Actor Jayam Ravi says he felt pressured to play Chola king Rajaraja I in Mani Ratnam’s magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan-I And the ace depended closely on the director’s viewpoint.
The official adaptation of author Kalki Krishnamurthy’s 1955 Tamil novel of the identical title, the movie made its theater debut on Friday to acclaim from each audiences and critics. The story follows the early days of one of the crucial highly effective kings of the south, Arulmozhivarman (Ravi), who grew to become the nice Chola emperor Rajaraja Chola I within the tenth century.
For Sunday, It was a lifelong dream to work with Tamil movies star M. Kumaran s/o Mahalakshmi, Unakkum Enakkum, Santhosh Subramaniam, Tik Tick Tik and Thani Oruvan, Ratnam.
“Before performing in his movie, I studied and realized from him. Now after performing in his movie, I realized instantly from him. So it’s a matter of luck for me.
Rajaraja I, who dominated the Chola Empire within the tenth century, stays near the hearts of the individuals, particularly within the south, and Ravi was petrified of taking part in such a preferred determine.
“I used to be taking part in the nice Rajaraja Chola and everybody in South India appeared as much as him. For all Tamil talking individuals he’s their king. I’m only one fortunate actor who will get an opportunity to play this position.
“As a Rajaraja Chola fan, when you look at the things that he has done, no one has done this in the last thousand years. So obviously there was pressure, but Mani sir made me play this character. Made me realize the importance of it,” the actor stated.
Ravi stated the filmmaker made him conscious of the intricacies of the Chola king.
“He told me six months before the shoot that I should try to imagine and live like Rajaraja Chola. I tried this and it really helped,” he stated.
While working with Ratnam, the actor stated that he appears like a younger boy on a journey with a mentor.
“The experience was always like he is holding my hand as if I am a little boy and he is taking me on a journey. Whenever he felt that I was getting lost, he used to hold my hand firmly And he will loosen the grip, I am on the way. So working with him for the first time was a beautiful experience,” stated the actor.
Ravi, who labored with Ratnam for the primary time, was the one one because the solid is full of the director’s earlier collaborators – Vikram, Karthi, Trisha Krishnan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
But the actor stated he by no means felt like an “outsider”.
“Mani sir never makes you feel like an outsider. And while working on this film, I met some of the loveliest people in my life. I have worked with Trisha in the past and Vikram is like my brother. Karthi and I have become brothers now. We have this bond,” he stated.
An actor all the time likes a problem and for Ravi, he’s glad that it got here within the type of “Ponniyin Selvan”.
“A historic movie is likely one of the largest challenges. You don’t know how individuals lived and behaved previously. And then you have got CGI and it’s a must to act as should you’re seeing one thing wonderful and nice within the body.
“That’s why I love challenges and this is the best challenge I’ve ever faced,” the actor stated.
Ponniyin Selvan is backed by Ratnam’s manufacturing home Madras Talkies and Alliraja Subhaskaran’s banner Lyca Productions. Music maestro AR Rahman has composed the music with cinematography by Ravi Varman.
The movie has been launched in 5 languages- Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi.
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
