The Dramatic Arts : Ponnian Selvan

The Cast of Ponnian Selvan

Ponnian Selvan, a drama by Ajay Entertainers, written and directed by Thambi Paneerselvan and D Mallikraj respectively, is an adaptation of a five part historical fiction novel of the same name written by Kalki. While the play takes certain liberties with the story, tweaking it in such a way that the intricate story can be done justice on stage, Ponnian Selvan manages to be a faithful adaptation.

The actors and actresses of Ajay Entertainers bring to life an epic tale of politics and intrigue in artful fashion, working their way around limitations and putting together a brilliant show, rather than using said limitations as an excuse to deliver a shoddy play.

Direction - D Mallikraj

Story, Dialogues - Thambi Pannerselvam

Music Production- Alex

Sets - Baalan

Costumes - Thangapandiyan / Clara

Make-up - Doss

Lights - Govindan

Cast - Muthukumar, Jagadeesan, Girish, Raghavan, Prakash kutti, Janardhanan, Saravanan, Suresh, A S Jayaraman, Mohan, V S Sridhar, Raman, Thangapandiyan, Udhayakumar, Dheepan, Muthu, Parimalam, Sekar, Revathi, Suhasini, Sri Lakshmi, Ishwarya, Sumathi, Ra Nadanasabapathy.

Production - Ajay Entertainers

What I Liked:

The performances in this play were incredible. Every actor brought their best to the stage, and their experience and skill is demonstrated in the way they embody the characters on stage. While it is impossible for me to explain ever character and describe every actor’s performances, I do want to mention some standout performances.

Probably the performance which holds the whole play together, because that is the role of the character in the story, Girish as Vandhiyavethan brings to the stage ample charisma and valor. Ra Nadanasabapathy is excellent as Adithya Karikalan. Saravanan is menacing as the sorcerer Ravidasan, and Sri Lakshmi brings playfulness to the character of Poonguzhali.

But through all this, three of my favorite performances were Suhasini as Nandhini, Raghavan as Madhurandhagan and Parimalam as Sembiyam Mahadevi. Suhasini stole the show, bringing to life one of Tamil literature's most complex characters with amazing charisma. Raghavan’s portrayal of Madhurandhagan, the son who wants to be king is brilliant to say the least, and Parimalam brings such a motherly touch to the character of Sembiyam Mahadevi. While their story arcs were not fully explored, their performances were nothing short of the best.

A drama succeeds not because of its budget, but because of how it uses it. Ponnian Selvan is a prime example of allocating funds in the right places to make the best out of their budget and it pays off. While the sets by Baalan are not spectacular, they get the job done. This is a story, where it is not the setting that matters, but the characters, and it was a wise decision to invest in, what can be described as some of the best costumes and makeup I have seen on stage. The costumes by Thangapandiyan/ Clara glimmer and flow, showing majestic nature of the characters on stage and the make up by Doss is nothing short of amazing.

Lights are used to maximum effect, operated masterfully by Govindan and Alex provides some of the best live music to accompany the scenes on stage. One example of where the set design, music and lights blend together seamlessly is a beheading scene which was done masterfully.

The Lights and Music behind Ponnian Selvan

What Could Have Been Better:

While Ponnian Selvan is one of the better adaptations of the original epic, it suffers from the same problem which many such adaptations suffer. Even though it is a bit over three hours long, the original story is too long to be covered in such a short span of time and this leads to some loose ends in the story. While this is not a criticism of the drama itself, it is one of the many troubles faced by such adaptations. Some of the story arcs of the main characters remain unfinished, and while it is impossible to do a full replication of the story, it would have been better to at least bring a close to their characters.

The story could have done with a bit more editing, but knowing the source material; this is one of the more successful adaptations. And somehow, the consistency with the effects took a very small, but practically unnoticeable dip in the second half of the play.

While this point may not be a criticism in general, this play is not accessible in any way, shape or form to a person who is completely unaware of the story. A basic understanding of the original is required to make sense of the play, so if you do want to watch this, make sure you at-least know the synopsis.

Ponnian Selvan still retains the flavor and intricacies of the original work, while making changes to the structure of the story. While some changes do not work, most of them do and when they do they work brilliantly.

Final Thoughts:

While there aren’t many adaptations of Ponnian Selvan on stage or on screen, Ajay Entertainers manage to bring one of the best adaptations of this incredible story to stage, with all its finesse and intricacies intact. Kudos to the artists and the behind the scenes team of Ajay Entertainers.

I give Ponnian Selvan four out of five stars.

Yes, I do seem to keep giving this rating frequently, but keep in mind that this is a completely new genre to me, historical drama, and Ponnian Selvan is one of the best stage plays this genre has to provide.

Further showings of Ponnian Selvan are currently unplanned, but when the dates are released, please do check back to find them here.

Peace!!!