Mani Ratnam responded to comparisons between his historical epic, Ponniyin Selvan and SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus, Baahubali.
Ever since the first part of Mani Ratnam’s ambitious project Ponniyin Selvan released last now, there have been constant comparisons between this magnum opus and SS Rajamouli’s blockbuster Baahubali. Even Ponniyin Selvan 2 which hit the big screens on April 28, couldn’t escape these comparisons considering the SS Rajamouli directorial has set a benchmark for epic period films.
Some felt that the film didn’t have enough larger-than-life theatrical moments like Baahubali while a section opined that the war scenes didn’t leave an impact like the Prabhas starrer.
However, prior the release of Ponniyin Selvan 2, Mani Ratnam in an interview with Cinema Express, said that he didn’t want his film to be anything like Baahubali.
The filmmaker told the entertainment portal, “We were very clear about it. Baahubali is Baahubali. Only Rajamouli can do it. When we started, we were clear that we didn’t want to do it like that. There is liberty there (Baahubali). There, the characters are fictional. They can be superheroes. Everything is imaginary. For me, Ponniyin Selvan is a book written by Kalki. Arulmozhi Varman and Aditya Karikalan are real people. So, I wanted to show them as realistically as possible.”
He added, “If they say the war sequences are not like Baahubali, I am so happy. We wanted it to not be anything like Baahubali. I want to be inside the war rather than keeping it (the camera) from outside and showing something big… I have a problem with it because it looks digital. It looks false.”
Mani Ratnam has always spoken highly of Baahubali. Earlier, the director had said that Ponniyin Selvan wouldn’t have existed if SS Rajamouli hadn’t made Baahubali.
Ponniyin Selvan 2 is currently running in theatres. The film stars Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Karthi, Trisha, Jayam Ravi, Sobhita Dhulipala and Aishwarya Lekshmi.
