23. PONNIYIN SELVAN: PART 2

 

Language: Tamil

Genre: Period-Drama

The legendary director Maniratnam churns out a satisfying ending to the two-part epic Ponniyin Selvan in PS-2. The biggest grime with PS-1 was that it’s a bit incoherent in terms of the names and relations that the characters had with each other, but mind you, Maniratnam was setting the plot in Part 1, and in Part 2, he delves deep into the core of the story—the love story of Nandini and Aditya Karikalan that reminds us of a Shakesperean tragedy. The movie begins by showing how the romance blooms between the two and the pain that follows their separation. And at that very moment, I personally realised that Ponniyin Selvan is not all about the power politics for the throne; more than that, it is the angst and pain and the desire to supress those through revenge that pulsate the movie’s heart. And the whole tug of war for power is more like collateral damage caused by the efforts of suppression.

Unlike the first installment, which gave equal importance to visuals and dialogues (like the long monologues), Maniratnam gives a bit more prominence to visual storytelling this time, which is beautifully aided by Ravivarman’s cinematography and A.R. Rahman’s music, which conveys the emotions between the characters even in the silence. The screenplay of PS-2 is much more coherent and brisk than PS-1; especially in its first half and in the second half, it breaks down a bit, but the emotional quotient and drama of the movie are still high, and this time a lot of creative liberty was taken by the director, which separates it from the source material, giving PS-2 its own identity.

It would be an injustice if I hadn’t mentioned the actors who gave their heart and soul to the characters, and their performance is the very key that made PS-2 so appealing. Everyone had their fair share of performances, including Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Trisha, Jayram, Shobhitha, Prakash Raj, Rahman, Sarath kumar, Parthiban, Vikram Prabhu, Lal, Aiswarya Lakshmi, Prabhu, Babu Antony, and many others, but the real show stealers were Vikram and Aiswarya Rai, who just hit the home run with their performances. The confrontation scene between Nandini and Karikalan and its setting are textbook scenes for film enthusiasts, and at the same time, the placing of Aganaga and the confrontation between Kunthavai and Vandiyadevan present us with some moments to cherish and display the stark contrast between the pain-ridden vengeful romance and the playful one.

As in the first part, the most underwhelming aspect of PS-2 is its fight sequences, which seemed so rushy and lacked impact. Especially when it comes to the climax portion, one would expect a grand battle, but things were a bit off when it came to the battle. Also, certain interesting plot twists and character developments in the source material are not included in PS-2, which may be a result of its tight running length. And this calls for the need of Ponniyin Selvan Web series; which would be far more epic.

Overall, as I said in the PS-1 review, it's not a movie for someone who expects a Bahubali-like epic that provide constant adrenaline rush, but PS-2 is more realistic, subtle, and delves deep into affective plane of the characters. If that is your vibe, never miss PS-2 in theatres.

My opinion: Recommended