‘Ponniyin Selvan II’ audio & trailer launch: This event is a testimony to Mani Ratnam’s success, says Kamal Haasan

Express News Service

With Ponniyin Selvan II, the period drama directed by Mani Ratnam, gearing up to hit the theatres on April 28, the makers organised an extravagant audio and trailer launch event at the Nehru Indoor Stadium on Wednesday. True to the hype, the audiences’ spirits were amped-up to welcome back the Cholas, who made the first installment a grand success. The stellar cast of the film including Vikram, Karthi, Aishwarya Rai, Trisha, Jayam Ravi, Aishwarya Lekshmi, and industry veterans like Kamal Haasan, Bharathiraja, Revathi, Shobana, and Khushbu, along with Silambarasan and Joju George, graced the occasion. 

While Ponniyin Selvan’s film adaptation has been a dream for Tamil cinema for many decades, since the times of MGR, it was Mani Ratnam who could successfully materialise it. Noting that many doubted if Mani Ratnam could adapt a great literary work like Ponniyin Selvan, Kamal Haasan lauded the filmmaker for scripting yet another milestone. “This event is a testimony to his success. And people are short of words to compliment him,” he said. While the actor and filmmaker duo will be next reuniting for KH234, Kamal said that their friendship that began way before Nayakan would continue lifelong.

Recalling how several directors thought of making Ponniyin Selvan in the past years, the veteran filmmaker Bharathiraja said that, when MGR was alive, he wanted him to direct the film with Kamal playing Vanthiyathevan and Sridevi as Kundhavai. “I’m glad it did not take off as I could not have done anything close to what Mani Ratnam has made today. Unfortunately, Kalki Krishnamurthy is no more to see how Mani Ratnam has brought the characters of Ponniyin Selvan to life on screen.

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Sarath Kumar, who played  Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar in PS, spoke about how it was difficult to convince Mani Ratnam with his romantic scenes. “The very first scene I did in Ponniyin Selvan was a romance scene with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. I’m not great at performing romantic scenes. I was asked to hold her hand and ask for the ‘muthirai modharam’. After 2 shots Mani Ratnam asked me, ‘don’t you know how to romance?’. I have fallen in love twice and have tied the knot. But, I couldn’t please Mani Ratnam with my romantic performance,” he shared.

Meanwhile, Parthiban, who played Sarath Kumar’s onscreen brother, Chinna Pazhuvettaraiyar, seized the spotlight with his novel and quirky address. He said, “Kalki predicted that Mani Ratnam will be adapting his epic literary work. I think that’s certainly why his name Mani was mentioned 963 times in the book in various contexts.”

The Chola Fever is high! The lights are glimmering and the stage is all set to welcome the stars of #PonniyinSelvan2

Vanakkam and welcome to the Audio and Trailer launch of the most awaited #ManiRatnam‘s magnum opus #PS2

Keep an eye on this thread for instant updates! pic.twitter.com/UJTBI7xCut

— Cinema Express (@XpressCinema) March 29, 2023

Actor Silambarasan, who worked with Mani Ratnam in Chekka Chivantha Vaanam, had some gracious words to share about the filmmaker. “Mani Ratnam sir is like a child. Just as how a child is adamant about what he wants, Mani sir is adamant about what he wants to achieve and that is the reason behind his success,” he said. He further said that working in a Mani Ratnam film taught him discipline and punctuality.

The show-stopper, music composer AR Rahman performed the film’s songs for the first time on stage with singers like KS Chithra, Harini, Sathyaprakash, Shakthishree Gopalan and Khadija. Actor Jayam Ravi, who plays the titular role, extended his gratitude to differently-abled people for making it to the theatres to watch PS I. 

Karthi, who stole many hearts with his charming performance as Vanthiyathevan, said, “After performing the scene where Vanthiyathevan meets Kundavai, I realised that nobody else can conceptualise a romantic scene like Mani sir.” Actor Vikram, who plays Aditha Karikalan, said that he will never forget his journey in the film, just as his character can’t forget Nandhini.

(This story originally appeared on cinemaexpress.com)

<br /> With Ponniyin Selvan II, the period drama directed by Mani Ratnam, gearing up to hit the theatres on April 28, the makers organised an extravagant audio and trailer launch event at the Nehru Indoor Stadium on Wednesday. True to the hype, the audiences’ spirits were amped-up to welcome back the Cholas, who made the first installment a grand success. The stellar cast of the film including Vikram, Karthi, Aishwarya Rai, Trisha, Jayam Ravi, Aishwarya Lekshmi, and industry veterans like Kamal Haasan, Bharathiraja, Revathi, Shobana, and Khushbu, along with Silambarasan and Joju George, graced the occasion. </p> <p>While Ponniyin Selvan’s film adaptation has been a dream for Tamil cinema for many decades, since the times of MGR, it was Mani Ratnam who could successfully materialise it. Noting that many doubted if Mani Ratnam could adapt a great literary work like Ponniyin Selvan, Kamal Haasan lauded the filmmaker for scripting yet another milestone. “This event is a testimony to his success. And people are short of words to compliment him,” he said. While the actor and filmmaker duo will be next reuniting for KH234, Kamal said that their friendship that began way before Nayakan would continue lifelong.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Recalling how several directors thought of making Ponniyin Selvan in the past years, the veteran filmmaker Bharathiraja said that, when MGR was alive, he wanted him to direct the film with Kamal playing Vanthiyathevan and Sridevi as Kundhavai. “I’m glad it did not take off as I could not have done anything close to what Mani Ratnam has made today. Unfortunately, Kalki Krishnamurthy is no more to see how Mani Ratnam has brought the characters of Ponniyin Selvan to life on screen.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });</p> <p>WATCH</p> <p>Sarath Kumar, who played  Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar in PS, spoke about how it was difficult to convince Mani Ratnam with his romantic scenes. “The very first scene I did in Ponniyin Selvan was a romance scene with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. I’m not great at performing romantic scenes. I was asked to hold her hand and ask for the ‘muthirai modharam’. After 2 shots Mani Ratnam asked me, ‘don’t you know how to romance?’. I have fallen in love twice and have tied the knot. But, I couldn’t please Mani Ratnam with my romantic performance,” he shared.</p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Meanwhile, Parthiban, who played Sarath Kumar’s onscreen brother, Chinna Pazhuvettaraiyar, seized the spotlight with his novel and quirky address. He said, “Kalki predicted that Mani Ratnam will be adapting his epic literary work. I think that’s certainly why his name Mani was mentioned 963 times in the book in various contexts.”</p> <p>The Chola Fever is high! The lights are glimmering and the stage is all set to welcome the stars of #PonniyinSelvan2<br /> Vanakkam and welcome to the Audio and Trailer launch of the most awaited #ManiRatnam’s magnum opus #PS2<br /> Keep an eye on this thread for instant updates! pic.twitter.com/UJTBI7xCut<br /> — Cinema Express (@XpressCinema) March 29, 2023<br /> Actor Silambarasan, who worked with Mani Ratnam in Chekka Chivantha Vaanam, had some gracious words to share about the filmmaker. “Mani Ratnam sir is like a child. Just as how a child is adamant about what he wants, Mani sir is adamant about what he wants to achieve and that is the reason behind his success,” he said. He further said that working in a Mani Ratnam film taught him discipline and punctuality.</p> <p>The show-stopper, music composer AR Rahman performed the film’s songs for the first time on stage with singers like KS Chithra, Harini, Sathyaprakash, Shakthishree Gopalan and Khadija. Actor Jayam Ravi, who plays the titular role, extended his gratitude to differently-abled people for making it to the theatres to watch PS I. </p> <!-- WP QUADS Content Ad Plugin v. 2.0.85 --> <div class="quads-location quads-ad200503 " id="quads-ad200503" style="float:none;margin:0px 3px 3px 3px;padding:0px 0px 0px 0px;" data-lazydelay="0"> <!-- WP QUADS - Quick AdSense Reloaded v.2.0.85 Content AdSense async --> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:block;" data-ad-format="auto" data-ad-client="ca-pub-7550963679842137" data-ad-slot="1823845571"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});</script> <!-- end WP QUADS --> </div> <p>Karthi, who stole many hearts with his charming performance as Vanthiyathevan, said, “After performing the scene where Vanthiyathevan meets Kundavai, I realised that nobody else can conceptualise a romantic scene like Mani sir.” Actor Vikram, who plays Aditha Karikalan, said that he will never forget his journey in the film, just as his character can’t forget Nandhini.</p> <p>(This story originally appeared on cinemaexpress.com)</p> <p>