Kalki Krishnamurthy’s Ponniyin Selvan is among the most read Tamil works of all time. The novel initially appeared as serialised fiction in Kalki magazine starting in 1950 for over three years, and has caught the imagination of several generations of Tamils. Mani Ratnam is now attempting to recreate it’s magnificence on the big screen, with a stellar cast.
Ponniyin Selvan
Ponniyin Selvan is also most famous for artist Maniam’s iconic art that lent the characters great depth and fandom. To this day, his artwork evokes the magic and grandeur of the novel, and is used as the cover image for the perennially bestselling books as well. From when the story first unfolded, from the very first episode, artist Maniam’s work accompanied the story.
In a new video, his son, artist Maniam Selven, talks about his impressions of these images. “From an artist’s point of view, the narration by Maniam Selvan, describes the varied attributes of the characters such as gait, appearance, hair styles, costumes, body language, facial expressions and compositions to name a few. In this video, two of the main characters are described. Princess Kundavai. Hero and Warrior Vandiyathevan,” the description of the video reads.
Videos on other important characters Nandini, Aditya Karikalan and Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar, will follow next.
