Very slick. Very slick indeed.

Ponniyin Selvan has these advantages:

• Maniratnam is a good filmmaker.
• The casting looks very nice (though I used to have reservations about Aishwarya Rai earlier)
• It has excellent script and plot devices in the novel itself.
• The novel itself is wildly famous in Tamilnadu. Many would say it enjoys a cult status too.

Now keep this in mind when you watch the movie – PS is not a historical novel, it is historical fiction novel, mostly fiction. I personally do not see any need to look for too much of historical accuracy in the movie as the source material itself is heavily fictionalized and romanticized.

So what we need in a historical fiction of this scale? GRAND SPECTACLE. Filigree work was not invented in 10th century Tamilnadu is a fact. So all that intricate jewellry is not really historically accurate. But then we are not exactly looking for history lessons in a movie or a novel for that matter.

Take the movie U-571 for example, a thoroughly enjoyable submarine flick. However, totally inaccurate. Or even Gladiator and its portrayal of Commodus. Or even few other Mel Gibson movies like Apocalypto, Patriot or Braveheart.

The movie will be a watered down version of the novel, which is unavoidable considering the expansive nature of the novel. But if the storyline and plot are tight and production is great, this movie is going to be fun to watch.

What is in favor of Lyca considering they have spent lot of money?

• Median age of cinema going population in Tamilnadu is 32 years.
• This demography would be doing the reviews and social media push mainly.
• And most of them would not have read Ponniyin Selvan. That is a huge advantage.

Only problem with the movie would be that people believing that it is history. That is a discussion for another day.