New Delhi: Mani Ratnam’s magnum opus historical drama ‘Ponniyin Selvan 1’ is reigning at the box office. The film is being hailed for its spectacular storytelling, larger than life visuals and stellar performances by the star cast that includes Chiyaan Vikram, Trisha Krishnan, Jayam Ravi, Karthi and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
While everyone is in awe of the on-screen perfection of Mani Ratnam and his star cast in terms of finesse provided to every aspect of the film, in an exclusive interview with ABP Entertainment Live, the actors share their experiences while shooting and what all went behind bringing to life some of the most testing action sequences. The actors Chiyaan Vikram, Jayam Ravi, Trisha and Karthi also explain the context behind the title of the literary drama based on Kalki’s popular novel ‘Ponniyin Selvan’.
Talking about the unique title of the film that has been kept as the original version of the novel, Vikram, who plays the character of Aditya Karikalan, explained, “Ponni means river in Tamil. And Selvan means son. During childhood, Prince Arunmozhi Varman fell into the river and was saved by the River Goddess, hence the name.”
The actors then talked about the action sequences that looked spectacular on-screen, but in reality, were very tedious to perform. “We had to wear these heavy outfits and headgears. The most tiresome part was wearing the armour, which would restrict our movement as it became very tight. We also used to get cut marks on arms because of it,” said Jayam Ravi, who essays the character of Prince Arunmozhi Varman.
Adding a humorous touch to it, Vikram said, “My wife used to ask me every night how I got all those nasty cut marks with a suspicious tone.”
Karthi, who essays the role of Vandiyathevan, shared an incident when he fell down from his horse during one of the sequences. “I had got a very moody horse who did not believe in listening even to its master. I was literally thrown away by the horse that I was riding.”
On being asked what it was that made ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ different from the other films, Trisha, cast as Princess Kundavai, replied that it was the film’s content that is the film’s USP.
Check out the full interview with the ‘PS-I’ actors here:
‘Ponniyin Selvan 1’ released on September 30. The film has already grossed over Rs 200 crores at the worldwide box office, within three days of its release. It is one of the costliest and most spectacular films ever made. Its second part will release soon.