The Story Of Ponniyin Selvan: 10 Points From The Kalki Novel, A Historical Fiction That Is Now A Maniratnam Film

1. Ponniyin Selvan is a Chola kingdom story set during the period of Sundara Chola between 900 AD and 950 AD

2. Ponniyin Selvan is a battle of succession in the Chola kingdom

3. Ponniyin Selvan story has one woman out to bring down the Chola dynasty and another trying to stabilise the era

4. Main characters are Sundara Chola, his sons Aditha Karikalan and Arulmozhi Varman, daughter Kundavai, & Nandhini, the prime antagonist

5. Sundara Chola (Prakash Raj) is ailing and Aditha Karikalan (Vikram) is next in line to the throne, but he is not liked by all

6. Prince Arulmozhi Varman, played by Jayam Ravi, is more acceptable as the next king. He is Ponniyin Selvam

7. Princess Kundavai, played by Trisha, supports Arulmozhi Varman, who is also known as Rajaraja Cholan

8. Ponniyin Selvan (‘son of Ponni’) is called so because he once fell into Ponni (Cauvery) but was saved by the river

9. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan plays Nandhini who wants to destroy the Cholas and can go to any extent to achieve her goal

10. Vandhiyathevan (Karthi) is a prince with no kingdom. He loves Kundavai. Readers are guided by him throughout the novel

Maniratnam's PS-I may not have retained the original story, or all the aspects from the Kalki novel