CEO -

The Genius of Maniratnam has proved itself once again with the making of ‘Ponniyan Selvan’ a historical period drama based on Kalki’s novel written in 1955. I was intrigued by the mixed responses of audiences in social media (Telugu audiences not liking it and Tamil people going ga ga over it all over the world!) It’s only today (after Navarathri) that I could check it myself… Whatever, there’s one thing that I realised today : Telugu audiences can go ga ga over ‘Inception’ & ‘Interstellar’ & ‘Game of Thrones’ even if they don’t understand them, but when honest efforts are made in our own backyard, we don’t make any efforts to appreciate it… this is what PM Modi terms as ‘Gulami Maansikta’ (Colonial Mindset) in his Independence Day Speech... Now, what to say of PS-1 ? The dialogues are a lyrical poetry (though not effectively translated into Telugu by Tanikella Bharani) Every shot & every frame on screen is an artistic masterpiece by Ravi Varman ( true to his name, he’s indeed Ravi Varma reborn) …the background score by Rahman & sound design by Craig Mann strum the chords of the heart, elevating the drama… (Rahman is so cool to change the instruments, when the narration shifts to Sri Lanka) the screenplay is very layered with intriguing subtexts and engrossing plot points… what to say of the actors ? Each one competes with the other in performance… and to put it all together, Mani is simply marvellous & surely deserves an Oscar for his honest attempt… unlike the other Indian copy cats!

It’s a crossbreed between Bahubali & KGF … poorly executed… plausibility missing !