Ponniyin Selvan on Stage - Art at its best

Photo Courtesy : Actor Jiiva, Twitter.

Ponniyin Selvan, a novel, which is being read by all Tamil people for more than 60 years. When I started reading I always imagined how good it will be if it was made into a movie. I saw it on stage as a live performance.

When Vikatan announced that there will be a drama based on Ponniyin Selvan novel this summer I just wondered how is this possible? Making Five books into a drama is not easy. Magic Lantern's team had spent six months to make this possible.

Kumaravel, who's regular in all Prakash Raj movies, is the one who made the screenplay for this drama and also acted in it. All other characters right from Alwarkadiyaan, Vanthiyathevan, Nandini, Kunthavai, Ponniyin Selvan, Pazhuvettair (old man in Sandakozhi), etc., acted really well. But, except Nandini (Meera Krishnamoorthi) other female leads Kunthavai and Vanathi doesn't have a strong character on stage like in the novel. And, Krishna Dayal as Vanthiyathevan was an apt choice who really did justice to that most loved character.

Actor Pasupathi was real surprise who played the role of Aditya Karikalan. Everyone was waiting for Aditya Karikalan and there he enters as a storm and took everyone by surprise. And, some more familiar faces were there.

 

The whistles and claps when each and every character entered was a proof that almost 90% of the audiences who were present have read the novel and each and every character is still in their mind.

The screenplay, dialogues and the way they have delivered was perfect. It was really amazing to see a live performance of such a difficult act perfectly. There was some little glitches from some characters, but it doesn't matter. The music is also so good which just enhanced the experience. And, the art was done by Thottatharani, I think the name is just enough.

It was a well-spent four hours. Take a bow Magic Lantern and team to bring this to us and I was lucky enough to not to miss this.

The drama's success was seen when everyone stayed until the end to clap and cheer for each and every character when they introduced them to us.

And, a bonus was Superstar also came to watch this on the same day. So along with a mind blowing experience I have seen Superstar as well. What more I can ask, 12-Jun-2014 was a lucky day.