On Mani Ratnam’s PS2
After waiting for more than a week after its release, I watched Mani Ratnam’s PS-2 last weekend. Without revisiting PS-1, I had confidence that I remembered the characters, the sub-plots, and their goals.
I went to Kurnool (~60 km from home) to watch the film, and only five people were inside the theatre. A couple, two young boys, and me. I wondered if they’d cancel the show owing to the attendance, but they played the show.
Before watching the movie, following tradition, I didn’t watch the trailer or any promotional material. But I listened to the songs. Wow, ARR and Mani’s collaboration is one of the best in Indian cinema. Even after 30 years of working together, both come up with songs that move you, give you high, and comfort you.
I was eager to see the way Mani picturised those songs.
Disclaimer: This blog post contains spoilers. Readers’ discretion is advised.
Excited but without getting hyped up, I started watching the film with the voiceover from Chiranjeevi, summarising part 1 for the audience (I watched the film in Telugu).
After the brief voice-over narration, the movie has three songs, and all are beautiful. The love story of Aditha and Nandini while growing up is in three songs: glimpses of Veera Raja Veera audio followed by the divine Aazhi Mazhai Kanna, and ending with the poignant Chinnanjiru Nilave.
I couldn’t stop but cheer inside my heart to witness the beautiful landscapes, the two love birds trying to be with each other, and soulful songs playing in the background. My heart was content with the first love track, and everything else I was about to watch was additional to the already satisfied heart!
I don’t want to write about the plot or characters since this movie is adapted from the book, although there were changes during the adaptation.
I felt the casting was mostly perfect, especially Aditha by Vikram, Nandini by Aish, Vanthiyathevan by Karthi, and Kundavai by Trisha.
The scenes between Aditha and Nandini remind me of the scenes between Vikram and Aish from Ravanan, with similar camera movements and sublime music.
The cinematography is deeply involved in the filmmaking of this movie. The camera constantly rotates in a couple of scenes depicting the unsettling conversations, the state of mind and the relationship dynamics between characters. For example — Aditha confronts the allies of the Chola kingdom, who turn hostile, Sundara Chola and Kundavai’s conversation about Nandini’s origin, and Aditha and Nandini’s final conversation.
Also, the breathtaking visuals at the beginning, the frames in the trial in Darbar, the interval sequence at the Buddist place, and the post-death scene of Aditha Karikalan.
I think the two parts are good examples of cinematography complementing the film instead of just coming up with aesthetically appealing frames, which we usually confuse.
Now, about the music. No way the songs and music are going out of my heart for some months. This man has been giving music and enthralling us for over three decades. The consistency and efforts, oh god!
I am listening to the entire album on a loop these days, particularly Aazhi Mazhai Kanna and the two versions of Chinnanjiru Nilave. These are rightly placed in the film and don’t feel out of sync.
Confession time:
Having listened to the Chinnanjiru reprise before the movie, I knew that Aditha would die in Nandini’s hands with that reprise version in the background.
The background score, too, underplays without dominating the visuals and complements the story. The Opera score at the interval bang of Part-1 is played in two different scenes in Part-2:
When the Pandyas remind Nandini about the promise she made to Veera Pandya
In the final moments of Aditha with Nandini
ARR used the same score but with different instruments enhancing the two scenes.
Mandakini and Sundara Chola’s love story feels like the meta for Nandini and Aditha’s story. Speaking of the love stories, Mani still comes up with a fresh treatment to the love scenes. The introduction love sequence between Aditha and Nandini and the Aga Naga song between Kundavai and Vanthiyathevan is as beautiful as it gets.
It is really ambitious to think of adapting the vast novel into a 2-part movie, and barring a few complaints, I like the movies.
Coming to my few complaints, one is the lesser impactful scenes, especially those involving action sequences. Because I’ve seen other good action films, I couldn’t engage in those action sequences, and the climax war sequence wasn’t impressive to me.
Even the interval sequence where Arunmozhi whispers to the elephant didn’t feel like an elevation. Maybe I watched too many films with high adrenaline rush moments that I couldn’t appreciate this?
A couple of friends who read the book didn’t like the movie because they enjoyed the twists and drama in the book, only to see the altered script in the movie. I didn’t read the book yet, but knowing some twists that aren’t there in the movie is making me read the books soon 🙂
Overall, I did enjoy the movie, and it was worth waiting for the two parts. This is only the third movie by Mani Ratnam that I watched in theatres. Looking forward to many more…
By the way, please watch these conversations:
