Son of Ponni (Ponniyin Selvan): A monumental tale from Tamil History

Historical drama has always been one of the most preferred choices of the audience since forever. Historical drama has the potential of attracting people with different interests at one go as it is an amalgamation of history, literature, drama, and action.

The craze of historical epic dramas never fades. Be it Mahabharata or Game of Thrones, the audience craves to witness exemplary historical drama pieces. While talking about historical drama,?‘Ponniyin Selvan’?written by Indian author Kalki Krishnamurthy cannot be missed. Ponniyin Selvan which translates to?‘Son of Kaveri’?is one of the most renowned historical fiction novels ever written in Tamil language. The Chola dynasty is acclaimed as one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of mankind. There is an unmissable side to the Chola dynasty that is often overlooked by traditional historic books. Ponniyin Selvan beautifully takes us to this unheard side of this powerful era. Written in simple language, the characters of the novel are beautifully developed, and the scenarios described are impeccable. The way the story has been plotted reflects the nitty-gritty that the novelist pays attention to.

Ponniyin Selvan is the story of the early days of Arulmozhi Varman who became the great Chola emperor Rajaraja Chola I and takes the title of ‘Ponniyin Selvan’. The entire plot revolves around the Chola dynasty and the battle of different opponents to conquer the throne. While Nandini (the antagonist) aims to bring an end to the Chola dynasty, Kundhavai (Daughter of the emperor) tries to bring stability to the empire with the crowning of her younger brother. The story succeeds in highlighting the power, lust and struggles of the dynasty.

The love attained by the novel intrigued various movie directors to visually adapt the novel into a film. And the idea was finally executed by the popular Indian film director Mani Ratnam. From Jayam Ravi to Aishwarya Rai every actor in the movie has justified their role impeccably. It is commendable to see Aishwarya Rai playing a double role in the movie and how smoothly she has been able to serve the requirements of both characters. This epic historical action drama received appreciation from the critics. But is it justified to put a voluminous book into a 3-hour movie, and then break it into two parts? Well, the idea doesn’t sound pleasing, and this is what happened with the novel Ponniyin Selvan. Recently the?movie Ponniyin Selvan?took to the silver cinema but there were a lot of things that the movie was unable to put forth to the audience. There were numerous sections that were not pictured, and some sections were not elaborated in the way they have been in the novel. Though the movie cast tries to take up the challenge, but it isn’t easy to get every detail into a 3-hour movie. The audience of the movie is now under the shadow of half facts as there are various segments that are either not covered properly or simply removed. All those who are die-heart fans of historical political drama can never be satisfied by the delivery given in the movie. The conspiracy, political drama, and depth that is elongated in the novel seem to be undelivered in the movie.

To top that, waiting for the second part is challenging for the audience. First part of the movie?PS-1?is standing in the phase where it left the audience perplexed. Yes, undoubtedly suspense is something that keeps the audience hooked but serving half a dish and asking the guest to wait for the other half is not appreciated by the audience. Three broad questions reside in the viewers’ minds after watching PS1

1. Who would win the throne of the Chola dynasty?
2. Would Nandini (the antagonist) be able to take her revenge?
3. Would Vallabharayan (the messenger) be able to accomplish his mission?

To enjoy the essence of the entire novel one needs to have the right source, and nothing can be better than the audio drama available on the Headfone app. To all those Ponniyin Selvan lovers out there, if you have invested a lot of time in brainstorming the answers to these questions, then ‘Son of Ponni’ on Headfone would answer it for you.

To give due respect that the novel truly demands, Headfone created the audio drama ‘Son of Ponni’ which has depicted, shown, and caressed every character, scene, and incident that happens to be a part of the novel. There is a mystery, there is drama in this thriller. Intertwined within the story are conspiracy and romance. Each episode ends with a cliff-hanger making you want to listen to the next one with the same intrigue. The narrator beautifully recounts the greatness of the empire and paints an absolute picture. The tightly woven plot, witty dialogues, and vivid narration hold you back to stick to each word of the audio series as the story unravels.

To respect the aura of all the characters in Ponniyin Selvan, the audio drama Son of Ponni has narrated the characters precisely that the audience can imagine the characters in their minds which indeed is essential to move along with the narration and understand the story in a true sense. The narration of the dialogues, the uniqueness of voice, and the description of every character help the audience identify the traits that separate one character from another. The audio drama?Son of Ponni?has been narrated in 200+ episodes so that nothing from the novel is uncovered or kept hidden from the audience. If you are a historical fiction enthusiast, it would be grave to miss the adventures of Son of Ponni.

Lose yourself in the magic of the characters and the twists in the story with the imperative audio experience that the app offers. The immersive audio experience on Headfone is specially created to transport you into the story and live every moment of it.