I saw PS-1 today and it certainly reminded me of Bahubali in the sense that PS-1 and PS-2 are going to be vastly differently, and the roles played will be greatly enhanced.
Before I get to that - we need to establish some shortcodes because typing any of the character's names except Nandini (Aish's character) will bring me one step closer to repeated strain injury, carpal tunnel syndrome, etc.
Aditya Karikalan - AK47 because he's a powerhouse. Don't mess with him.
Ponniyan Silvan - PS because that's the movie title. I'm not here to make your life more confusing than mine is.
Nandini - Nandini. This is so simple and beautiful. Thank you Nandini. Aishwarya's character
Vanthiyathevan - Vannar Boi because he's from the Vannar clan.
Kundavai - Kundavai is short enough. FYI - I'm not sexist, but I'm definitely playing favorites LMAO. Trisha's character
I'm not even gonna go through the rest.
TL;DWR: Movie: 4/5 stars; Aishu: 2.5-3/5 stars; Trisha: 4.5/5; Fellow Audience: 2/5 (I'm sour about this, and I need to rant)
Movie: 4/5
The movie is like most other historical-related movies. Songs are few and somewhat tie into the story, so there are less distractions so to say. But I think there was one main flaws to this:
1) The introduction wasn't enough to familiarize myself the characters, who they represented, which side they represented, etc. Coming from someone who doesn't know much about Chola/Pandya history, I legit struggled for two main reasons during the FIRST hour of the film (and mind you, it's a 3ish hour film).
a) Too many characters were introduced with long names, nicknames and it was difficult to follow everyone and their relationships.
b) The Pandyas really aren't the focus. All I caught during the intro was something about Chola v Pandya and then a war scene where I incorrectly presumed the movie was initially about Pandyas trying to win over Cholas and Cholas's story of them fighting back.
c) Just to throw it in there - the first hour was a bit of a bore.
That being said, the film did keep my attention once things began to click and make sense after the first hour. The way the film is styled - there's always overlapping things going on that get clarity at random points. For example, they might show something about a character, give more details somewhere down the line (making you think X), and then clarify that (making you realize that it's Y). I do like that type of style because it makes it hard to guess. But it is confusing AF. Heck, what I wrote sounded confusing too.
Anyway, once PS is introduced, the movie **significantly** improves. The pace is better, it's less confusing, etc. But he gets introduced later on in the movie.
The sets were very lavish and I absolutely adored both Nandini and Kundavai's attire, jewelry, and overall look whenever they both appeared on the screen. The guys were mostly all warriors, so their looks were crude and raw to fit that appearance - nothing much to see there.
TRISHA * AISHWARYA
The two full moons of the film ... I think there are two main things to say:
First - Aishwarya's role as Nandini doesn't have much development I feel. I think she might shine more during PS-2 (think Anushka Shetty's role in Bahubali 1 versus Bahubali 2). There were instances where her scenes felt cut short (like chopped up bits) and I didn't really like that. I couldn't fully engross myself in her character.
Second - Trisha's role as Kundavai was amazing. I loved loved loved Trisha as this regal princess with political acumen. She managed to hold her own and have a captivating presence whenever she was on screen.
So let's break it down into two categories:
Looks - Hands down Aishwarya. Trisha looked great, no doubt, but there's just something about Aishwarya that screams beauty whenever she dons ancient, royal getup that Trisha can't really match. I just feel like it suits Aishwarya more. Thus, even when both women together, I felt Aishwarya had the more captivating presence. Admittedly, her age did show at times - there was one scene where I really noticed it - but overall, she was so so beautiful, enchanting, amazing.
Acting - Hands down Trisha for the most consistent acting, but Aishwarya fluctuated badly because there were a few scenes where Aishwarya let me down IMMENSELY (and a few scenes where she really surprised me). I was expecting more from a particular scene, but I couldn't read her emotions clearly - it was like she was frozen. Like I mentioned above, both characters have a different role. Trisha is playing the role of a princess; Aishwarya is playing the role of the young wife of the Treasurer guy. Trisha commanded the screen as cool and composed and shrewd and cunning whenever she was there. Aishwarya felt frozen at times giving blank expressions, not emoting. There were NUMEROUS instances where I was disappointed in her because she wasn't acting like what the scene was implying - if a scene required her to be seductive ... I got tame and subtle. I really wanted her to be raw and grrrrr and oooof, but it fell short. Now that I think about it, most of her acting felt tame and subtle. I don't want to compare her to Jodhaa, but Jodhaa is LEAGUES ahead of Nandini just based on how Aishwarya emotes during these two films.
So that's that.
LOCAL AUDIENCE
I need to vent because these little fookers were annoying. The lady (EDIT: named “Purshottam” after FF made up a name for people who use their phone during the movie - see the next page 🤣) in front of me kept checking her phone for messages and god knows what. She opened WhatsApp like a million times. And not even on low brightness. Noooo. This inconsiderate blind bat had the brightness super high. She didn't even type anything. Heck, half the time she'd just unlock her phone and stare at the damn home screen of icons as if it was talking to her.
Then we had some other woman who probably dropped her phone or something during the last show ... so she brought in an usher to help her look for it during the damn movie. Bruh. YOU NOTICED YOUR PHONE WAS GONE AN HOUR INTO THE NEXT FILM STARTING. So the guy sitting in that seat decided to help her look for her phone and turned on his phone flashlight to look for it. The usher went to the other side of the row to look for the phone (like buddy, do you think the phone grew legs and crawled to the opposite end of a long ass 18-20 seat aisle? No.). And to make things even worse, this old coot thought it was appropriate to have someone (probably the guy who was sitting in that space) to call her phone so it rings. And it did ring.
ALL OF THIS WHEN AISHWARYA WAS BEING INTRODUCED. And not even an apology to the rest of us who she disturbed. LIKE WE WERE GONNA FIGHT IF SHE DIDN'T LEAVE (she found her phone and left right when Aishwarya's intro scene ended).
ANYWAY BACK TO THE MOVIE
The summary: Be prepared to be confused AF with the boring storytelling and characters for half the movie. There are some comedic moments, there are some good scenes ... but it significantly gets better during the second half. It's worth the watch because it's still a really good film ... you just have to struggle through the first hour or so.
comment:
p_commentcount