PLOT
Ponniyin Selvan is a historical fiction founded on real events by Indian author Kalki Krishnamurthy, written in the Tamil language. The story revolves around Vandiyathevan, a charming, brave, and brilliant young man who sets out across the Chola to deliver a letter from Crown Prince Aditha Karikalan to the King and the Princess.
Review
The story shuttles between Vandiyathevan’s (Karthi) traveling in Chola country and the young Prince Arulmozhivarman’s(Jayam Ravi). Gandaraditya succeeded Parantaka Chola as the first son Rajaditya had died in a battle.
When the story starts, the emperor Sundara Chola is sick and bedridden. His son Aditha Karikalan (Vikram) lives in Kanchi and is the general of the Northern Command. The younger son Arulmozhivarman (who would be popular later as Raja Raja Chola ) is in Sri Lanka in battle.
It is through Vandiyathevan that we meet most of the characters including Arulmozhivarman, the prince whom all the people loved, and Periya Pazhavetturayar(R. Sarathkumar ), the chancellor who married Nandhini(Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), when he was sixty.
During his teenager, Adithya Karikalan had fallen in love with Nandhini, but she turned venomous and promised to destroy the Chola dynasty after Adithya Karikalan killed Veerapandiyan.
Other characters comprise Vanathi (Sobhita Dhulipala), a Kodumbalur princess who loves Arulmozhi. Poonkuzhali(Aishwarya Lekshmi), is the boat woman who fights the future king of Lanka.
Mandakini, the dumb and deaf mother of the initial Maduranthaka Chola. Nandhini, whose beauty is told to have the power to affect any man. However, Poonkuzhali helps Vandiyathevan to reach Sri Lanka, meets Arulmozhivarman, and becomes his close friend.
In Sri Lanka, Arulmozhivarman understands that his father had used up some time on an island and had lived with a girl born deaf and dumb. He confronts her and understands from her drawing that she and his father have had two children.
Later, In Thirupurambayam forest Vandiyathevan sees Nandhini and the Pandya conspirators putting a small boy on a throne.
While coming from Sri Lanka, Arulmozhivarman goes missing. Word spreads that he is dead, but he survives.
However, Arulmozhivarman recovers and returns to Tanjore, where he was compelled initially to accept being crowned.
Later, he fools everyone and crowns his uncle Uthama Chola.
The movie deserves 4 stars out of 5. Ponniyin Selvan has gathered critical praise for its tightly woven plot, colorful narration, humor in the dialogue, and portrait of the intriguing and power struggles of the Chola empire.
The movie is directed by Mani Ratnam and produced by Mani Ratnam, Suhasini Maniratnam, and Subaskaran Allirajah. It is streaming on Hulu or Amazon Prime Video.
Thus, the fifth portion of the book is called Tyaga Sigaram, the pinnacle of sacrifice.
