kundavai's role due to complexities, quirks and nuances the role demanded. And Man! She nailed it!. Whereas Aishwarya Rai captivated us as Nandini, what Trisha has managed to do is that not only mesmerized us by mirroring her beauty as I had imagined while I read the book but also managed to showcase Kundavai's intelligence/political acumen through restrained acting which goes to show her experience and maturity she has gained over the years augmented by the able guidance of Mani Sir. So my compliments esp. to Trisha for her performance. The last Mani sir's movie I watched multiple times in the theatre was Thalapathy. I'm in that zone again!!!! I was satisfied to the core. And as I wait for the concluding part, I egg on Mani sir to undertake two more stories that I read which bears a resemblance and relation to events covered in Ponniyin Selvan. One being "Vengaiyin Maindhan" by Akilan and the other "Cherar Kottai" by Gokul Seshadri.