Ponniyin Selvan PS-1 : Part One (2022)

Ponniyin Selvan: I (transl. Son of Ponni) is an 2022 Indian Tamil-language epic period action drama film directed by Mani Ratnam, who co-wrote it with Elango Kumaravel and B. Jeyamohan. Produced by Ratnam and Subaskaran Allirajah under Madras Talkies and Lyca Productions, it is the first of two cinematic parts based on Kalki Krishnamurthy’s 1955 novel Ponniyin Selvan. The film stars an ensemble cast of Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Sobhita Dhulipala, Prabhu, R. Sarathkumar, Vikram Prabhu, Jayaram, Prakash Raj, Rahman and R. Parthiban. The music is composed by A. R. Rahman, with cinematography handled by Ravi Varman, editing done by A. Sreekar Prasad and production design by Thota Tharani. Ponniyin Selvan: I tells the story of the early life of Arulmozhivarman, who would become the Chola emperor Rajaraja I (947–1014).

Ever since its publication, the adaptation of Kalki Krishnamurthy’s novel had been explored by several Tamil filmmakers, including an attempt by M. G. Ramachandran in the late 1950s. However nothing materialised mainly due to financial constraints. Decades later Mani Ratnam tried to adapt Ponniyin Selvan in the mid-1990s and early-2010s; these efforts were also unsuccessful. Stating it as his “dream project”, Ratnam revived the adaptation in January 2019, with Lyca Productions on board to fund the project. After several changes in the cast and crew, production began in December 2019 and was ended in September 2021, having been halted twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was shot in various places across India, with a few sequences being filmed in Thailand. Ponniyin Selvan was originally intended to be a single film but it was split into two parts.

The film was released in theatres worldwide on 30 September 2022 in standard and IMAX formats. It received positive reviews from film critics, journalists and audiences.

The Chola kingdom is under threat from forces both internal and external, and with crown prince Aaditha Karikalan, his younger brother Arunmozhi Varman and the emperor, Sundara Cholar separated by situations, it is up to a messenger to ensure the safety of the kingdom. Can he succeed in his mission, especially with Karikalan’s former girlfriend, Nandhini, plotting to bring down the entire Chola empire?

In the 10th Century, the Chola dynasty rules prosperously across Southern India, under the reign of Sundara Chozhar. His sons, Princes Aditha Karikalan and Arulmozhi Varman, are mighty successful in their conquests for the Chola empire in Kanchi and Sri Lanka. A group of devote Pandya soldiers (Pandiyan king’s Aabathudavigal) scheme to avenge their King, Veerapandiyan, as he was slain in battle, by the crown Prince of Chola, Aditha Karikalan. Parallel to this, in the dead of the night, a group of royal chieftains of the Chola kingdom come together secretly, with the agenda to usurp the throne from Aditha Karikalan and place his uncle, Madurantakan, as the king. Leading this mutiny is the Chola treasurer and minister of finance, Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar. It is now a race against time for the Chola Princes, to win the battle against the wrath of the Pandyas, the enraged army of the Rashtrakutas, and betrayal of Pazhuvettaraiyar.