Lakshmipriya J

I can't believe this many raving reviews for Maniratnam for PS 1. I had been a die hard fan of Maniratnam all my life..... That stopped after watching PS1.... Being an ardent lover of Kalki's Ponniyin Selvan for about 2 decades now, I was overjoyed that it was finally going to be a movie.... I knew that it is very hard to bring the whole book into a movie.... But this was a disaster...... Decimation of a epic novel ..... Where is Kalki in this movie..... Other than the slide crediting him for the original story..... No complaints about casting or the actors or their performances.... They were all brilliant especially Aditha karikalan and Poonkuzhali. Nandhini 's beauty and Kundhavai's royal elegance was a treat to watch. VFX effects were great. Music sounded too contemporary for a period movie. The good parts ended there.... Screen play was haphazard and incoherent. even for one who has read the original novel multiple times, it was too packed keep pace.... Sadly other than Vandhiyathevan and Poonkuzhali every other character had barely any trace of Kalki's characterization...... Nandhini and Pazhuvettaraiyar were portrayed like TV serial villains..... Beyond a childhood jealousy over Nandhini, Kundhavai had nothing to do with betraying the love of Nandhini and karikalan..... Sendhan Amudhan was an impatient nobody in the movie, Most heartbreaking disaster was Azhwarkadiyan.... The encounters between him and Vandhiyathevan seemed like sendhil and goundamani comedy scenes. Where was Anirutha Bramaraayar in the movie who is one of the greatest master minds of the chola era ....... Politics and war was only a part of the original story Kalki's Ponniyin Selvan had breezy heartwarming romance... Flourishing Art.. rich culture... Generosity.... Temples... Festivals... Tamil Traditions...... ,were the heart of Kalki's story, made the Chola period as the golden era. Where are all these.... So much blood bath and nasty politics. For crying out loud the title character is the one who built the Brihadeeshwara temple in Thanjavur.... Not even one frame showed any form worship or temple..... PS even worshiped Buddha in the movie....... It was very clear that the creative team made sure that not even a single trace of Hindu worship was there in any frame.... Yes few characters had 'vibudhi pattai' on their forehead, just few ... Oh yeah one trace was there... When Maduranthakan pulls his rudracham from his neck and scatters them with blatant disrespect of Shiva bakthi.... if they have such animosity towards the Hindu beliefs then they should not have picked Kalki's Ponniyin Selvan.... Or was that their primary motivation... to erase the trace of Hindu worship from the golden era in the minds of younger generation who have never read Chola history or Kalki's Ponniyin Selvan.....