Filmmaker Mani Ratnam and music maestro AR Rahman’s association dates back to 30 years. Roja (1992) was the first film they collaborated on and ever since, they have emerged as one of the most credible and successful director-composer duos. Over the years, they went on to work in films like Bombay (1997), Dil Se… (1998), Alai Payuthey (2000), Raavanan (2010) and OK Kanmani (2015), among others, in which they belted out some memorable tracks, which have achieved cult status.
The latest film album in their joint oeuvre is Ponniyin Selvan: 1. Songs like Chola Chola and Ponni Nadhi have already grabbed the attention of many. At a recent event, Rahman opened up on his special association with Ratnam and thanked him for contributing to his musical career, immensely.
Talking about how he has always looked up to the filmmaker, Rahman said, “I’m Mani Ratnam’s student for life. He has taught me all the little tricks of trade. You can’t imagine the things which he taught me! As a musician, we can only imagine the ragas, the chords and the taals but to combine them to make it interesting and search for uniqueness and cut the clutter are the things I have learnt from him.”
The principal photography of the magnum opus began in late 2019. Soon, it was revealed that Ponniyin Selvan was split up into two parts, which were shot one after the other through the course of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Lauding Ratnam’s unflinching grit and spirit, the two-time Academy Award winning composer shared, “For me and our team, this movie is beyond success or failure. In fact, I think it’s already a success because we started the movie three years back. A lot of people died during the pandemic but Mani Ratnam just put on the PPE kit and made Ponniyin Selvan.”
He further continued, “It was like war [shooting for the movie]. He lost so many people and I kept thinking, ‘What is he doing? This is like suicide!’ But they did it; the team is amazing. They had the courage and they risked their lives and made the movie for our culture.”
Based on late writer and activist Kalki Krishnamurthy’s 1955 novel named Ponniyin Selvan, the first chapter of the epic period action film traces the story of the early days of Arulmozhi Varman, who later became the great Chola emperor Rajaraja Chola, and talks about the wealth and the politics of the dynasty.
Ponniyin Selvan: 1 stars Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi and Sobhita Dhulipala, among others. The film is presented by Subaskaran’s Lyca Productions, and is jointly produced by Madras Talkies and Lyca Productions. It is directed by Ratnam with music composed by Rahman. Ponniyin Selvan: 1 is slated for a worldwide release on September 30, 2022 in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.
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