Wondering why readers are miffed with Mani Ratnam after Ponniyin Selvan 2? Here are five reasons

Missing Kodikarai and underrepresentation of Poonguzhali aka Samudhra Kumari (Queen of Ocean)

It’s a criticism Mani has been facing since the first part. In the books, Kalki spent a lot of pages on Kodikarai and the adventures of Vandhiyathevan with the enigmatic Poonguzhali, who is cynical and disrespectful at the same time. She is called Samudhra Kumari due to her navigation skills and the ease with which she sails through the ocean. It is hinted that there was a romantic encounter between Samudhra Kumari and Ponniyin Selvan in the books. However, Mani Ratnam reduced her to an insignificant character making a meagre impact in the story. On the other hand, even Kalki didn’t pursue the romantic angle between Ponniyin Selvan and Samudhra Kumari–one of the many inconsistencies in the novel.

Mani’s film sans Manimegalai

Manimegalai is the princess of Kadambur Fort, who falls in love with Vallavarayan Vandhiyathevan in the books. She plays a key role in the novel, and tries to take the blame for killing Aditya Karikalan when Vandhiyathevan is accused of killing the Chola prince. She is also one of the saddest characters in the book, who loves Vallavarayan unconditionally. After suffering the pain of unrequited love, Manimegalai breathes her last in the arms of her love. Kalki says Vandhiyathevan will not be the same anymore. The writer claims that the Vanar warrior’s joy, humour, and glee all died along with Manimegalai.

Nandini’s end

However, the saddest character in Ponniyin Selvan is of course the scheming Nandini. Her origin remains a mystery in the novel. Her relationship with Veerapandiyan is never clarified. Kalki sometimes makes them a couple, and it is also said that she could be his daughter. Her end is far more mysterious. The character just rides away from the Chola kingdom, and it is not revealed what becomes of her. On the other hand, Mani Ratnam is pretty straightforward and claims Nandini is the daughter of Veerpandiyan. In the film, it is hinted that she takes her life by drowning in the river, but it also seems to be a bit open-ended.

Aditya Karikalan’s death

Though historical evidence suggests that Aditya Karikalan was killed by three Pandians — Ravidasan, Soman, and Parameswaran, Kalki handled the death of Karikalan with caution. The novel doesn’t reveal who stabbed Karikalan, leaving many suspects. It is unclear why Kalki had to resort to such an ambiguous depiction of the portion when history seems to have some answers. Mani Ratnam doesn’t seem to have stuck to historical facts, choosing poetic justice instead as Karikalan dies at the hands of Nandini.

The real Madhurandhagan in the book

Finally, the elephant in the room. The biggest problem readers have with Mani Ratnam is the way he dealt with the identity of Madhurandhagan. In the books, the real Madhurandhagan is Sendhen Amudhan (Ashwin Kakkamannu)! The flower seller outside the Thanjur fort becomes the king of the Chola kingdom and takes up the name Uttama Cholan. Kalki reveals that Nandini and the ‘old’ Mandhurandhagan are twins born to Oomai Rani. At birth, Sendhen Amudhan, the son of Sembiyan Mahadevi (Jaya Chitra in the film), is replaced by Nandini’s twin brother. He is brought up as a Shiva bhakt by Sembiyan Mahadevi to prevent him from becoming the king as she knows a Pandiyan should not get the Chola crown. However, Mani Ratnam got rid of the confusion because it would be too late in the game to unravel another subplot in the film. While it sat well in the books, the movie medium doesn’t allow the liberty for such a U-turn at the tail end of the story.

Ponniyin Selvan is also a work of fiction and nothing is written on a stone tablet. Even the novel series is inconsistent with the arc of many of the characters, like the romance between Poonguzhali and Ponniyin Selvan is abandoned and she ends up becoming his sister-in-law after marrying Utthama Cholan. One has to note that Kalki wrote the novel in the course of about four to five years, and had to resort to storylines that brought in more readers. Writer Jeyamohan, who wrote the screenplay of Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan films, noted how Kalki was forced to come up with the whole Madhurandhagan sub-plot to keep the novel going for a while.

Stories are like Chinese whispers — they change with time and evolve; they often get distorted. However, what’s important is that we keep telling them no matter what. Just the fact that a seven-decade-old novel has been retold with such an effort and budget is a beautiful story in itself, the shortcomings notwithstanding.