Home»News»Mani sir made the impossible, possible with Ponniyin Selvan: Jayam Ravi»
Jayam Ravi, who performs the protagonist Arunmozhi Varman in Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan-1, doesn’t do the common mainstream movies with a regular love story, tune and dance. His filmography bears testimony to this.
Although it’s easy to imitate a character and even an emotion, the place is the depth in that? How can I proceed doing or repeat what I’ll have found intuitively? Even so, am I even conscious of what or how I did it? How can I make the dialogues extra participating? How do I determine which choices to make? As Jayam Ravi entered the units of Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan-1, these had been the ideas going by means of his head.
The actor was nonetheless perplexed as to why Mani Ratnam had approached him about enjoying the title character in Ponniyin Selvan-1. “I was glad that the film was finally being made in Tamil when Mani sir initially informed me. But I had no idea that I would be playing Arunmozhi Varman. It took a while for me to process what was happening around me!”
Jayam Ravi felt the similar enthusiasm as a scholar who has been accepted into their dream establishment.
He emphasises how lengthy it has been since Tamil cinema had historic fiction with quite a few stars. To deal with aesthetics and continuity, the staff had about ten personnel for every actor. “They decided our meal breaks. Instead of using replicas, we also used original ornaments. Our sweat was amplified by the leather armour we were wearing, which made the costume bulkier!”
He needed to practise operating, swimming, and even using a horse whereas carrying heavy armour. Jayam Ravi admitted to being afraid of horses. “Karthi inspired me to train with horses. He gave me encouragement and assurance. Being an actor with no insecurities like him is difficult.”
The strain was immense, insists Jayam Ravi. “But Mani sir eased it by preparing us emotionally for the shoot. He offered us several ideas, such as asking me to carry myself like a king even when I wasn’t shooting by keeping my head up. He discussed Raja Raja Cholan’s glory in detail with me. These inputs made it easier for me to get into the skin of my character. All of us were transformed into our novel characters by Mani sir.”
Ponniyin Selvan is seen as a pucca mass movie by Jayam Ravi. “It has action, sentiments, funny lines, romantic moments, and so on. All of this was captured in Mani sir’s style. The scenes featuring Karthi and Jayaram sir would no doubt be well received by the audience.”
Jayam Ravi ensures that Mani Ratnam adhered to the literature as carefully as possible whereas making artistic choices to compress the prolonged materials into a movie.
“What other way is there to introduce it to a crowd, 90% of whom haven’t read the book yet? Mani sir’s talent is in combining all of the episodes after clearly simplifying them and picking those parts to focus with stunning visual effects. Unlike previous historical fiction films, the majority of Ponniyin Selvan was filmed outdoors in actual locales. Both parts of the novel will transport you right into the centre of the setting’s town and time.”
Jayam Ravi continues that every part on the units was as actual as possible. “It was perfect how everything was set up in a frame, or mise en scene. For example, if potatoes were being stored in the marketplace during a scene, Mani sir would see them and take them out, explaining that this was not a vegetable that was popular at the time.”
Prabhu and Jayam Ravi on the units of PS-1
Working with elephants was a singular expertise, acknowledges Jayam Ravi. “It was unusual but nice. They taught me how to be patient. They are nice to be with. But, I had to connect with them, and vibe accordingly. Sometimes, elephants get moody. I didn’t have ropes to hold onto when riding them; neither did Aishwarya Lekshmi. We were forced to rely solely on the stability of our hands.”
The ebook by Kalki is “remarkable,” states Jayam Ravi, because it presents a complete historical past lesson blended with music and poetry. The actor considers himself lucky to have been part of a enterprise that many notable figures from the Tamil movie business, akin to MGR, Sivaji Ganesan, and Kamal Haasan, had dreamed of however didn’t carry by means of. “Mani sir made the impossible possible with this one,” grins Jayam Ravi.
Chandralekha, a 1948 movie that established Tamil cinema’s standing as a major movement image style, would lose to Ponniyin Selvan, provides Jayam Ravi. “I have witnessed spectators from all around the world. They applaud good songs, scenarios, and even action, but Tamil audiences are sufficiently mature to applaud excellent shots. They are knowledgeable and deserve a film like Ponniyin Selvan. This is an ode to each one of them.”
The actor asserts that each body could be adored by the public and claims that the crew realised the ideally suited challenge of Tamil cinema. This is Jayam Ravi’s maiden enterprise with Mani Ratnam, in distinction to a number of different stars on this solid. “When I received a call from Madras Talkies, I realised I had made some good decisions. I view being accepted into the Ponniyin Selvan as payback for the years of effort I put in. Any generation of actors might have taken on this role, thus the fact that it was made at this time and that I played a significant role in it is a wonderful blessing!”
