Anu Karthik

I am not a novel purist and appreciate the director taking creative liberties but the newly written story mostly fell flat. The book was not only about the bravery of the chola kings but their high value system. In the movie, Sundara Cholan come across as a weak and guilt ridden character who surprisingly doesn't seem sick, Aditya Karikalan as a brave and hedonistic prince who cowardly commits suicide years after break up, Madurantaka as his selfish self until the end - other than inheritance how did he deserve the throne??, paluvetaraiyar a seriously unwanted character in this version of the story and most of all, the hero Arulmozhi spewed out dialogues like " Greed and ambition are important for Chola kings". If this was the story the director was going for, many characters could have been cut off from the movie to at least keep it simple. This was clearly meant to be a entertainer ONLY and despite having mind-blowing elements of cinema such as art, cinematography, music and fantastic acting, the story lacks depth and fails to capture not just the essence of the books but the greatness of Cholas.