Mani Ratnam's directorial Ponniyin Selvan Part 2 (PS 2), based on Kalki's magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan novel, is set to hit the big screens on 28th April. The film is a sequel to the 2022 blockbuster movie Ponniyin Selvan, which shattered many box office records to become an industry hit. However, the storyline of PS1 seemed to be a bit confusing for folks who were not familiar with the novel, and the vast number of characters created difficulty in comprehending the connection between the characters. Here is the complete recap of PS1 along with the complete details of all the characters for your reference to properly understand PS2 to the core and enjoy its beauty on the big screen.
All Important Characters
1. Arunmozhi Varman aka Ponniyin Selvan (played by Jayam Ravi): The titular character, who is the youngest son of the king of the Chola kingdom when the story happens, Sundara Chola (Paranthaka II) and Vanamadevi. At the time of the story, he is in Elangai (Sri Lanka), on a campaign against King Mahindan and, had captured many parts of the island. He later ascended the throne of the Chola Kingdom as Raja Raja Cholan, who is one of the greatest rulers in Indian history.
2. Aditya Karikalan (played by Chiyaan Vikram): Eldest son of Sundara Chola and Vanamadevi and crown prince to the Chola throne, Aditya Karikalan (Aditha Karikalan) is a peerless warrior who defeated and killed the Pandya king and established Chola suzerainty over his kingdom.
3. Vandiya Devan (played by Karthi): Belonging to the Vanar clan, Vallavareyan Vandiya Devan is Aditya Karikalan’s bodyguard, friend, and confidante.
4. Nandini Devi (played by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan): Queen and wife of Periya Pazhuvetarayar, Nandini is a young woman renowned for her beauty. Nandini’s antecedents are a mystery and her past life is shrouded in secrecy.
5. Kundavai (played by Trisha): Younger sister of Aditya Karikalan and the daughter of Sundara Chola and Vanamadevi. Kundavai is cherished throughout the kingdom for her wit, wisdom, grace, and intelligence. She lives in Pazhaiaarai along with her companions and friends.
6. Poonguzhali aka Samuthirakumari (played by Aishwarya Lekshmi): A boat woman, who lives in Kodi Karai. She helps Vandiya Devan travel across the sea to reach Elangai to deliver Kundavai's message to Ponniyin Selvan.
8. Azhwarkadiyan Nambi (played by Jayaram): A Vaishanavite and a spy who is also known as Thirumalai. He also claims to be Nandini Devi’s brother.
9. Budivikrama Kesari (played by Prabhu): The commander of troops in Elangai, he is also known as Kodumbalur Periya Vellar. He is the patriarch of the Kodumbalur Clan.
10. Periya Pazhuvettarayar (played by Sarath Kumar): Lord Treasurer of the Chola kingdom and a peerless warrior who carried 64 battle scars on his body. He is the patriarch and the king of the powerful Pazhuvur clan and is an influential courtier and nobleman at the Chola court.
11. Parthibendra Pallavan (played by Vikram Prabhu): Close confidante and friend of Aditya Karikalan.
12. Sundara Chola (played by Prakash Raj): Emperor of the Chola and Pandya kingdoms from 957 to 970 CE, when this story happens. His handsomeness earned him the popular epithet of Sundara Chola, meaning Handsome Chola.
13. Madhurantakan (played by Rahman): Son of King Gandaradhithan and Sembiyanmadevi and the first cousin of Sundara Chola.
14. Chinna Pazhuvettarayar (played by Parthiban): Also known as Kalanthaka Kanda, Chinna Pazhuvetarayar is the younger brother of Periya Pazhuvetarayar and is the commander of the Thanjavur fort. A powerful man with a strong physique, he is also the father-in-law of Prince Madhuranthakan.
15. Thirukkovalur Malayaman (played by Lal): Patriarch of the Malayaman clan and the father-in-law of Sundara Chola. He is close to his oldest grandson Aditya Karikalan.
16. Sembiyanmadevi (played by Jayachitra): King Gandaradithan’s queen who was equally virtuous and spiritual. She belongs to the clan of Mazhavarayar and married the king despite his advanced age.
18. Aringzhan Chola (not portrayed on screen): Son of Paranthaka I and the father of Sundara Chola. He reigned for a very short period from 956 to 957 CE.
19. Rajadhithan (not portrayed on screen): Eldest son and heir apparent of Paranthaka I. Prince Rajadhithan died in the Thakkolam war (950 CE) after which the crown passed on to his younger brother.
20. Senthan Amuthan (played by Ashwin Kakumanu): Poonguzhali's cousin. A devout man who would offer the flowers of his garden to Thallikullathar Temple in Thanjavur. Vandiya Devan stays in his house while visiting Thanjavur.
21. Ravidasan (played by Kishore): The ringleader of the Pandya conspirators who wish to avenge the death of their king (Veerapandiyan). He is also known as ‘Mandiravadi’.
22. Veerapandiyan (cameo role by Nassar): The king of the Pandya kingdom, killed by Aditya Karikalan. Veerapandiyan after being defeated by Karikalan in battle, takes refuge in the hut of Nandini. When Karikalan sees his ex-lover Nandini taking care of his enemy, he beheads Veerapandiyan in front of Nandini out of rage, despite her repeated pleas. Nandini sought to take revenge on Karikalan and the entire Chola dynasty after this incident and joins the bodyguards of Veerapandiyan, who are conspiring against the Cholas.
23. Soman Sambavan (played by Riyaz Khan): One of the conspirators and a member of Ravidasan’s gang.
24. Varagunan (played by Arjun Chidambaram): A Pandya conspirator
25. Devaralan (played by Vinay Kumar Joseph): One of the Pandya conspirators who works in the Kadambur palace.
26. Aniruddha Brahmarayar (played by Mohan Rahman): Prime Minister of the Chola Empire. Azhwarkkadiyan Nambi is Brahmarayar's spy.
A Historical Note For Better Understanding
King Paranthakan I had three sons, the eldest Rajadhitan (who was killed in the Thakkolam battle), Prince Gandaradithan, and Prince Arizhayan. After the demise of King Paranthakan, Gandaradithan ascended the throne, but he was a widower who had no intention of marrying again or siring heirs. Instead, he proclaimed his nephew, young Paranthakan II, (his brother Prince Arizhayan’s son) as his heir apparent.
However, unexpectedly a few years before his death, King Gandaradithan got married to Sembiyanmadevi and begot Prince Madhuranthakan. Despite the birth of his own son, he willed that his nephew would remain the crown prince and his heir apparent. After his death, Queen Sembiyanmadevi upheld her husband’s wishes, as her own.
Paranthakan II ascended the throne after his uncle’s death and ruled the Kingdom wisely. He was so attractive and handsome that he came to be known as King Sundara Chola, by his subjects. King Sundara Chola had two sons and one daughter. He made his eldest son, Prince Aditya Karikalan, a peerless warrior, his heir apparent. This is where the story begins.
PS1 Story Recap (Details From The Novel Included)
About a thousand years ago, a young soldier called Vandiya Devan was traveling towards the Chola Kingdom bearing important messages for Emperor Sundara Chola and Princess Kundavai from Crown Prince Aditya Karikalan. One night, he stays at Kadambur at his friend Kandanmaran’s palace. Coincidentally that day, Kandanmaran’s father is playing host to many important noble lords of the Chola kingdom and he had invited Periya Pazhuvetarayar, the Lord Treasurer of the Cholas. Vandiya Devan inadvertently finds out that all the noble lords under the leadership of Periya Pazhuvetarayar were plotting to crown Prince Madhuranthakan (Sundara Chola’s first cousin) as the emperor after Sundara Chola’s demise. He is disgusted to learn that Pazhuvetarayar was taking Madhuranthakan around with him in a veiled palanquin, while most people mistook him to be his wife.
Vandiya Devan also meets a Veera Vaishnavan named Azhwarkadiyan Nambi (also known as Thirumalai) in Kadambur who follows him around and is seen trying to listen in on the secret meeting of the nobles. The Veera Vaishnavan wants to meet Periya Pazhuvetrayar’s wife, Nandini, because she was his step-sister once upon a time. Nandini was found by Azhwarkadiyan’s parents in a garden as a newborn baby and brought up as their own daughter. Three years ago, when the Cholas and Pandyas were engaged in a bitter battle in the Pandya kingdom, the Pandya soldiers brought the wounded Veera Pandyan (king of Pandyas) to Nandini’s hut, who tried to help him. Sadly, the Chola soldiers find out about this, and Aditya Karikalan beheads the king. Periya Pazhuvetarayar, who was with them, takes Nandini away and marries her. Since then Azhwarkadiyan has been trying to meet Nandini.
Azhwarkadiyan also stumbles upon a conspiracy hatched by a handful of Pandya soldiers who were once bodyguards of Veera Pandyan to assassinate the Crown Prince Aditya Karikalan, his brother Prince Arulmozhivarman and the emperor Sundara Chola.
Vandiya Devan approaches Thanjavur and is worried about how to meet the emperor alone and warns him about the dangerous plot that the noble lords were hatching. He encounters a veiled palanquin on the way and thinking that it’s Prince Madhuranthakan he accosts them, only to find that it is Nandini Devi. He uses Azhwarkadiyan’s name to seek help from her and she gives him the Pazhuvur signet ring with a palm leaf emblem to enter the fort.
Inside the fort, he befriends a flower-seller’s assistant named Senthan Amuthan and stays in his garden house for a night. On the next day, he goes to the Thanjavur fort and gains entry into the palace thanks to the Pazhuvur ring. He meets Chinna Pazhuvetarayar (Periya Pazhuvetarayar’s brother), the commander of the fort, and tells him that his brother had sent him. Chinna Pazhuvetarayar allows him to meet the emperor in private. Vandiya Devan informs the emperor about the secret plot by Pazhuvettarayar to crown Madhurantakan and the conspiracies by the Emperor's noblemen and requests him to come to Kanchipuram where Aditya Karikalan stays.
Chinna Pazhuvetarayar becomes suspicious and tries to confine him to his guest chamber but Vandiya Devan escapes from his guards and ends up hiding in Nandini’s palace gardens. Nandini meets him and offers him a position in her palace but he refuses saying that he had agreed to work for Kundavai. She tries to seduce him into accepting the position but is interrupted by the arrival of the chief of the Pandya bodyguards whom Azhwarkadiyan had encountered earlier. We learn that Nandini is helping them with gold to avenge the gory death of their king. Nandini helps Vandiya Devan escape by showing him a secret tunnel and asking him to deliver Kundavai's message to her in return.
At Pazhaiaarai, Vandiya Devan enters the city masquerading as an actor with a drama troupe. He meets Kundavai and informs her about the plot that the nobles are hatching under the leadership of the Pazhuvetarayar brothers. Kundavai gives him a message for her brother in Ilangai and tasks him to bring her brother home, while they develop feelings for each other. Bearing the message, Vandiya Devan leaves for Kodi Karai to take a boat to Ilangai (Sri Lanka).
At Kanchipuram, Aditya Karikalan and his friend Pallava Parthibendran are furious with the Pazhuvur brothers for branding their messenger as a spy. His maternal grandfather, Malayaman advises him to be patient. They decide to send Parthibendran to Ilangai to get Arulmozhivarman back home. Karikalan confides in Parthibendran about his secret passion for Nandini, whom he had met at Pazhaiaarai, and his wish to marry her. He reveals how devastated he was when he found out that she was tending to Veera Pandyan’s wounds. He regrets beheading Veera Pandyan despite Nandini’s pleas. His anger at learning that she was Pazhuvetrayar’s wife now was the sole reason he was not going to Thanjavur to meet his father. At the end of this conversation, Parthibendran gets ready to go Ilangai.
Meanwhile, Arunmozhi Varman (Ponniyin Selvan) wins the battle against King Mahindan in Sri Lanka and captures many parts of the island. At the same time, Vandiya Devan reaches Sri Lanka with the help of a boat woman, Poonguzhali who has feelings for Ponniyin Selvan. Azhwarkkadiyan, who on the instruction of Prime Minister Aniruddha Brahmarayar reaches Ilangai and meets Vandiya Devan. They together meet Ponniyin Selvan and deliver their messages to him. Vandiya Devan asks him to come to Pazhaiaarai where Kundavai stays, Azhwarkkadiyan requests him stay at Ilangai, as it is dangerous to return, while Parthibendra Pallavan who reached Ilangai by this time asks him to come to Kanchipuram where his elder brother (Karikalan) stays.
Kundavai returns to Thanjavur to meet her father Sundara Chola, where he is manipulated by the Pazhuvettarayar (Nandini's plan) to bring back Ponniyin Selvan to Thanjavur by sending a convoy (this plan by Nandini is to prevent Karikalan from attacking Pazhuvettarayars at Thanjavur as he would have to fight his brother if he is inside the fort).
In Ilangai, Ponniyin Selvan, Vandiya Devan, and Nambi are attacked by the Pandya troops headed by Ravidasan, but are rescued by a veiled, mute woman. Ponniyin Selvan claims that she was the one who rescued him from drowning in the river Ponni when he was a child and is still unaware of her identity. Meanwhile, Kundavai tries to persuade Karikalan to return to Thanjavur, but he still refuses because of Nandini's presence inside the Thanjavur fort. In Ilangai, a member of Pandya conspirators seeks the help of the King of Ilangai, who was defeated by Ponniyin Selvan to get them an army to assassinate Ponniyin Selvan.
Poonguzhali chances upon the convoy sent by Pazhuvettarayar to capture Ponniyin Selvan and informs him about it. While all his well-wishers try to stop him from going with the convoy, Ponniyin Selvan couldn't disobey his father's order. Ponniyin Selvan disguises himself as a mahout while grooming Vandiya Devan as the prince and escapes the control of Budhivikrama Kesari (who tries to prevent Ponniyin Selvan from meeting the convoy as he is worried about the prince's safety), with the help of Poonguzhali. But, the Pandyas destroy the convoy and captures Vandiya Devan, mistaking him for Ponniyin Selvan.
Intending to save Vandiya Devan, Ponniyin Selvan heads to the army ship of Pandyas, where Vandiya Devan is held, hostage. Ponniyin Selvan fights off and destroys the Pandya army along with Vandiya Devan, but the ship drowns in the sea due to a big storm, and Ponniyin Selvan and Vandiya Devan are presumed dead. The news of the death of Ponniyin Selvan spreads to the Chola kingdom making everyone gloom and despair. Aditya Karikalan charges towards Thanjavur and vows to kill Nandini, whom he considers the main conspirator behind his brother's death, while Nandini makes a plan to kill Karikalan.
Meanwhile, the same mute woman, who is shown as a look-alike of Nandini jumps into the sea to rescue Ponniyin Selvan.
Who is that mute woman? How will she rescue Ponniyin Selvan? What was Veerapandyan's relationship with Nandini? How are Pandyas related with Madhurantakan? Will Nandini kill Karikalan? What will happen to the future of the Chola Kingdom and who will be the next King? All the questions to be answered in Ponniyin Selvan 2- with more drama, more mysteries, more twists and turns, and more action.
Ponniyin Selvan 2, directed by Mani Ratnam, starring Chiyaan Vikram, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Aishwarya Rai, Trisha, and Aishwarya Lekshmi opens in theatres on 28th April 2023.
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