Actor Kamal Haasan watched Mani Ratnam‘s Ponniyin Selvan 1 at a special screening with the film’s lead actors Karthi and Vikram recently. After the screening, the actor addressed the media and spoke about the film and its achievement. He said, “I am happy as if I have made this film. It’s true in a sense because Tamil cinema has made this film. I was awed by the film as a fan, and I think Tamil cinema fans will feel the same about the film. At the beginning of the film, there’s a voiceover about the ‘Golden era’… in my voice. I want to recall it now. I think it is the Golden era of Tamil cinema, and as a Tamil artist and filmmaker, I feel immensely proud of it.”
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He added, “Healthy competition and jealousy are good in a way, but there’s no real happiness in rejoicing in the fall of another person because we all are sailing on this ship. And if it sinks, I will also go down with it. If this film wins, I know I will also get a small share of its success.”
Earlier, at the audio launch of Ponniyin Selvan, Kamal Haasan said that he wanted to make Ponniyin Selvan back in the 90s. He also revealed that he wanted to play the role of Vallavarayan Vanthiyathevan (Karthi’s role in PS1). Now, speaking about the same, Kamal said, “As I said before, I wanted to play Vanthiyathevan, and Sivaji sir said I should do Karikalan role. I think the actors have done great work. I know how hard it is to capture those war sequences.”
On a lighter note, Kamal said, “Like how I am celebrating this film, I want all these actors to celebrate my film. If its only average, I want them to tell it to me secretly and not out to the public (laughs).”
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Directed by Mani Ratnam, Ponniyin Selvan 1, the film is based on the historical fiction novel of Kalki Krishnamoorthy about the titular character, who is popularly known as Raja Raja Cholan. Trish, Aishwarya Rai, Jayaram, Aishwarya Lekshmi are other actors who are part of the film.
