Filmmaker Mani Ratnam’s ‘Ponniyin Selvan 2’ released good reviews last week. Before the movie hit theatres, he discovered what makes a film pan-Indian today. He also said that filmmakers shouldn’t see making pan-Indian films as a trap but as a choice.
When asked in a recent interview what makes a film pan-Indian in today’s context, he pointed out that doing pan-Indian films should be a choice. Ratnam said, “We’ve been doing it since Chandralekha (1948), but those films were never called pan-Indian back then. We accepted our films to be this way long ago, while the rest of the North learnt to watch South Indian films, appreciate, encourage and develop them much later. It’s just a part of our growth and it’s healthy to see a film like Kantara, in a regional language, speaking about a regional culture, doing well across the country. No one is compelling directors or actors to make one kind of film. If we start doing that, it’ll make us stale soon. Doing different cinema rejuvenates us. Doing pan-Indian films is not a trap... but a choice.”
‘PS2’ was released in Hindi along with the original Tamil version. After attempting twice, Ratnam finally succeeded in making ‘Ponniyin Selvan.’ He tried to make the movie twice, once in 1994 and 2011. However, the project didn’t take off as planned. Made in two parts, the period film features Jayam Ravi as Prince Arulmozhimarman, while Vikram, Karthi, Trisha, and Aishwarya Rai play key roles.