Ponniyin Selvan: I

<p>In the 10th century, the is ruled by Emperor , with his sons , the crown prince, commanding the army in and , also known as Ponniyin Selvan, leading a campaign in . After a victory against the , Aditha Karikalan suspects political unrest and sends his trusted friend to investigate and deliver messages to his sister and their father. Vandiyadevan visits the fortress of , where he overhears a conspiracy by the finance minister and other nobles to replace the crown prince with , the emperor’s cousin. He also encounters Azhwarkkadiyan Nambi, a spy searching for his estranged foster sister Nandini, who is now married to Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar. With Nandini’s help, Vandiyadevan gains access to the palace in and informs Sundara Chola of the plot. He is briefly detained by Chinna Pazhuvettaraiyar, Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar’s younger brother, but escapes. He meets Kundavai in —where she lives with (Madhuranthakan’s mother) and Vaanathi (Ponniyin Selvan’s prospective wife)—and delivers the message. She instructs him to bring Ponniyin Selvan back from Lanka to counter the threat. Meanwhile, Aditha Karikan confides in his friend Parthibendra Pallavan that he had once been in love with Nandini, who was later expelled from the kingdom due to her low status. Years later, he killed her guardian Veerapandiyan, which sparked her vendetta against the Cholas. In Lanka, Vandiyadevan is assisted by , a boatwoman who secretly admires Ponniyin Selvan. He delivers Kundavai’s message and learns that Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar has manipulated Sundara Chola into sending a convoy to capture Ponniyin Selvan under the guise of returning him to Thanjavur. Ponniyin Selvan chooses to obey his father’s summons despite warnings. The Pandya Aabathudavigal, a secret group of assassins allied with Nandini and seeking vengeance for Veerapandiyan’s death, ambushes the prince’s group. Mistaking Vandiyadevan for Ponniyin Selvan, they capture him. In an attempt to rescue him, Ponniyin Selvan boards their ship, but it sinks during a storm. Both are presumed dead. The news of the prince’s supposed death shocks the Cholas. Grief-stricken, Aaditha Karikan sets out for Thanjavur to confront Nandini. Meanwhile, the mysterious Oomai Rani-a lookalike of Nandini who once saved Ponniyin Selvan from drowning as a child-dives into the sea, implying that the prince may still be alive. The film’s narration was voiced by (both trailer and film), (trailer)/ (film), (trailer)/ (film), (trailer)/ (film) and (trailer)/ (film) in the , , , , and languages respectively. The and were composed by Mani Ratnam’s regular collaborator . The audio rights of the film were purchased by . The soundtrack consists of six original songs composed by A.R.Rahman, namely, “Ponni Nadhi”, “Chola Chola”, “Ratchasa Maamaney”, “Sol”, “Alaikadal” and “Devaralan Aattam”. Lyrics were written by Ilango Krishnan, , and in the Tamil version and , , and wrote the song lyrics in Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada respectively. Promotional campaign for the film was supposed to begin in July 2022, with the film’s planned to be launched at the in , the city which served as the capital for the Chola Empire. Following the launch event, the team also planned a promotional tour for the film. The movie team later on decided to have a grand teaser trailer launch event in Chennai as per their previous schedule on 8 July 2022. The film’s was released on 8 July 2022 in Tamil and dubbed versions of Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada languages. The film’s and were released by the special guests and on 6 September 2022 at the Nehru indoor stadium in Tamil and dubbed versions of Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada languages. The trailer featured in the Tamil version and , , and in Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada version of the trailer respectively. Posters featuring , , , , , , , , , and were released before the trailer launch event. released on 30 September 2022 worldwide. It was released in along with the dubbed versions of , , and languages. It was previously scheduled to release on summer (May–July) 2022, but was postponed due to production works. It became the first Tamil film to release in format. The film’s release across Canada was disrupted after large theatre chains and refused to exhibit the film due to ongoing anonymous threats of vandalism if Tamil films were released in their locations. The attacks, which have happened during screenings of (2016) and (2021), are alleged to have been conducted by owners of Woodside Cinemas and York Cinemas, a local theatre chain in attempting to hold monopoly of screening Tamil films. had a limited Canadian release in select private theatres amidst protection from law enforcement. It was also released in , home of the , a first for a Tamil film premiere. The distribution rights of the film in were acquired by . The and distribution rights were bagged by and . The distribution rights of the film was bagged by Gokulam Gopalan’s Sree Gokulam Movies. The overseas theatrical rights of the film were acquired by TentKotta. The distribution rights were acquired by . The digital streaming rights for the film were purchased by for (US$15 million). The film was digitally premiered on Amazon Prime Video from 4 November 2022 in Tamil and dubbed versions of Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada languages. The Hindi dubbed version was released on 26 November 2022 on the platform. On the website , 87% of 15 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.4/10. met with critical acclaim, with emphasis on the direction, musical score, technical aspects, and the cast’s performances. Kirubhakar Purushothaman of rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote “Mani Ratnam understands Kalki’s novel is a mainstream page-turner, so he retains its flavour and neither intellectualises it nor dumbs it down”. Sonil Dedhia of rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote ” is an engaging, involving movie-going experience, and proves once again why Mani Ratnam is one of India’s finest filmmakers”. Sowmya Rajendran of rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote “The film does not try to amplify any aspect of the novel unnecessarily to fit a narrative that might be the flavour of the season. In fact, it downplays the praise that Kalki lavished on the Chola Empire”. Stutee Ghosh of rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote “Ponniyin Selvan 1 is grand and royal but unlike the bombastic, hyper-masculine world we are used to seeing these days with overwhelming VFX and CGI, here Mani Ratnam’s hold on the narrative never slips”. Sukanya Verma of rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote “Mani Ratnam’s eye for intimacy, enigma, humour and menace bring out the glory of its source and all the imagination in store. One seldom thinks of Mani Ratnam’s excellence in terms of VFX but goes full steam”. Krishna Selvaseelan of rated the film 4.5 out of 5 stars, writing, “The visuals are stunning. Ravi Varman captures the world of 10th century Thamizhakam (and its subcontinent) expertly, bringing life to the world.” Ritika Handoo of rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote “The beauty of Part one of the two-part film lies in the fact that Mani Ratnam has not only made the story concise but has managed to do so carefully, taking adequate care not to dilute the essence of the novel or its charm”. Sudhir Srinivasan of rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote “Perhaps the foremost pleasure of a Mani Ratnam film is in experiencing his wizardry over the medium. We see plenty of evidence of this in Ponniyin Selvan 1”. of rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote “The sprawling, spectacularly mounted film is an ambitious, near-flawless adaptation of a much-loved literary work”. Devesh Sharma of rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote “Watch the film for its visual grandeur, epic action sequences and some sublime acting by the entire cast”. Sanjana Deshpande of rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote “the cherry on top of the cake was the cinematography by Ravi Varman. He catches the attention of the audience and never lets it go. Each shot is carefully placed and executed. There’s so much nuance in the film that is hard to put down in words, it is best experienced!”. rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote “Mani Ratnam’s ‘Ponniyin Selvan – Part I’ is a masterpiece that deserves all your adulation and love”. M. Suganth of rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote “Mani Ratnam’s adaptation of Kalki’s is spectacular”, adding “Mani Ratnam finally brings the dream alive with this spectacular adaptation that superbly captures the intrigue, thrills and page-turning quality of the books.” Soumyabrata Gupta of rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote “Perhaps not a film for the masses, will ultimately be a cult classic, in time”. Vivek M V of rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote ” is a winner because Ratnam shows a new way to make epic films”. Priyanka Sundar of rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and termed it as a “brilliant experience” which doesn’t chase the same high as other recent commercial films did. The spectacle lies in the setting and the story of the film that unravels beautifully. Bharathi Pradhan of rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and termed the film as “Royal and Spectacular”. Anupama Subramanian of rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote ” is a bit like Game of Thrones without as much grisly violence. The polished cast and crew will keep you engaged”. Movie Herald’s Felix said ‘Glorious attempt which was effective but too delicate’ Janani K of rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote “Technically, is top-notch. Be it Ravi Varman’s brilliant cinematography or AR Rahman’s excellent score, the film sucks us into the world that Mani Ratnam has created with so much detailing.” rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote “PS 1 is a fascinating drama narrating an epic historical story. Mani Ratnam brought the best of everything on screen for his dream project. The casting and AR Rahman’s background score stand as the main highlights of the film. PS 1 is more about drama and less about action” Lakshmi Subramanian of rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and wrote “Kalki’s book gets Mani Ratnam’s royal cinematic touch but lacks powerful storytelling”. Haricharan Pudipeddi of stated “Mani Ratnam has managed the unthinkable—adapt the literary classic with finesse and impact. All actors do their parts well but Aishwarya Rai is a revelation”. Likewise, Srinivasa Ramanujam of gave the film a positive review, noting that an “epic story gets Mani Ratnam’s royal treatment”, while adding “Kalki’s source material of is rich with myriad characters, and Mani Ratnam gleefully picks them all up to give it a cinematic touch, thanks to some powerhouse performances from his all-star cast”. The film earned around (US$9.5 million) on its opening day worldwide and debuted at the top of box offices in , , , and , while it reached the top 3 in the United States. By its third day, the film earned around (US$9.5 million) taking its first weekend worldwide collection to (US$27 million). The film performed exceptionally well in Tamil Nadu, and overseas market, but performed average in Karnataka, the Telugu states, and the Hindi belt. The dubbed Hindi version grossed (US$2.6 million) at the domestic box office. Nonetheless, the film emerged as the highest grossing Tamil movie in , , United States, and the 5th highest grossing Indian movie in the US at that time. On 17 September 2022, Ratnam in a press meet, confirmed that ( ) would be released in six to nine months after the theatrical release of . On 28 December 2022, it was revealed by the unit that would be releasing on 28 April 2023.</p>