The makers of Mani Ratnam’s magnum opus ‘Ponniyin Selvan : Part One‘ aka ‘PS-1’ promised an exciting and adventurous week ahead and it seems like we are in for a ride. ‘Ponniyin Selvan : Part One’ is all set to hit the movies worldwide on 30th September 2022. This event cinema has some of the mightiest stars of Tamil Cinema and it’s a very interesting week ahead for the fans of both the star-cast and the director. Yesterday Team PS-1 dropped Vikram’s official second look as ‘Cholan crown prince Aditya Karikalan’ and now we have a second look at Karthi’s ‘Vanthiyathevan’.
Vallavaraiyan Vanthiyadevan or Vanthiyadevan Senai Thalaivan played by Karthi was a Commander of the Chola Army. He was one among the famous chieftains of the Chola emperors Rajaraja I and Rajendra I and chief of the Samanthas of North Arcot and also the husband of Rajaraja’s elder sister Kunthavai. He was also the Senathipathi Or Commander of the Sri Lanka Front Army of Rajaraja I and Rajendra I. Vallavaraiyanadu was the territory under his authority. While he also ruled Brahmadesam.
The official Lyca Productions handle terms Vanthiyadevan as ” The Prince without a kingdom, the spy, the swashbuckling adventurer.. ”
Karthi sports the smile of an all knowing and all defeating commander who is not just the face of an impending civil war but also the master strategist on the battlefield. He looks like a man on a mission and his cunning smile tells us our narrator is the most entertaining there ever is. His first look released earlier in March was much more intriguing and reflects an adventurous and funny side to Vanthiyadevan.
The story of Ponniyin Selvan begins with Vanthiyadevan’s narration of an adventurous journey he sets out to bring back prince Arulmozhivarman from Sri Lanka to save the Chola throne amidst conspiracies played by Ministers and Queen Nandini, the wife of Commander of the Chola Army ‘Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar’ to bring Aditya Karikalan down. Described as the Game of Thrones of the Cholas, Ponniyin Selvan is about a political power-play of succession that unraveled during the Chola reign.
Ponniyin Selvan is written, directed and co-produced by Mani Ratnam and is based on the 1955 novel of the same name by Kalki Krishnamurthy. Made on a combined budget of Rs.500 Crore, the first installment of the two part film series titled ‘Ponniyin Selvan: Part One’ will release in cinemas on 30th September, 2022 in Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, Telugu and Kannada. This biggie has a jam-packed star cast of Vikram, Karthi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Trisha,Jayam Ravi, Jayaram, Lal, Sarath Kumar, Vikram Prabhu, Prabhu, Aishwarya Lekshmi etc to name a few.
A. R. Rahman composed the music and background score. Iconic cinematographer Ravi Varman handled cinematography and Allirajah Subaskaran’s Lyca Productions is the main producer of this event film. This week is going to be very interesting as the team is planning for many more poster releases and a possible teaser of the film ahead of its full swing promotions coming month.