Actor Jayam Ravi will probably be seen as Raja Raja Chola in director Mani Ratnam’s theatrical adaptation of Kalki Krishnamurthy’s novel Ponniyin Selvan. Ravi reveals that as a way to get into the character’s pores and skin, he began considering like a king.
At a press convention in New Delhi, the actor recalled the time when he first met Ratnam to speak in regards to the position. “He (King) is ponniyin selvan aka Raja Raja Chola and this is an important role. I was feeling that pressure but Mani sir made sure to get away from me by sharing some details about the character. He told me that ‘Ravi, this is very important for me. We both have to do it and I can’t do it alone. So whatever the concentration is, put it on the table. let’s do it together.'”
Ravi mentioned, “I am a director’s actor and if it is Mani sir, there is no question. I give my full concentration to him. At first, I had an hour’s delay because I was praising Mani sir. kept doing it… and then he told me ‘Ravi, get out of this. We need to do it and we should address it.'”
Jayam Ravi additional revealed how Mani Ratnam described his character. He mentioned, “Mani sir said, ‘Wherever he (Raja Raja Chola) looks, it is his people and his kingdom. He is politically correct. He is socially correct, how is he with his family’ , How is he with other kings. At the age of 19-20 he has built so many dams.’ These are the things he has said. I started keeping it in my mind and Mani sir told me to be in the same mood, go out of my office and be a Raja Raja Chola for six months. This in one day Cannot be done.”
Ravi animatedly introduced how he modified the best way he noticed the whole lot round him, to grasp how a king like Raja Raja Chola would behave. He mentioned, “I went to my house, sat on my terrace, I looked at the people around me and thought ‘all these people are my people and I started to realize this. Then I looked in the middle and said to myself that Beech Bhi Mera Hai and 100 fleets of ships in that, everything is mine. It started out comically but it helped. The focus shifts in the eye and it gives a beautiful feeling. It’s a difficult character because he has to be played by everyone. To be right.”
With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
