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By Raghu Narayanan
Why am I writing this review? The act of penning your thoughts on paper is transformational in nature. The act transforms what is intangible into something that is tangible. It might seem quite a simple thing to do, but as we sit down to do it, it seems as if there is a bridge that we have to cross. A bridge that does not exist in reality.It is primarily for this experience that I am endeavouring to write this review. This review is both about the book and the movie – more about the book than the movie. It will be different in the sense that I will not be discussing the story or the characters or their portrayal but would be attempting to go beyond these aspects into what is it about this story that so grips you, impacts you and never lets go of you.
First, the book. Why? Because it came first. It is the first, and only, book in Tamizh which I have read. Also, I read it first before I watched the movie. I must confess upfront though, and maybe even apologise, that I have read the book only once. In my humble opinion, this book does deserve at least two readings – a first reading because, yes, the book is un-put-down-able. And at least one more reading to savour the taste of literary genius embedded in every word, page, chapter, and volume.
It is really beyond mind-boggling that a novel which spans five volumes and nearly two thousand pages can engage you through to the end, and still make you feel why it ended. Such is the sway that Kalki will hold over the reader. Even after you finish reading, the sway continues. It is very rare that such an epic is written where almost all characters create an almost equal impact. Everyone seems to be given equal space and importance. There is equality either in terms of prevalence in the story or in terms of impact created on the outcome of the story. Not a single individual is wasted. Not a single conversation is irrelevant. And not a single happening is without consequence somewhere later down the story. There are no loose ends, only some ends are left open. It is ridiculous that one individual has had the capacity and the audacity to create such a piece of work.
Ponniyin Selvan embodies the concept of duality. The most fundamental aspect of the duality of our existence is that of the body and the mind. One is tangible and the other is intangible. One is outward appearance and the other is underlying form. Well, I feel even a book has a body and a mind. At least, a well-written one. Surely, Ponniyin Selvan has it. A strong, beautiful body and a brilliant, genius of a mind. While the ‘body’ of the book, through its sublime narration, takes us on a leisurely stroll along the banks of a river, soaking in the beauty all around, an almost casual mention of a secret meeting in a dilapidated temple on the banks of the same river, sets the ‘mind’ – representing the story, racing along in a direction filled with suspense, thrill and even a certain amount of dread and foreboding. The book is an endless repeat of such events and episodes making it compulsive and compelling.
This is where Kalki Krishnamurthy’s literary genius comes to the fore. He creates a world into which readers are eager to get into and do not want to get out. Maybe he goes further. His world would only let you in. There is no way out. It is a beautiful prison out of which no one would want to come out.If the brilliant narration of a book which makes it a page turner, Kalki again goes one step further. He makes you go back and forth. Not because you did not understand what you just read. But because you want to read it again and savour the taste once more before moving on.
Ironically, while the book reflects the duality of existence, Kalki has managed to go beyond binaries in terms of painting the personality and motives of his characters. No one is either good or bad but somewhere in between. Their motives, decisions and actions neither seem to be completely right nor totally wrong. The novel is laden with situations where people’s intentions might seem questionable or treacherous at the outset, but there would surely be room for a debate the other way as well. The characters do not always behave in the manner which is predictable to the reader and this casts an element of doubt which is retained until the end. In some cases, even beyond The End.
In and through all these situations, Kalki successfully drives home the point that people’s perspectives differ, that people are driven by what is right according to their perspectives and while each one can have his or her own perspective of what is right, it can easily be, and often is, in contradiction to what someone else thinks of the same event. So, it would seem that we all live in a world of perspectives, which differ from person to person and not one perspective can be totally right or totally wrong. Hence, there is no place for moral judgement in society, only legal.
Now, for the movie. Helmed by a master in the art of cinema, the story deservedly has got its most worthy reader to convert it into a movie. And he has done a great job of it. The story has to be read and the movie has to be seen just so as to understand that a movie based on a story can never be made in the way the story has been written. It has to be changed – in many ways and in many places. And there are many changes, additions and deletions to the original story which ends up changing the way many events happen in the movie. I will go only so far as to say that I liked some of the changes and did not like some, which is within the realm of my expectations. As a cinematic experience, the master has set a new benchmark for sure. The locations and sets do not fall short of transporting you to the era and the events when Kalki created his world. The actors have ‘played out of their skins’ to borrow an oft repeated phrase used in cricket commentary around the world. We could see total commitment and sincerity in the performances. Through this endeavour the Master film maker and creative genius in Mani Ratnam might have attained a certain level of peace, by conquering the unconquerable. A deserving blockbuster, if there ever should be one!
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