Karthi, Jayam Ravi dissect their characters of Vanthiyathevan and Ponniyin Selvan

If Mani Ratnam’s sets were a class, Karthi would have been the star student. so say cast ponniyin selvan,

Sitting comfortably in the director’s office at Madras Talkies, the actor laughs when we mention it. , aapadi lam kedaithu (Not so),” he says with a smile, “other actors pull my leg saying that he never scolds me. I’m honest, that’s all.”

Viruman Star admits that working with the famous filmmaker still feels like “going to university”; Karthi was the assistant director of Ratnam in 2004 ( ayutha ezuthu) and later starred in katru veliidae (2017). “Not much has changed since then. So many decisions in my career have been influenced by the approach given by Mani sir and me. With him, you can always ask questions and gain insights. Being on PS The set was like peeping into a different lab every day and exploring a whole new world. ,

Karthi, who was asked by the director to read the script before finishing ponniyin… the novel says that her character, Vanthiyathevan, has many shades to her. “It’s easy when you’re acting majestic like a king, but my character, who goes through so many moods and emotions, was hard to break. Five million volumes of Vanthiyathevan popped into the minds of people reading the book.” And I had to live up to their expectations.”

This stems from the fact that his character, who is primarily in a story about royalty, tends to be goofy and happy-go-lucky. “Among historical subjects in Tamil cinema, humor is rare; it was usually left to the comedians, not the heroes. Balayya’s performance as Hemnath Bhagavathar tiruvilayadali For example, Sivaji Ganesan was exceptional, complementing his character perfectly. With Vanthiyathevan, the challenge was how are we going to present rich content.”

He reluctantly agrees that some personality of his own comes through in Vanthiyathevan. “He smiles, flirts and cracks jokes.. We haven’t seen anyone like him since Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow Pirates of the Caribbean) Movies. While Vikram’s Aditya Karikalan is the classic ‘Man’s Man’; The brave hero we traditionally see in epics. Can people still respect a character like me? It was the biggest challenge for me and I had full faith in Mani sir.”

For all the important scenes, Karthi says that he will re-read that part of the book before going for the shot. He laughs and says, “Mani sir will say, ‘He is asking too many questions. Did he read the book and come?'”

gallop for glory

Karthi had to learn how to run, swim and even ride a horse in heavy armor. “My armor was my second skin. Normally, I have this Raasi In my career wearing the same outfit throughout the movie, and that started bothering me here too,” he laughs.

This helped him to spend a lot of time with the horses. “Ravi (Jayam Ravi) kept pulling my leg, saying that I spent more time talking to the horses than him. A horse is not like a Kinetic Honda; it doesn’t move after you just jump. You connect and vibe is,” he says.

Karthi initially wanted to spend time with a horse and understand its behavior before leaving for the shoot, but this was not possible due to the lockdown and pandemic restrictions. His mastery in horse riding thanks to an earlier film ( kashmora) helped. “We shot ponniyin selvan at full gallop, which means when I’m riding a horse, I really Riding 50-60 kms. Anand (sound engineer Anand Krishnamurthy) once recorded his breath track, and was surprised to hear how the horse’s breathing pattern matched my tense breaths.”

Karthi in a scene from the movie

winning the popular vote

When the film was first announced, there were many debates over its casting choices, but almost everyone agreed that Karthi was a great choice to play Vanthiyathevan. “I was really scared initially, but what gave me confidence was that people accepted me in the role. I have done 25 films till now, but here I was playing a character that people had imagined in their mind for a long time. I spoke to a historian who told me that many people misrepresent Vanthiyathevan as a spy or messenger – but no – he is also a prince. He is a royal trained in administration, politics and warfare, which is why he is Aditya Karikalan’s best friend and is trusted by him. In short, he is an IAS officer without a department!”

Karthi describes his scenes with Jayaram (who plays Azwarkadian Nambi) as some of the most special moments on the sets. “I have loved Jayaram ever since Chanakya (1989), and later in his films with Kamal Sir such as tenali And Panchanthiram, Here, his character is considered goofy and sarcastic; The way he performs even when there is no dialogue is superb. Azhavarkadian Nambi is considered short and fat; Jairam is not such that in real life he has to change his gestures and gestures. We rehearsed our sequence several times and the time spent with a senior actor like him was a learning experience.”

setting the standard for grandeur

The actor has described Kalki’s novel as “fascinating” and a rich history lesson, woven with song and poetry. “Most interesting to me was the power dynamics described in the book; at that time, a king was considered the supreme leader, the equivalent of a god.”

with ponniyin selvanHe feels fortunate to be a part of a project which was dreamed up by many big names of Tamil cinema including MGR, Sivaji Ganesan and Kamal Haasan but did not materialise.

“We’ve stayed true to the writing as much as possible, but made creative choices to compress extensive material into a film. How do you present it to an audience, 90% of whom haven’t read the novel yet? Everyone Lana ties the story together, streamlines them without any confusion, and decides what bits to elevate with visual grandeur… This is where Mani Sir’s real talent lies. Also, Unlike other historical fiction features, most of the film is shot outdoors in real locations. the Gladiator or series RomePonniyin Selvan will take you to the heart of the city and the era when it starts.”

Karthi concludes by saying that his admiration for Mani Ratnam has only grown with time and repeated interactions. “He has set the standards for grandeur, aesthetics and color in Tamil cinema,” he says enthusiastically, “remember” pachai nirame narrow road ( alapayuthe), who showed us how beautiful green can be? or classy white shirt and beige pants silent raga, It was the same color combination a lot of us complained about in our school uniforms!”

Mani Ratnam and Jayam Ravi on the sets of the film

Jayam Ravi sees the bigger picture

Dreams come true. Ask Jayam Ravi, and he will tell you all about it.

He vividly remembers the day when he got a call from Mani Ratnam’s office for a meeting. “He said he was going to make Ponniyin… And as a fan of the book, I was thrilled. When he said that he wanted me to do the title role (of Arunmozhi Varman, or Ponniyin Selvan), I was thrilled.”

Unlike many other actors in this all-star cast, this is Ravi’s first collaboration with Mani Ratnam. Ravi says that he keeps asking why he was selected for this great composition, then tells himself that it is the result of his hard work since his debut in Jayam (2003). “When AR Rahman got the Oscar, it was not just for his work in that particular film, but it was recognition for his many years in films. Just like that, I would consider my selection as an award for that work. I see what I have done in all. Over the years. This project could have been done by any generation of actors, but now that it has been made and I am a big part of it, it is a huge blessing,” says Ravi. She added that she also cherished the time she spent with actor Vikram, who is a close friend.

Jayam Ravi on the sets of the film

He says that everything on the set was as real as possible. “Mice en scene, which indicates all the elements in a frame, was very appropriate. For example, if potatoes were placed in the market during a scene, he (Mani Ratnam) would notice and remove them, saying that it wasn’t a vegetable that flourished during that period.”

Ponniyin Selvan is all set to release in theaters on 30th September