Ponniyin Selvan: Part 2 Movie Review - PS 2

Story Synopsis

A king and two princes of the Chola dynasty are to be murdered on the same day. Can the Cholas survive the wrath of the Pandiya rebels led by the vengeful Nandhini?

Review

After setting the plot in motion in the first part with Ponniyin Selvan: Part2, Mani Ratnam delves into the heart of the novel: the ill-fated love story between Crown Prince Aaditha Karikalan (Vikram) and Nandhini (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan). PS2 begins with a prelude that captures the romance between these two characters in their youth, and without saying too much in dialogue form, the director shows us the budding love between the prince and the orphan and the heartbreak of the love that leaves separated by forces beyond their control.

Indeed, it is this doomed romance that drives the story to its climax, pushing the characters to make decisions that will have far-reaching implications. Even when he realizes that accepting an invitation to Kadambur Palace, a place where his own leaders have conspired against him, might be foolish, Karikalan cannot refuse. For her sister, Princess Kundhavai (Trisha), the mystery surrounding Nandhini's parentage motivates her actions. And young prince Arulmozhi Varman (Jayam Ravi) ends up fighting the Pandiya rebels who have sworn to kill Karikalan, whose fall led to the assassination of their king.

Until the break, the film continues the high-energy narrative we had in the second half of the first film and proceeds more like a fighting game. We witness the daring attempts to assassinate Arulmozhi, who is recovering from an illness at the monastery, and the efforts of Vandhiyathevan (Karthi) to thwart them. We've got a steamy romantic scene between Vandhiyathevan and Kundhavai, a genuinely heartbreaking moment at a sibling reunion, and a thrilling pre-breakup action sequence (with a gripping AR Rahman score of in the background) that's a master class at shooting havoc at the same time maintaining spatial clarity.

The other half is more concerned with the fate of Karikalan and Mani Ratnam fills the long-awaited moment between Karikalan and Nandhini with such fear and pain that we even forget about the other characters for a moment. Vikram and Aishwarya are excellent in these roles, delivering such stark and deeply candid performances, filmed mostly in close-up by cinematographer Ravi Varman, and adding vulnerabilities to their characters.

To be honest, the crucial parts are strongly influenced by this emotional level, since the events after the death of the main character don't reach the tension and drama that the story has maintained so far. And given the seriousness of the events, they have quite a dark tone, something we don't associate with the epics of the time, especially in the post-Baahubali era. Unlike the films that dealt with fictional heroes, Mani Ratnam tackles the spirit of Kalki's novel , a fictional depiction of historical characters centered primarily around human drama. The action could take place in a palace, but the grandeur comes mainly from the emotions of the characters living within its walls. Mani Ratnam seems to realize this as well and decides to end the war scene to give viewers an instant adrenaline rush, but this bit lacks a strong emotional underpinning (and stunning visuals) to get us really high.

But the most disappointing moment is the climax. In Kalki's book, too, we have a rather humble ending, with one twist too many, but here, while the authors (Mani Ratnam, Jeyamohan, and Kumaravel) give us a decidedly prettier twist, they can't agree with Arulmozhi's speech. ultimately make the ultimate sacrifice that will make him the titular hero of this massive epic.

My Rating 9.1 /10.