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Mumbai:

Each character in Ponniyin Selvan is a hero and the actors enjoying these roles are big stars however they decided to place craft above their on-screen personas, says famous person Vikram. The Mani Ratnam-directed two-part magnum opus, boasts of a few of the largest names from the Indian leisure business, together with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jayam Ravi, Karthi and Trisha.

“When you go to a set, you have your aura, big or small hero, and everybody responds to you that way, unless you are a new face. So, the way you are treated you take that for granted.

“But when you’ve gotten a movie like this, everyone here’s a hero or heroine. Then there may be Mani sir, who’s the grasp craftsman, (so) after we went there, all of us forgot that picture,” the actor told PTI in an interview here.

The film is a cinematic retelling of Kalki Krishnamurthy’s 1955 novels and chronicles the early days of Chola empire.

For his role as crown prince Aditha Karikalan in the movie, Vikram said he “learn and skim” the script and “imbibed quite a bit from it”.

“But once I went there, he (Ratnam) mentioned, ‘I need you to really feel like this individual, like you’re indignant, unpredictable, strive doing that however let’s not get into drama zone, hold it down, attempt to be actual’. So, after some extent, I grew to become the character,” the actor said.

The two-part Ponniyin Selvan gave Vikram an opportunity to closely observe all his co-stars. He was particularly impressed by Ravi and Karthi’s acting styles.

“He (Ravi) is probably the most mischievous man and has accomplished feisty roles. He is a mass hero. I used to be like, ‘how is he going to be (Rajaraja Chola) as a result of that man could be very totally different’. I needed to know what he (Ravi) does. I used to be stunned.

“Karthi does so much homework, he reads a lot. I see his choice of films and I realise that it all helps him. He is able to grasp stories that are evocative, stories that engross you,” he said.

Ponniyin Selvan has been one of the biggest releases from Tamil industry, and the 57-year-old South star emphasised that audiences are now keen to see films that can transcend boundaries.

According to Vikram, subtitles have contributed to the wide popularity and commercial success of regional films.

“A movie that stinks of nativity, and has one thing to do with one portion of India, will nonetheless work as a result of feelings are at all times the identical. People, after the pandemic, are open to watching subtitle movies. Like, now, they don’t seem to be simply watching our movies, they’re watching Korean, German, French movies opposite to what occurred earlier than,” Vikram said.

“Now, content material turns into the hero greater than the rest… I do not suppose there may be going to be pan-India or regional (movie), no matter movie is sweet, it’s going to work. Kantara was a really small movie… It is so immersed in tradition however it’s being celebrated as a result of it’s extra to do with the story,” he added.

The Chennai-born actor hailed 2016 Marathi romance-drama Sairat, helmed by Nagraj Manjule and Ajay Devgn-starrer 2020 blockbuster Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, which celebrated the contribution of a Maratha warrior Tanaji Malusare.

Vikram revealed he was offered Om Raut-directed historical action drama when the director was making the movie in Marathi language.

“Om had approached me (for Tanhaji) . I needed to do it however I do not know the language (Marathi). There was a time when he made it into Hindi. But it’s a topic which is extra Marathi than Hindi, but it surely was celebrated,” he mentioned, including, he was fascinated with the love story of Sairat.

Ponniyin Selvan II launched in theatres worldwide on Friday in Tamil together with the dubbed variations in Hindi, Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam. 

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