A Fan Girl Ode To Maniratnam And His Mostly Mesmerising Masterpiece

For someone who was in her school days when Mouna Ragam took the tamil speaking world by storm, I was glad that a director who was so revitalizing in the way he treated and presented his stories had finally arrived in the scene like a whiff of fresh air. Then his subsequent movies made us all get into his exhilarating world of technically brilliant and musically mellifluous on screen representations and adaptations. His terrorism and romantic trilogies simply kept the audience swooned and hooked to his way of story telling. Never mind the fact that the superlative Dil Se was trounced just because it came from Mani Ratnam.I don’t think any Indian director with the exception of Satyajit Ray and Guru Dutt have their movies featured in the top 100 movies of all time listed by the prestigious “Time” Magazine with his Nayagan making the coveted list. The sound track by AR Rahman in Roja made it to the top ten motion picture soundtracks of all time also listed by the “Time” Magazine in the year 2005. Sure these legends have something in them that makes them so extraordinary in their craft but still are so unassuming and always believing that their best is yet to come.

Surely some lessons to be learnt there. “Cinema is the most beautiful fraud in the world” said Jean Luc Goddard the legendary French film maker. That cant be away from the truth. The success of a film depends on how well you get sucked into the make believe fantasy world and the director’s cinematic universe he is trying to meticulously create and portray. “Cinema should make you oblivious of the fact that you are sitting in a theatre” said Roman Polanski. The current offering from the stables of Mani Ratnam which is a screen adaptation of the classic Ponniyin Selvan and which mostly deals with political and palace intrigue , the battles for the throne and the events that unfold to overthrow the Chola dynasty, definitely does that to you and within few minutes you are gently glided and transported to the period of the cholas and you gradually realise that the background score elevates the experience and makes you hear hitherto unexplored tunes and chants. As they say sound and music are the fifty percent entertainment of the film and when you get this right at least half your job is done. When you hear the songs you know it placates your senses and some high octane numbers propels you to an all time new high and definitely helps in taking the story forward. Mani Rathnam is well known for aesthetically and very artistically capturing all the song sequences which he has featured in every single film of his and says that it is a burden he is happy to carry. In this film all the song sequences flow organically and doesn’t deter the pace of the narrative .

Karthi has fitted in the character of Vanthia Devan effortlessly and his wit and charm definitely entices the audience much like the characters in the screen . As he gallops and rides through the region you tend to travel with him. In fact every single character irrespective of the screen time and space has performed phenomenally well. This movie is not in the thriller genre to keep you hooked or in the edge of the seat thinking about what happens next. Rather you tend to travel with the messenger and you get engrossed in the landscape and the visuals which is more about the subtle opulence and elegance and the stage is slowly being set up. For people who have not read the book it takes a while to comprehend the various characters that come swiftly while you are gently getting soaked in the period and you are already in awe of their costumes and the exquisite jewellery delicately embellished with precious stones and the intricate styling of women especially is so out of the world. So true that a woman leave alone Aishwarya Rai can be made to look so stunning just by the right costumes and the accessories and you just cant take your eyes off them. Trisha as Kundavai was also looking truly imperial and carried herself brilliantly. The frames when Nandini/ Aishwarya Rai appears, the whole screen looks so illuminated with right lighting and I have never seen in recent times any other movie portraying the ladies in such splendour and magnificence and the cinematography of Ravi Varman is simply brilliant to say the least. Though opinions and tastes differ I have always thought that no one needs item numbers to flock to theatres. Women showed in such a resplendent manner does also attract the crowd. I used to be fascinated by the way Mani portrays women that I can relate to them in the sense that they have a mind of their own and not just do some unnecessary dance numbers, vanish after a few thrusted scenes and promptly appear in the end only to be kidnapped by some strange looking villain. Of course Kalki’s portrayal of women in this epic novel has been phenomenal and all have their own intellect and drive the plot and not merely there to add some sexuality or the oomph factor even in those times and age. For me every scene had so much detailing and you seriously don’t know where to look at and every scene was a visual delight in the truest sense and of course it had the typical Mani Ratnam chiaroscuro effect in some of the scenes .

The demonic devaralan dance seemed like a majestic moving art work painted in crimson red and blazing black all over the screen. The sounds and movements were never before seen on screen and you couldn’t take your eyes away. When you were already having a very grand feast for all your sensory organs the introduction of the mostly irate and infuriated Aditha Kari Kalan just engulfs you with his imperiousness and in this current age I couldn’t think of any other Indian actor who could have pulled off this role with such elan and gumption but Vikram. I thought he was our very own Russel Crowe or Kevin Costner or in fact an even better version of them. The way he brings out his gamut of emotions ranging from frustration to lividness to brooding to helplessness and with the deafening and overwhelming background score this for me as a viewer gave the best of the cinematic moments for which I was paying and I thought I literally got my monies worth for this one act of Vikram and the scene in which he opens the door with such fury was taken I thought in a very Akiro Kurosowa style. This moment I thought would make people throng to the theatres to witness this in a repeat mode and the chola chola song comes bursting immediately and definitely transcends you to the world of Karikalan filled with maddening frenzy and delirium. I also admired Mani for not actually elaborately concentrating on song sequences lest it spoils the narrative. Of course he has followed a very languid and organically flowing narrative style and the camera even pauses for sometime as it tries to focus the beauty of Nandini or the astuteness of Kundavai so that the viewer has all the time in the world to savour and imbibe for example the beauty, the grandeur and the intellect of the women characters.

The second half of the film travels to the exotic Lankan shores and Jayam Ravi seemed to have been born for the role of the imperial , regal and stately king Raja Raja Cholan. The moment he appears on screen you are already in awe of him and you seem to accept him as the to be crowned king who could do no wrong. The actor has carried himself magnificently in the shoes of the great king and oh man he has done absolute justice to the titular role and simply sweeps you with his demeanor and deportment. The swashbuckling sword fight between Arunmozhi Varman and Vanthiadevan was also spectacularly picturised paving the way for the final showdown in a vessel in the middle of the wild and roaring sea.

The climax scene was also shot with so much technical finesse without actually going overboard with any of the outrageous visual effects in the name of cinematic liberties. Thank heavens Mani Ratnam just gave the appropriate amount of action and the movie ends just leaving you wanting for more or you wouldn’t mind watching it for another three hours and just get done with the part 2 version. There lies the success of the team who seemed to have given their heart and soul under the helm of the maestro and the result has truly delighted the audience world over.

We are taking a bow Mani Sir. Not for nothing you had so many retrospectives around the world including the one in the Museum of the Moving images, New York and in so many festivals around the world and also winning the coveted Jaeger Lecoultre Glory to the Film Maker award way back in 2010. After all the illustrious accolades Mani Ratnam manages to push the boundaries and had the courage to take the road leave alone less but never travelled and had the valour to try the historic fiction genre and gave us this masterpiece PS1 which for me was an incisive balance between doing justice to the epic novel by Kalki and also keeping it aesthetically appealing, immersive, logical and most importantly mainstream reaching audiences across generations. Sure no one or nothing is infallible but I couldn’t see any flaws in this magnum opus.May be I dint want some songs to be cut off. People doubted his ability to deliver a period drama but he has proved his detractors wrong.

As they say a hundred crore benchmark can make you a good businessman but it takes a lot more to be an artiste. Glad this genius of an artiste also offered something which won the numbers game as well. “When people ask me if I went to film schools I tell them no…. I went to films” said Quentin Tarentino. We are glad that Mani Rathnam too went to a management school instead of a film school and still managed to give us some of the most resplendent, dazzling and splendid celluloid moments ably supported by his superlative team responsible for technical finesse, creative artistry , crisp writing sublime music, art work etc. This time we cant thank him enough for making us look back with tons of pride about our own history and architecture and with many even planning a trip to the land of temples to witness our own legacy after watching PS 1. Finally some effective use of one of the most powerful medium we have to tell the world about our great lineage and heritage.

N.B Mani was actually the earliest pan Indian director with films like Roja , Bombay and others dubbed in various languages. I used to wonder why he has to do a hindi dubbed version since the flavour is completely lost and the best is to see the tamil version with just the sub titles. When Indians would be keen to correctly pronounce Korean, French and every other nationality names they would claim to struggle with the names of the other regions in India especially the South. I don’t think say a Satyajit Ray or Adoor Gopalakrishnan or G. Aravindan tried to impress audiences in the North or West or even Hollywood for that matter. I have read that Mr. Ray refused offers from Hollywood and in fact even from the then Indian Government to take a documentary about the Indo China war.. He led a simple life and mingled with the common man and hence he was able to tell their tales to the world in his own inimitable style. I think if you stick to your craft in your native tongue and your mastery in your craft will bring all the international recognition needed leave alone a national one. A PS I with a 20 crore less business from the Hindi belt would not make it a lesser classic nor take away its credentials as a cult classic. Like music even art or cinema cannot have language barriers. While Indians flock to film festivals to watch a Polish or a Hungarian or Turkish film why wouldn’t they show interest to watch a well made movie just across their region. Those days should be in the horizon soon and may be the apathy for other Indian languages by Indians is grossly overestimated. Let us learn to appreciate art beyond languages and understand different cultures or at least make an effort to begin with.