Ponniyin Selvan: Part I

Original title: Ponniyin Selvan: Part One

2022
2h 47m

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

37K

YOUR RATING

Jayaram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, R. Sarathkumar, Parthiban Radhakrishnan, Trisha Krishnan, Vikram, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Vikram Prabhu, and Aishwarya Lekshmi in Ponniyin Selvan: Part I (2022)

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3 Videos

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Action Epic Adventure Epic Epic Action Drama

Vandiyathevan crosses the Chola land to deliver a message from the Crown Prince Aditha Karikalan, while Kundavai attempts to establish political peace as vassals and petty chieftains plot ag... Read allVandiyathevan crosses the Chola land to deliver a message from the Crown Prince Aditha Karikalan, while Kundavai attempts to establish political peace as vassals and petty chieftains plot against the throne.Vandiyathevan crosses the Chola land to deliver a message from the Crown Prince Aditha Karikalan, while Kundavai attempts to establish political peace as vassals and petty chieftains plot against the throne.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

37K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 15 wins & 31 nominations

Videos3

Trailer 3:15

Ponniyin Selvan Official trailer

Trailer 1:15

Ponniyin Selvan - Tamil Teaser

Trailer 1:15

Ponniyin Selvan - Tamil Teaser

Clip 4:31

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7.2

Ponniyin Selvan: Part Two

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Director Mani Ratnam and music composer A.R. Rahman did not work with lyricist Vairamuthu on this film, following the latter's #MeToo allegations and controversy. This marked the end of the longest director-composer-lyricist trio in Tamil Cinema, which began since A.R. Rahman's debut on Mani Ratnam's Roja (1992).

Goofs
The Marwari breed of horses were used for shooting this film. A horse had died in shooting too. In history though, the fastest horses in the world were imported from Arabia for warfare in the Chozha cavalry.

Quotes
Parthibendran Pallavan: I heard you died at Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar's hands, after getting caught
Vanthiyathevan: I think that I haven't died yet indeed
Parthibendran Pallavan: Your tongue is sharper than sword
Vanthiyathevan: One day you can try my sword's sharpness as well

Crazy credits
Vanthiyathevan was supposed to be a spy in various scenes, and depicted in ordinary garb in the novel. However, he's always in an armor.

Alternate versions
In Singapore, the film initially received an NC16 classification due to moments of violence occurred in the film. It is also noted that the Hindi version also received the same classification. The distributor opted to edited the moments of violence in order to lower the rating from NC16 to PG13. Both PG13 edited versions became the standard versions to release in theaters of Singapore.

Connections
Referenced in The Kapil Sharma Show: Ponniyin Selvan Special (2022)

Soundtracks
Ponni Nadhi (Tamil)
Music by A.R. Rahman
Lyrics by Ilango Krishnan
Vocals by A.R. Rahman, A.R. Reihana & Bamba Bakya

User reviews366

Review

Featured review

6/10

A bit of a miss for Mani sir

I am the biggest fan of Maniratnam. I was so eagerly waiting for this film. I watched it on the first day itself. This film needed a better hero than Karthi. It was hard to take him seriously as a picaresque swashbuckling warrior. He lacked the physical frame and the acting chops to pull it off. Trisha looked gorgeous. The sets and visuals were also lavish. Songs and background score were unremarkable at best. Has Rehman declined this badly? He used to bring his A game for Manirathnam movies. I wouldn't really recommend this film.

So what really went wrong? A lack of narrative punctuation. It lacks those memorable and spectacular scenes that ties it all together. The narration is quite flat and only the occasional beautiful visual spruced me up as a viewer. Remember the Udal Mannukku monologue in Iruvar? That 3 minute 24 second clip on Youtube was more innovative and had more swag than this whole film.

But I am so glad the film is a big hit and it is a pleasure to see your favorite director smiling and celebrating. Mani sir really stuck his neck out with Iruvar and Kannathil Muthamitaal. He deserves this success. Bravo, Mani sir.