Mani Ratnam says he intentionally avoided scenes like Baahubali in PS1

Filmmaker Mani Ratnam is awaiting the release of the second instalment of his magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan 2. The first part had grosser over Rs.400 crore, making it highest Tamil grosser last year. Even though the film garnered love and praises from the audience and critics, some felt it lacked moments seen in Baahubali. During an interview Mani Ratnam said he deliberately avoided scenes like Baahubali in PS1.

In a conversation with Cinema Express, the director said, “We were very clear about it. Baahubali is Baahubali. Only Rajamouli can do it. When we started, we were clear that we did not want to do it like that. There is liberty there (Baahubali). There… the characters are fictional. They can be superheroes. Everything is imaginary. For me, Ponniyin Selvan is a book written by Kalki. Arulmozhi Varman and Aditya Karikalan are real people. So, I wanted to show them as realistically as possible.”

Ratnam further explained the war scene, “If they say the war sequences are not like Baahubali, I am so happy. We wanted it to not be anything like Baahubali. I want to be inside the war rather than keeping it (the camera) from outside and showing something big… I have a problem with it because it looks digital. It looks false.”

PS 2 is jointly produced by Madras Talkies and Lyca Productions, directed by Mani Ratnam, and music composed by AR Rahman. The ensemble star cast features Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Chiyaan Vikram, Karthi, Trisha Krishnan, and Sobhita Dhulipala in leading roles and Sarathkumar, Prabhu, Lal, Kishore, Ashwin Kakumanu, and Aishwarya Lekshmi in supporting roles. PS-2 is slated for a worldwide release on April 28, 2023, in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam.