When I first sat down to write my review of the movie Ponniyin Selvan-I, I did not know I would be writing another review anytime soon. But when the News Minute expressed interest in publishing an article they wanted me to author on "The Women of Ponniyin Selvan", the initial euphoria came rushing back and I let my fingers jump on the keys happily. Writing for an esteemed news platform was not the same as expressing my individual opinion I had to be mindful of not letting my personal opinions creep in too much (even if it was, technically, an 'opinion' piece). Having said that, when my article left the editor's desk (figuratively) and the final piece was all set to be published, I was excited that my journey with Ponniyin Selvan had come this far!
Here is "The Women of Ponniyin Selvan", as published by The News Minute, on the 26th of April, 2023, days before the theatrical release of PS-2, written by me.
Picking up on one of the core claims of "An Affair with Ponniyin Selvan" (which can be found right here), this article is a deep dive into the women who lead Kalki's epic novel and how they fare in Mani Ratnam's magnum opus and some expectations for the then-upcoming and eagerly awaited PS-2.
Picture Credit: Instagram page of The News Minute
While PS-2 was a masterpiece in moving performances by the lead actors (specifically referring to Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Chiyaan Vikram) and artfully managed to tie together all the knots and was a success in leaving nothing to the imagination of the viewers (unlike the novels), as a reader, it was not particularly easy to come to terms with the flagrant changes made to the plot. Nevertheless, Tamil cinema and fans of Tamil history and literature would cherish the movies for being an admirable attempt to let the saga of the Cholas transcend the pages of the print to finally make it to the silver screen!