The celluloid sorcerer

No one could conjure the world of Ponniyin Selvan quite like Mani Ratnam

- LAKSHMI SUBRAMANIAN

My tryst with writer Kalki R. Krishnamurthy began at the age of 14, when I was waiting for my 10th standard results. A guest gave me the first volume of Kalki’s magnum opus, Ponniyin Selvan, asking me to read it instead of playing chess. Of course, if not for him, I would now be a chess player rather than a journalist.

With his blend of fact and fiction, Kalki enthralled me as a reader. Friendship, love, valour, intrigue, treachery—they were all there in his story. I completed volume after volume, and at the end of the 293rd chapter, when I had finished the book, its hero Arunmozhi Varman or Raja Raja Chola—a man who believed that power alone does not bring respect—had firmly enshrined himself in my imagination. Kalki led me through every nondescript place in the Delta region, which comprised the Chola empire. His lucid writing became intertwined with the Tamil identity. And now, 70 years later, filmmaker Mani Ratnam has used the same magic to alchemise the book into a two-part film. The second part released on April 28 to wide acclaim, earning over ₹200 crore globally within five days of its release. “We have retained the heart of the book,” says Ratnam. “But for those who haven’t read it, the film will take you on a new adventure.”

Ratnam decided to adapt the book into a film in 2019. “The creative impetus came from the director,” Siva Ananth, executive producer of Ponniyin Selvan, told THE WEEK during the release of PS1. “Ratnam had been wanting to make this film for a long time. If you are from the Tamil region and have read Kalki, PS1 will be a magnificent transformation of the book.”