Mani Ratnam’s historical magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan was expected to be the Baahubali from the Tamil industry. The first part did extremely well in Tamil and emerged as the biggest hit of 2022. The second part, PS 2, was expected to repeat or better the success of its first part, but it disappointed in a big way.
Ponniyin Selvan 2 will do half the business that Ponniyin Selvan 1 did at the box office. At best, the film would end up as an average, if not a flop. Overall the result of Ponniyin Selvan can be termed decent and nothing phenomenal.
The film, however, proved that the Tamil film industry could also deliver films with a huge star cast lavishly mounted on a magnanimous budget. They couldn’t match the vision of SS Rajamouli in films like Baahubali or RRR, but Ponniyin Selvan has given hope that the Tamil industry will also attempt such huge projects time and again in the future and make a mark on the pan-India level.
Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan will always be remembered as a film that genuinely tried to match the making of Baahubali. The result of PS 1 &2 might not be very encouraging as both parts failed in other languages except Tamil, but there is hope that sooner or later, Kollywood will also make films that will have a nationwide reception like Baahubali or RRR. But by then, Tollywood would have already gone to the next level.
