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Ponniyin Selvan: Part I

Play trailer 3:14 Poster for Ponniyin Selvan: Part I 2022 2h 47m Action Adventure History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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87% Tomatometer 15 Reviews 78% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
A warrior sets out to establish peace in a land ravaged by war.
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Ponniyin Selvan: Part I

Critics Reviews

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Shalini Dore Variety 10/11/2022
Ratnam keeps the different strands moving at a fast pace so that you don’t notice the nearly three-hour running time. Go to Full Review
Anupama Chopra Film Companion 10/11/2022
There are so many factions jostling in this game of thrones that it becomes hard to keep track and consequently, to stay invested. But it is also impossible to look away. Go to Full Review
Srivatsan S The Hindu 11/02/2023
Mani Ratnam has never made the same movie twice. Although all his movies are of a certain ‘kind’. Has there ever been a filmmaker who has built a body of work that is so large and so diverse by exploring just human relationships? Go to Full Review
Sakhi Thirani Common Sense Media 05/30/2023
While the blood baths in the name of battle and the typical petty humor seem redundant and repetitive, Ratnam's epic covers up through his complex characters and their passionate determination. Go to Full Review
Soham Gadre Film Inquiry 12/10/2022
Ponniyin Selvan: Part I is fun and brisk, setting a higher standard for Indian literary adaptations. Go to Full Review
Rohan Naahar The Indian Express 11/09/2022
Ponniyin Selvan: I — a title that has the aura of a thinly veiled threat — is more crowded than the inside of a Chennai tiffin house at breakfast, and features action so poorly directed that it will remind you of Steven Seagal movies from the 90s. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Latha K 11/02/2022 Director Mani Ratnam and Music by AR Rahman and the actors and producers, transported the viewers to the historic era. Great movie and well made. All actors played their roles well. This is a must-see, even if you don't understand Tamil. See more Stephen C @bob25009 Oct 16 Success in 2 hours and 47 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more Birithivy Y 10/29/2024 Ponniyin Selvan: Part One - 10/10. Mani Ratnam has forged his name into the history of tamil cinema with his brand of filmmaking and direction. He has created such an incredible array of films, that its really hard to think of another way for an auteur like him to even one up himself. PS1 is that one up of his expertise, and is a masterful first part to a two part epic. It shines in every technical department, and shines in the acting and writing as well. Its hard to make a famous novel into a film, and you can tell that the 70 years it took this movie to be made was not delayed by accident. There’s so much done in painstaking fashion that makes you appreciate the movie so much. The level of detailing, craftsmanship, and hard work is evident in each and every frame. This isn’t an over the top film either: each frame is handled in an honest and purposeful way. You need to see this film to believe it, and though it has themes and plot lines that we’ve seen in stories and films past, its the packaging that makes it super engaging! Bring on part 2! See more 10/07/2024 As someone whose grown up watching Mani Ratnam make some very interesting films, the Ponniyin Selvan Duo was quite disappointing. Let me explain. The Ponniyin Selvan films are based on a Tamilian language historical fiction novel by the author Kalki Krishnamurthy. The series was first published in small parts in the weekly editions of Kalki, a Tamil language magazine, from 29 October 1950 to 16 May 1954 and later adapted into novels, condensed into five large volumes. It's probably the equivalent of Game of Thrones, maybe better written, without the overdone sex and soft porn. The problem of Ponniyin Selvan the Films are aplenty, starting with attempting to condense a very long story, into two films. Ideally it should have been made into a series, with atleast 5, if not 15 episodes. AR Rehman, who is arguably India's most famous musician, has made some strangely disappointing score. It's not bad, but it's defnitely not his best. The stills cinematography is superb. But the action and thriller or suspense scenes lack fluidity. They seem strangely confusing. The direction is also all over the place. The cast is absolutely stellar, and the budget is also pretty large, which shows in many great visuals of the film. But, Mani Ratnam isn't able to bring everything together as an engaging and coherent story. While an audience familiar with Ponniyin Selvan the story, may find it disappointing, someone who hadn't read the books, would completely lose the plot, both literally and figuratively. Unfortunately, it seems, like Mani Ratnam has lost the plot too. Sometimes I wonder, if the Films should be Re-Edited and released in 5 parts instead, to make it more fluid, and help bring a sense of coherence, instead of random dialogues and scenes. That should also help maintain the pace that audiences would be able to easily understand, considering the very elaborate story that the 5 volumes contain. See more Muizz M 09/12/2023 I absolutely loved it, good bgm and music See more Suprateek A 09/01/2023 I forgot about this film's existence until I stumbled upon it in my watchlist so I decided to give it a shot. First of all what was this movie?? I wanted to give the movie 2.5 but I just couldn't do it. This was a Mani Ratnam movie? That's what I kept asking myself throughout my viewing. The characters were so poorly written that it breaks my heart. It had such a good story but no they had to stuff 5 books into two movies. I didn't care about a single character and I was waiting for the movie to be over. The only people that I cared about were Vikram and KARTHI in the first hour only. They provided something to the bland narrative and saved me. I felt nothing while watching the movie and I was bothered by it. It didn't have any nuance which I expected from Mani Ratnam nor did it have any drama which is basic from a MOVIE. Finally all I can say is that I was heartbroken to see a legend make a film like this. See more Read all reviews
Ponniyin Selvan: Part I

My Rating

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Movie Info

Synopsis A warrior sets out to establish peace in a land ravaged by war.
Director
Mani Ratnam
Producer
Mani Ratnam, A. Subaskaran, Suhasini Maniratnam
Screenwriter
Mani Ratnam, B. Jeyamohan, Muthuraman, Kumaravel
Distributor
IMAX Entertainment
Production Co
Madras Talkies, Lyca Productions
Genre
Action, Adventure, History, Drama
Original Language
Tamil
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 30, 2022, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA)
$5.7M
Runtime
2h 47m
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