Ponnar Shankar (film)
Encyclopedia
Ponnar Shankar is a 2011 Indian epic film directed by Thiagarajan. It is a fictionalised account of the Ponnar Shankar epic, adapted from M. Karunanidhi
s novel of the same name. It features Thiagarajan's son Prashanth in lead dual roles as warrior princes, portraying the titular characters, with actresses Pooja Chopra
and Divya Parameshwaran
making their film debuts as princesses. The film also features an extensive cast of supporting actors with Prabhu Ganesan
, Napoleon, Prakash Raj
, Jayaram
, Sneha and Kushboo amongst others. The background score and soundtrack of the film, composed by Ilaiyaraaja
, was released on 27 March 2011.
Filming, although significantly delayed, began in August 2009 at Valluvar Kottam
in Chennai
, where an ancient township film set with temples, forts, a lake and palaces had been built. The film's producers encountered difficulties in making prompt payments to its crew that consisted of more than 1000 members during the filming in the forests of Pollachi
. The filming then shifted to Guindy National Park
in Chennai, with the battle sequences shot in Kerala
and Karnataka
.
Prior to its release, the film drew criticism from the Kongu Nadu Munnetra Kazhagam (KMK) Party with an unsuccessful petition filed at Madras High Court
seeking a ban on the film, claiming that it portrayed the traditional deities of the gounder community in a bad light. The film was released on April 9, 2011 to a mixed response from critics. The film was generally praised for its cinematography and art direction but was criticised for having a weak plot and character deficiencies.
custom). Periyamalaikozhundhu disowns his daughter for choosing Nellaiyankondan and banishes them from his kingdom.
Many years later, Mayavar (Nasser), a chieftain of a village in Periyamalaikozhundhu's kingdom, encounters twin brothers Ponnar and Sankar (both played by Prashanth), who are being tutored in martial arts by Rakki Annan (Raj Kiran). Ponnar and Sankar are valorous and compassionate to the sufferings of the poor. One day, the twins save two sisters, Muthayi (Pooja Chopra) and Pavalayi (Dhivya Parameshwaran), from death. The girls are later revealed to be daughters of Chinna Malaikozhundhu. Impressed with Ponnar and Sankar's valour, Chinna Malaikozhundhu agrees to marry his daughters off to them.
A flashback reveals that Ponnar and Sankar are actually Thamarai's sons and that Rakki, who was then a servant of Nellaiyankondan, had saved the twins as small children from Mandhiyappan. Mandhiyappan had attempted to avenge himself on Thamarai for rejecting his hand in marriage. He learns that the twins are still alive and hatches a conspiracy to kill them. He tricks Kali Mannan (Napolean) and Thamarai's father into helping him. This leads to an intense battle which ends with good prevailing over evil.
chieftains, were rulers of the Ponni valanadu (now in the Tiruchirappalli area), in medieval Tamilnadu. They were said to be in good terms with the Madurai
ruler, Vijaya Renga Chokkanathar (1706 - 1732 A. D), who was their contemporary. The legendary folk tale
of these brothers, also known as Annamar Swamigal, has been passed down through many generations by means of village songs (known as Gramiya Padalgal) and traditional street theatre, known as Therukkoothu. Absence of reliable written historical records makes it difficult to ascertain the credibility of any of the above claims, along with the widely held legend which was popularised by a late 1980's M Karunanidhi's novel on the subject. According to the legend, the brothers were born to Periyakaralanaka Mannudaiyak Kounden and Thamaraiyal of Manamadurai, belonging to the Kongu Vellalar
community. They had attained the kingdom with help from the then king of Urayur
, which was the capital of early Cholas. Thalaiyur Kali, a neighbouring country king belonging to the rival Vettuva Gounder
caste
, hatched a conspiracy against the brothers which led to a war and the subsequent death of Shankar who was tricked into proving his innocence by falling over a sword. Grieving the loss of his brother, Ponnar entered the battlefield, killing Kali Mannan, before proceeding to kill himself . The brothers were then brought to life by their sister Arukaani with help from the Goddess Periyakandiamman. The brothers, however, were told by the Gods that their earthly duties were over which led to their leaving the mortal world. Arukaani followed suit by throwing herself along with her royal ornaments into a well in Valanadu, a village in Trichy.
A temple was later erected in the spot(which falls in the present day Veerappur) where Shankar died, with Periyakandiamman as the presiding diety. There is also a belief that the well in Sadayandi Thoppu, near Veerappur, in which Arukaani drowned herself, still has her gold ornaments. This story has been the subject of poems, songs and a Tamil
historical novel by M. Karunanidhi
. Karunanidhi's novel drew inspiration from a 1971 work written by Kavignar Sakthikanal, who had researched and documented the references to Ponnar and Shankar in the ancient palm leaves he came across at Manapparai
. Today the brothers are worshipped as tutelar deities by people belonging to Kongu Vellalar
community as a tribute to the brave way the brothers defended their kingdom
At the launch of the film in July 2009, Thiagarajan announced that 36 prominent actors would play lead roles with a hundred others in supporting roles. The invitation cards for the launch had 3D holographic designs which won the Sappi
awards of the year 2009. Aishwarya Rai
and Deepika Padukone
were initially considered for the female lead roles, before Miss India
2009 Pooja Chopra
and Divya Parameshwaran
accepted the roles. The producers initially listed Sathyaraj in its cast, later replaced by Prabhu
. Approximately 5000 junior artists
and 1000 artists from the annual Chennai Sangamam
had reportedly taken part in the film. For music, Thiagarajan approached A. R. Rahman
in 2008 who declined the offer, and Ilaiyaraaja
eventually replaced him. Muthuraj was selected as the art director for the film and Shaji Kumar as cinematographer while Prashanth took care of visual effects.
The film ran into production trouble in mid 2010 and was close to being shelved
, with sources reporting that Thiagarajan sold the film to Santiago Martin to revive the project. The reports proved to be untrue, and Thiagarajan maintained that he was still the producer of the film. The film had also begun to surpass its budget, due to the casual nature of shooting and difficulties in creating historical sets. The first shots from the film and the video for three songs were unveiled publicly in March 2011, with the publicity campaign initiated after this.
in Chennai
, where an entire ancient township film set with temples, forts, a lake and palaces was created. Scenes containing actor and politician Napolean
as the historical figure Thalaiyoor Kaali were shot there first. Thereafter, scenes featuring Jayaram
and Kushboo were filmed, portraying characters which were considerably younger than they are in real life. Prashanth revealed that portraying a dual role meant that he was forced to change his costumes up to forty times a day in order portray the twin brothers' differences correctly. In March 2010, Sneha was roped in to play Arukaani, sister of the warrior twins, and her scenes were filmed.
The climax scenes of the film were shot in the deserts of Rajasthan
in February 2011. The final phase of filming was going on in the forests of Pollachi
with elephants and horses resembling the region in the 1500s, when the production team couldn't make prompt payments onsite to the onsite crew that consisted of more than 1000 members. The displeasure shown by the crew threatened to disrupt the filming process. Karunanidhi, the writer, visited the sets of the film in a Vadapalani
studio in February 2011 to peruse over the scenes that had been shot at the time, and the filming then moved on to Guindy National Park
in Chennai
. The four battle sequences in the movie were shot in Perambalur
, near Trichy and Warangal
in Andhra Pradesh
. The scene in Trichy took 28 days to complete, with 30,000 junior artists used as soldiers along with 3000 horses and another battle scene was shot underwater. A few scenes in the film were reshot after the criticism it received at its premiere that Prashanth's characters showed no emotions at the death of their parents.
to raise support of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
(DMK) Party, led by the film's writer, M. Karunanidhi. Criticism mounted against Karunanidhi for being more involved in his artistic pursuits than in his Chief Ministerial duties as the elections approached. Prior to release, the film also drew criticism from the Kongu Nadu Munnetra Kazhagam (KMK) Party claiming that the film portrayed the traditional deities of the gounder community in a bad light, showing them dancing with semi-nude women. Leading figures from the party wrote to the Central Board of Film Certification
(CBFC) to ban the film, holding the promotional material used for the movie as evidence. When they received no response from CBFC, a petition was filed at Madras High Court
, seeking its ban under Article 226 of the Indian constitution. The petition was dismissed, given that Article 226 can only be used by a court on a body that falls within its jurisdiction.
The film was released on April 9, 2011, four days before the election. It received a lukewarm response at the box office, opening at 14 theatres in Chennai where it collected in the first three days. After a two week run it collected from Chennai, and was declared "average" by trade pundits.
's movies), yet was criticised for its weak storyline and continuity problem. The Times of India
praised the "terrific" art direction and Shaji Kumar's cinematography but stated that there were far "too many gaps in the story to ensure that the movie never rises above its mediocrity and ends up being an epic disappointment", giving it two out of five stars. Thinakaran and Nakkheeeran
compared the grandeur of the film to that of S. Shankar
, noted for making high budget films in Tamil. Eelam Press gave it a positive review, lauding on all aspects of the film, particularly the film's war scenes, highlighting that by using contemporary Tamil, instead of its ancient counterpart in its dialogues, the audience could better relate to it.
Malathi Rangarajan's review (The Hindu
) was fair, labelling the film an "alluring canvas", praising the opulent sets, locations, rich costumes and imposing cast, yet noted that it was "too short to negate the many loopholes". Divya Parameshwaran
was appreciated in her debut role, while Pooja Chopra
was credited as being "attractive too, but [her] expressions needed some honing". Though Prashanth
's stunt acts were appreciated, Rangarajan pointed out his character flaws, such as minimal expressions which were "barely a smirk" in the initial scenes, and the distinct lack of distinguishable traits between the twin characters he depicted. He also highlighted the lack of logic in Periyamalai Gounder's (Vijay Kumar) animosity towards his daughter Thamarai (Kushboo) and the cheerful appearance of Thamarai when she must have been sad and heartbroken in the wedding scene with Prakashraj. Vikatan
stated that the only good aspects of the movie were its expensive sets and its avoidance of boring archaic Tamil dialogues, common in other period films in Tamil, giving it a rating of 41 points out of 100.
's 2008 picture Jodha Akbar. It went on that "historical accuracy had been thrown to the winds" and that there were no references to actual places, kings or time periods. The Times of India pointed out the historical inconsistencies, such as the presence of a British
constructed dam in a scene while the film is set in pre-colonial period, "wire stunts of Prashanth in action sequences", revealing costumes donned by the leading ladies and also the bamboo dance sequence in the movie which is actually native to Nagaland
. It summed that the movie lacks attention to detail which is a necessary feature of historical movies. The New Indian Express called it a "pseudo historical". Kavignar Sakthikanal, whose 1971 work was the basis for Karunanidhi's novel, observed that the inaccuracies originated from the novel itself due its usage of literary devices
like exaggeration
. He further stated that Ponnar and Shankar remained celibate throughout their lives while in the movie they were shown romancing with immodestly dressed women. They married only to avenge the ill treatment meted out to their mother and promptly sent their newly wed wives to prison denying coital relations with them, he added. Also, in the movie the titular characters were not shown committing suicide as in Sakthikanal and Karunanidhi's version, but rather were depicted emerging victorious from the war alive.
. The album was released on March 27, 2011 at the Prasad Lab Studios in Chennai
with Karunanidhi presiding over the event. The soundtrack album consists of six tracks, with four of them sung by Shreya Ghoshal. The film initially had a track about the glories of Kongu Vellalar
which was removed later during the editing process. One of its tracks, Annanmaar Kathai belongs to the Tamil folk
genre. The song Kannai Padithaen received a special mention in The Hindu newspaper where it was cited as "simply melodious and rings in ones ears for long". The soundtrack received a negative review by Rediff, which stated that the "tunes were all generic" and that the operatic background score did not gel well with the movie's subject. It summed that "Ilaiyaraja had just skimmed the bare bones of his usually fulfilling musical compositions". There was also a review in Thinakaran on the inappropriateness of the film's tracks as the reviewer felt they were ill-suited to the film's historical themes.
M. Karunanidhi
Muthuvel Karunanidhi is an Indian politician and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N...
s novel of the same name. It features Thiagarajan's son Prashanth in lead dual roles as warrior princes, portraying the titular characters, with actresses Pooja Chopra
Pooja Chopra
Pooja Chopra is a beauty pageant titleholder, from Pune City. She is Pantaloons Femina Miss India World 2009. She was also a semifinalist at Miss World and won the Beauty With A Purpose award at Miss World 2009 in Johannesburg, South Africa....
and Divya Parameshwaran
Divya Parameshwaran
Divya Parameshwaran is an Indian film actress and a model who has appeared in a Tamil film and several notable commercials. Beginning her career by appearing in several prominent advertisements, Divya has gone on to appear in a critically acclaimed period film, Ponnar Shankar, winning praise for...
making their film debuts as princesses. The film also features an extensive cast of supporting actors with Prabhu Ganesan
Prabhu Ganesan
Prabhu Ganesan is a Tamil film actor and producer. He is the son of veteran actor Sivaji Ganesan.-Personal life:A native of Tamil Nadu, Prabhu was born to Sivaji and Kamala Ganesan. He has an elder brother Ramkumar Ganesan who is a film producer, and two sisters, Shanthi and Thenmozhi. He did his...
, Napoleon, Prakash Raj
Prakash Raj
Prakash Raj , better known by his stage name Prakash Raj, is a National Award winning actor, director and producer who has worked in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Malayalam films. Though he was born in a Tulu family he achieved fame through Kannada, Tamil and Telugu films. He got introduced to...
, Jayaram
Jayaram
Jayaram is an Indian film actor who mainly acts in Malayalam and Tamil films. He is also a chenda percussionist and mimic artist. In 2011, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for his contribution towards the arts.-Early life:...
, Sneha and Kushboo amongst others. The background score and soundtrack of the film, composed by Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja is an Indian film composer, singer, and lyricist mainly in the Tamil film Industry. He is regarded as one of the finest music composers in India. Ilaiyaraaja is also an instrumentalist, conductor, and a songwriter...
, was released on 27 March 2011.
Filming, although significantly delayed, began in August 2009 at Valluvar Kottam
Valluvar Kottam
Valluvar Kottam is a modern landmark in Chennai, India which is dedicated to the classical Tamil poet, philosopher and saint Thiruvalluvar. Valluvar Kottam is located at the intersection of the Kodambakkam High road and the Village road, was constructed by Kalainger M.Karunanidhi - the then Chief...
in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, where an ancient township film set with temples, forts, a lake and palaces had been built. The film's producers encountered difficulties in making prompt payments to its crew that consisted of more than 1000 members during the filming in the forests of Pollachi
Pollachi
Pollachi is a taluk of Coimbatore Rural district of the Tamil Nadu state of India. It lies in the southern part of the Coimbatore city around 40 kilometres from downtown Coimbatore. This is the second largest town in the District after Corporation of Coimbatore. Owing to the proximity to the...
. The filming then shifted to Guindy National Park
Guindy National Park
Guindy National Park is a Protected area of Tamil Nadu, located in Chennai, South India, is the 8th smallest National Park of India and one of the very few national parks situated inside a city. The park is an extension of the grounds surrounding Raj Bhavan, formerly known as the 'Guindy Lodge',...
in Chennai, with the battle sequences shot in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
and Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
.
Prior to its release, the film drew criticism from the Kongu Nadu Munnetra Kazhagam (KMK) Party with an unsuccessful petition filed at Madras High Court
Madras High Court
The Madras High Court is a senior court located at Chennai , in India. The court buildings, which are believed to be the second largest judicial complex in the world, are located near the beach, in one of the city's major business districts....
seeking a ban on the film, claiming that it portrayed the traditional deities of the gounder community in a bad light. The film was released on April 9, 2011 to a mixed response from critics. The film was generally praised for its cinematography and art direction but was criticised for having a weak plot and character deficiencies.
Plot
A love affair between Thamarai (Kushboo) and her maternal uncle Nellaiyankondan (Jayaram) is badly received by their family, especially since he is not financially well off. Thamarai's father, King Periyamalaikozhundhu Gounder (Vijayakumar), arranges for her marriage to Mandhiyappan (Prakashraj), ruler of a neighbouring country. Thamarai rejects the arranged marriage, angering Mandhiyappan. She later marries her lover, who had come to see her marry Mandhiyappan, and challenges her brother Chinna Malaikozhundhu (Ponvannan) to marry his daughters off to her sons (the marriage of cousins is a gounderKongu Vellalar
Gounders also known as Kongu Vellalars are Kshatriyas native to the western region of Tamil Nadu known as Kongu Nadu. They were known as a noble, feudal and land owning caste of Tamil Nadu from the Sangam age...
custom). Periyamalaikozhundhu disowns his daughter for choosing Nellaiyankondan and banishes them from his kingdom.
Many years later, Mayavar (Nasser), a chieftain of a village in Periyamalaikozhundhu's kingdom, encounters twin brothers Ponnar and Sankar (both played by Prashanth), who are being tutored in martial arts by Rakki Annan (Raj Kiran). Ponnar and Sankar are valorous and compassionate to the sufferings of the poor. One day, the twins save two sisters, Muthayi (Pooja Chopra) and Pavalayi (Dhivya Parameshwaran), from death. The girls are later revealed to be daughters of Chinna Malaikozhundhu. Impressed with Ponnar and Sankar's valour, Chinna Malaikozhundhu agrees to marry his daughters off to them.
A flashback reveals that Ponnar and Sankar are actually Thamarai's sons and that Rakki, who was then a servant of Nellaiyankondan, had saved the twins as small children from Mandhiyappan. Mandhiyappan had attempted to avenge himself on Thamarai for rejecting his hand in marriage. He learns that the twins are still alive and hatches a conspiracy to kill them. He tricks Kali Mannan (Napolean) and Thamarai's father into helping him. This leads to an intense battle which ends with good prevailing over evil.
Cast
- Prashanth as Ponnar and Shankar, the twin brothers
- Pooja ChopraPooja ChopraPooja Chopra is a beauty pageant titleholder, from Pune City. She is Pantaloons Femina Miss India World 2009. She was also a semifinalist at Miss World and won the Beauty With A Purpose award at Miss World 2009 in Johannesburg, South Africa....
as Muthaayi, Ponnar's love interest - Divya ParameshwaranDivya ParameshwaranDivya Parameshwaran is an Indian film actress and a model who has appeared in a Tamil film and several notable commercials. Beginning her career by appearing in several prominent advertisements, Divya has gone on to appear in a critically acclaimed period film, Ponnar Shankar, winning praise for...
as Pavalaayi, Shankar's love interest - Sneha as Arukkaani Thangam, Ponnar and Shankar's sister
- Prakash RajPrakash RajPrakash Raj , better known by his stage name Prakash Raj, is a National Award winning actor, director and producer who has worked in Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi and Malayalam films. Though he was born in a Tulu family he achieved fame through Kannada, Tamil and Telugu films. He got introduced to...
as Manthiappan, the rival king who schemes to bring down Ponnar and Shankar - PrabhuPrabhu GanesanPrabhu Ganesan is a Tamil film actor and producer. He is the son of veteran actor Sivaji Ganesan.-Personal life:A native of Tamil Nadu, Prabhu was born to Sivaji and Kamala Ganesan. He has an elder brother Ramkumar Ganesan who is a film producer, and two sisters, Shanthi and Thenmozhi. He did his...
as the Chola King who is an ally to Ponnar and Shankar - JayaramJayaramJayaram is an Indian film actor who mainly acts in Malayalam and Tamil films. He is also a chenda percussionist and mimic artist. In 2011, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for his contribution towards the arts.-Early life:...
as Nellian Kodan, Ponnar and Shankar's father - Kushboo as Thamarai Nachiyar, Ponnar and Shankar's mother
- NassarNassarNassar is a Tamil actor, producer, writer, director, lyricist, and singer. He has appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi and English films. He is often cited as part of India's specialist character actors, along with the likes of Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri and Nana Patekar...
as Mayavar, village chieftain in Thamarai's dad's kingdom - RajkiranRajkiranRajKiran is a film actor, producer and director, who has acted in more than 150 Tamil films.-Film career:...
as Raaki Annan, Nellian's servant - Napoleon as Thalaiyoor Kaali, an ally to Mandhiyappan
- VijayakumarVijayakumarVijayakumar is a Tamil actor and politician. Along with predominant work in Tamil cinema since 1973, he has acted in a few Hindi and Telugu movies. As of 2009, he is acting in the television serial, Thangam, aired on Sun TV.-Early life:...
as Periyamalai Kozhundu, Thamarai's father - PonvannanPonvannanPonvannan is an Indian film actor, who has played supporting roles throughout his career. He directed the award-winning film, Jamila. He is married to fellow actor, Saranya.- Tamil TV Serials -...
as Chinnamalai Kozhundu, Thamarai's brother - Bharat Dabholkar as Thirumalai
- Riyaz KhanRiyaz KhanRiyaz Khan is a Malayalam actor who has acted in several Malayalam and Telugu films. He debuted in the Malayalam film Sugham Sughakaram directed by Balachandra Menon. Later he went on to act in Tamil and Telugu films. After many years, he came back to the Malayalam film industry acting in Balettan...
as Vaiyamperumal, Chinnamalai's son - Lakshmi Ramakrishnan as Silambayi, Chinnamalai's wife
- SeethaSeetha (actress)Seetha is a Tamil film actress. When she began her career in the 1980s, she would usually act in lead roles of films. She was also the wife of actor Parthiban and mother of P. S. Keerthana. She divorced Parthiban for unknown reasons and is now acting in Television Serials and in supporting...
as Azhagu Nachiyar - SukumariSukumariSukumari is an Indian film actress who has primarily acted in Malayalam and Tamil films. She has been acting since she was 10 years old and has acted in various roles. The total number of her films is presumed to be about two-thousand. In 2003, she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of...
as Vaanayi - Ponnambalam as Thalapathi
- Raj Kapoor
- Santhana BharathiSanthana BharathiSanthana Bharathi is a popular Tamil language film celebrity in Kollywood, the Tamil film industry in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. He has directed several films such as Guna and the National Film Award winner, Mahanadhi...
- Delhi GaneshDelhi GaneshDelhi Ganesh born in Tirunelveli as a veteran Tamil film actor, who mostly acts in supporting roles and is perhaps best known for his role in Kamal Hassan comedies and films like Nayagan and Michael Madana Kama Rajan. He has acted in more than 400 films from 1980 to present...
- BhanuMuktha Elsa GeorgeMuktha Elsa George, known mononymously as Muktha or by her stage name Bhanu, is an Indian film actress hailing from Kerala. She has acted in a number of Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu language films.-Career:...
in a special appearance
Historical background
Ponnar and Shankar, believed to be CheraChera dynasty
Chera Dynasty in South India is one of the most ancient ruling dynasties in India. Together with the Cholas and the Pandyas, they formed the three principle warring Iron Age Tamil kingdoms in southern India...
chieftains, were rulers of the Ponni valanadu (now in the Tiruchirappalli area), in medieval Tamilnadu. They were said to be in good terms with the Madurai
Madurai
Madurai is the third largest city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It served as the capital city of the Pandyan Kingdom. It is the administrative headquarters of Madurai District and is famous for its temples built by Pandyan and...
ruler, Vijaya Renga Chokkanathar (1706 - 1732 A. D), who was their contemporary. The legendary folk tale
Ponnar Shankar
Ponnar and Shankar, who became rulers of Ponni Valanadu in medieval Tamil Nadu, South India, were twin sons of a Kongu Vellalar couple, Nellian Kodan and his wife Thamarai...
of these brothers, also known as Annamar Swamigal, has been passed down through many generations by means of village songs (known as Gramiya Padalgal) and traditional street theatre, known as Therukkoothu. Absence of reliable written historical records makes it difficult to ascertain the credibility of any of the above claims, along with the widely held legend which was popularised by a late 1980's M Karunanidhi's novel on the subject. According to the legend, the brothers were born to Periyakaralanaka Mannudaiyak Kounden and Thamaraiyal of Manamadurai, belonging to the Kongu Vellalar
Kongu Vellalar
Gounders also known as Kongu Vellalars are Kshatriyas native to the western region of Tamil Nadu known as Kongu Nadu. They were known as a noble, feudal and land owning caste of Tamil Nadu from the Sangam age...
community. They had attained the kingdom with help from the then king of Urayur
Urayur
Urayur , located near the city of Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu, India, was the capital of the early Cholas, who were one of the three main kingdoms of the ancient Tamil country. Sometimes spelled as Uraiyur, this location is also known as Thirukkozhi, Nikalaapuri, Uranthai, and Kozhiyur. It has a...
, which was the capital of early Cholas. Thalaiyur Kali, a neighbouring country king belonging to the rival Vettuva Gounder
Vettuva Gounder
Gounders or Vettuva Gounders, are also known as Vettuva Goundan and Vettuvar, are members of an Indian caste with a primarily agricultural family background. Their origins lie in the Kongu Nadu region of Tamil Nadu. The Vettuva Gounders are descendants of Siva Baktha Kannappa Nayanar...
caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
, hatched a conspiracy against the brothers which led to a war and the subsequent death of Shankar who was tricked into proving his innocence by falling over a sword. Grieving the loss of his brother, Ponnar entered the battlefield, killing Kali Mannan, before proceeding to kill himself . The brothers were then brought to life by their sister Arukaani with help from the Goddess Periyakandiamman. The brothers, however, were told by the Gods that their earthly duties were over which led to their leaving the mortal world. Arukaani followed suit by throwing herself along with her royal ornaments into a well in Valanadu, a village in Trichy.
A temple was later erected in the spot(which falls in the present day Veerappur) where Shankar died, with Periyakandiamman as the presiding diety. There is also a belief that the well in Sadayandi Thoppu, near Veerappur, in which Arukaani drowned herself, still has her gold ornaments. This story has been the subject of poems, songs and a Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
historical novel by M. Karunanidhi
M. Karunanidhi
Muthuvel Karunanidhi is an Indian politician and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N...
. Karunanidhi's novel drew inspiration from a 1971 work written by Kavignar Sakthikanal, who had researched and documented the references to Ponnar and Shankar in the ancient palm leaves he came across at Manapparai
Manapparai
Manapparai is a town and a municipality in Tiruchirappalli district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Manapparai is the headquarters of the Manapparai Taluk-Demographics:...
. Today the brothers are worshipped as tutelar deities by people belonging to Kongu Vellalar
Kongu Vellalar
Gounders also known as Kongu Vellalars are Kshatriyas native to the western region of Tamil Nadu known as Kongu Nadu. They were known as a noble, feudal and land owning caste of Tamil Nadu from the Sangam age...
community as a tribute to the brave way the brothers defended their kingdom
Development
In early 2007, Thiagarajan approached M. Karunanidhi with the intention of making a film on his adaptation of the Ponnar Shankar epic that he had written in the late 1970s. The latter accepted Thiagarajan's offer and approved of his decision to cast his son, Prashanth, in the dual lead roles. In July 2008, the project was officially announced in a press meet. The film subsequently began pre-production, with Thyagarajan opting to produce the film under his Sri Lakshmi Shanthi Films banner. The preliminary stages of the production took more than a year, with story-boarding, costume designs and colossal set designs all being finalized. Prashanth revealed that extensive research about the time period alone took a year and a half.At the launch of the film in July 2009, Thiagarajan announced that 36 prominent actors would play lead roles with a hundred others in supporting roles. The invitation cards for the launch had 3D holographic designs which won the Sappi
Sappi
Sappi Limited is a global pulp and paper company group.Sappi is a producer of coated fine paper and chemical cellulose. The company conducts its business through three business units: Sappi Fine Paper, Sappi Forest Products and Sappi Trading....
awards of the year 2009. Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an Indian film actress. She worked as a model before starting her acting career, and ultimately won the Miss World pageant in 1994...
and Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone
Deepika Padukone is an Indian actress and a former model. She appears mostly in Hindi as well as Tamil and Kannada language films. Born to Badminton player Prakash Padukone, she chose to become an actress and not pursue a career in sports.Padukone made her acting debut in the 2006 Kannada film...
were initially considered for the female lead roles, before Miss India
Miss India
Miss India or Femina Miss India is a national beauty pageant in India, one of the most recognized contests to produce international beauty queens in the 90s, which annually selects three winners to compete globally. It is organized by Femina, a women's magazine published by Bennett, Coleman & Co...
2009 Pooja Chopra
Pooja Chopra
Pooja Chopra is a beauty pageant titleholder, from Pune City. She is Pantaloons Femina Miss India World 2009. She was also a semifinalist at Miss World and won the Beauty With A Purpose award at Miss World 2009 in Johannesburg, South Africa....
and Divya Parameshwaran
Divya Parameshwaran
Divya Parameshwaran is an Indian film actress and a model who has appeared in a Tamil film and several notable commercials. Beginning her career by appearing in several prominent advertisements, Divya has gone on to appear in a critically acclaimed period film, Ponnar Shankar, winning praise for...
accepted the roles. The producers initially listed Sathyaraj in its cast, later replaced by Prabhu
Prabhu Ganesan
Prabhu Ganesan is a Tamil film actor and producer. He is the son of veteran actor Sivaji Ganesan.-Personal life:A native of Tamil Nadu, Prabhu was born to Sivaji and Kamala Ganesan. He has an elder brother Ramkumar Ganesan who is a film producer, and two sisters, Shanthi and Thenmozhi. He did his...
. Approximately 5000 junior artists
Extra (actor)
A background actor or extra is a performer in a film, television show, stage, musical, opera or ballet production, who appears in a nonspeaking, nonsinging or nondancing capacity, usually in the background...
and 1000 artists from the annual Chennai Sangamam
Chennai Sangamam
Chennai Sangamam is a large annual open Tamil cultural festival held in the city of Chennai. The festival is organized by the Tamil Maiyam and Department of Tourism and Culture of the Government of Tamil Nadu with the intention of rejuvenating the old village festivals, art and artists...
had reportedly taken part in the film. For music, Thiagarajan approached A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
in 2008 who declined the offer, and Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja is an Indian film composer, singer, and lyricist mainly in the Tamil film Industry. He is regarded as one of the finest music composers in India. Ilaiyaraaja is also an instrumentalist, conductor, and a songwriter...
eventually replaced him. Muthuraj was selected as the art director for the film and Shaji Kumar as cinematographer while Prashanth took care of visual effects.
The film ran into production trouble in mid 2010 and was close to being shelved
Shelved
In politics, the term can be used for policy drafts, that have never been officially brought into legislation.In the film industry, a film is considered shelved if it is not released for public viewing after filming has started, or even completed....
, with sources reporting that Thiagarajan sold the film to Santiago Martin to revive the project. The reports proved to be untrue, and Thiagarajan maintained that he was still the producer of the film. The film had also begun to surpass its budget, due to the casual nature of shooting and difficulties in creating historical sets. The first shots from the film and the video for three songs were unveiled publicly in March 2011, with the publicity campaign initiated after this.
Filming
Filming commenced on July 12, 2009 at Valluvar KottamValluvar Kottam
Valluvar Kottam is a modern landmark in Chennai, India which is dedicated to the classical Tamil poet, philosopher and saint Thiruvalluvar. Valluvar Kottam is located at the intersection of the Kodambakkam High road and the Village road, was constructed by Kalainger M.Karunanidhi - the then Chief...
in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, where an entire ancient township film set with temples, forts, a lake and palaces was created. Scenes containing actor and politician Napolean
Napolean (actor)
Kumaresan Duraisamy , better known by his stage name Napoleon , is a Tamil film actor, politician and the founder and chairman of the Jeevan Technologies. As of 27 May 2009, He is a Minister of State in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Cabinet...
as the historical figure Thalaiyoor Kaali were shot there first. Thereafter, scenes featuring Jayaram
Jayaram
Jayaram is an Indian film actor who mainly acts in Malayalam and Tamil films. He is also a chenda percussionist and mimic artist. In 2011, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for his contribution towards the arts.-Early life:...
and Kushboo were filmed, portraying characters which were considerably younger than they are in real life. Prashanth revealed that portraying a dual role meant that he was forced to change his costumes up to forty times a day in order portray the twin brothers' differences correctly. In March 2010, Sneha was roped in to play Arukaani, sister of the warrior twins, and her scenes were filmed.
The climax scenes of the film were shot in the deserts of Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
in February 2011. The final phase of filming was going on in the forests of Pollachi
Pollachi
Pollachi is a taluk of Coimbatore Rural district of the Tamil Nadu state of India. It lies in the southern part of the Coimbatore city around 40 kilometres from downtown Coimbatore. This is the second largest town in the District after Corporation of Coimbatore. Owing to the proximity to the...
with elephants and horses resembling the region in the 1500s, when the production team couldn't make prompt payments onsite to the onsite crew that consisted of more than 1000 members. The displeasure shown by the crew threatened to disrupt the filming process. Karunanidhi, the writer, visited the sets of the film in a Vadapalani
Vadapalani
-Murugan Koyil:Built about 125 years back, this much-hallowed and regularly frequented Lord Muruga sannidhi has emerged from a thatched shed, an unostentatious one enshrining a Murugan picture only, and established for itself a name on par with ancient places of worship...
studio in February 2011 to peruse over the scenes that had been shot at the time, and the filming then moved on to Guindy National Park
Guindy National Park
Guindy National Park is a Protected area of Tamil Nadu, located in Chennai, South India, is the 8th smallest National Park of India and one of the very few national parks situated inside a city. The park is an extension of the grounds surrounding Raj Bhavan, formerly known as the 'Guindy Lodge',...
in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
. The four battle sequences in the movie were shot in Perambalur
Perambalur
Perambalur is a district headquarters and a taluk and municipality in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Perambalur District came in to existence after trifurcation of Tiruchirappalli district with effect from 30.09.1995.- Geography :...
, near Trichy and Warangal
Warangal
Warangal is a city and a municipal corporation in Warangal district in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Warangal is located northeast of the state capital of Hyderabad and is the administrative headquarters of Warangal District. This district is a combination of three cities: Warangal,...
in Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
. The scene in Trichy took 28 days to complete, with 30,000 junior artists used as soldiers along with 3000 horses and another battle scene was shot underwater. A few scenes in the film were reshot after the criticism it received at its premiere that Prashanth's characters showed no emotions at the death of their parents.
Release
The film began its publicity campaign in February 2011 with the goal of releasing the film during the period of the 2011 Tamil Nadu legislative assembly electionsTamil Nadu legislative assembly election, 2011
The fourteenth legislative assembly election was held on 13 April 2011 to elect members from 234 constituencies in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Results were released on 13 May 2011...
to raise support of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. It is a Dravidian party founded by C. N. Annadurai as a breakaway faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam headed by Periyar...
(DMK) Party, led by the film's writer, M. Karunanidhi. Criticism mounted against Karunanidhi for being more involved in his artistic pursuits than in his Chief Ministerial duties as the elections approached. Prior to release, the film also drew criticism from the Kongu Nadu Munnetra Kazhagam (KMK) Party claiming that the film portrayed the traditional deities of the gounder community in a bad light, showing them dancing with semi-nude women. Leading figures from the party wrote to the Central Board of Film Certification
Central Board of Film Certification
The Central Board of Film Certification is a Government of India regulatory body and censorship board of India controlled by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It reviews, rates and censors motion pictures, television shows, television ads, and promotional material...
(CBFC) to ban the film, holding the promotional material used for the movie as evidence. When they received no response from CBFC, a petition was filed at Madras High Court
Madras High Court
The Madras High Court is a senior court located at Chennai , in India. The court buildings, which are believed to be the second largest judicial complex in the world, are located near the beach, in one of the city's major business districts....
, seeking its ban under Article 226 of the Indian constitution. The petition was dismissed, given that Article 226 can only be used by a court on a body that falls within its jurisdiction.
The film was released on April 9, 2011, four days before the election. It received a lukewarm response at the box office, opening at 14 theatres in Chennai where it collected in the first three days. After a two week run it collected from Chennai, and was declared "average" by trade pundits.
Reception
The film received a mixed reception from critics. The film was praised for its technical merit and art direction, Shaji Kumar's cinematography, Ilayaraja's re-recording, crisp editing and predominantly colloquial dialogues (unusual for KalaignarM. Karunanidhi
Muthuvel Karunanidhi is an Indian politician and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N...
's movies), yet was criticised for its weak storyline and continuity problem. The Times of India
The Times of India
The Times of India is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. TOI has the largest circulation among all English-language newspaper in the world, across all formats . It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd...
praised the "terrific" art direction and Shaji Kumar's cinematography but stated that there were far "too many gaps in the story to ensure that the movie never rises above its mediocrity and ends up being an epic disappointment", giving it two out of five stars. Thinakaran and Nakkheeeran
Nakkeeran (magazine)
Nakkeeran or Nakkheeran is a Tamil magazine popular in Tamil Nadu, India.-External links:*...
compared the grandeur of the film to that of S. Shankar
S. Shankar
Shankar is an Indian film director and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema. He made his directional debut in Gentleman for which he was awarded the Filmfare Best Director Award...
, noted for making high budget films in Tamil. Eelam Press gave it a positive review, lauding on all aspects of the film, particularly the film's war scenes, highlighting that by using contemporary Tamil, instead of its ancient counterpart in its dialogues, the audience could better relate to it.
Malathi Rangarajan's review (The Hindu
The Hindu
The Hindu is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Chennai since 1878. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it has a circulation of 1.46 million copies as of December 2009. The enterprise employed over 1,600 workers and gross income reached $40...
) was fair, labelling the film an "alluring canvas", praising the opulent sets, locations, rich costumes and imposing cast, yet noted that it was "too short to negate the many loopholes". Divya Parameshwaran
Divya Parameshwaran
Divya Parameshwaran is an Indian film actress and a model who has appeared in a Tamil film and several notable commercials. Beginning her career by appearing in several prominent advertisements, Divya has gone on to appear in a critically acclaimed period film, Ponnar Shankar, winning praise for...
was appreciated in her debut role, while Pooja Chopra
Pooja Chopra
Pooja Chopra is a beauty pageant titleholder, from Pune City. She is Pantaloons Femina Miss India World 2009. She was also a semifinalist at Miss World and won the Beauty With A Purpose award at Miss World 2009 in Johannesburg, South Africa....
was credited as being "attractive too, but [her] expressions needed some honing". Though Prashanth
Prashanth
Prashanth is an Indian film actor who appeared in several Tamil films, as well as a few Telugu films, Hindi and Malayalam films.The son of noted actor-director Thyagarajan, Prashanth began his career at 17 by appearing in Vaigasi Poranthachu and went on to feature in other acclaimed films...
's stunt acts were appreciated, Rangarajan pointed out his character flaws, such as minimal expressions which were "barely a smirk" in the initial scenes, and the distinct lack of distinguishable traits between the twin characters he depicted. He also highlighted the lack of logic in Periyamalai Gounder's (Vijay Kumar) animosity towards his daughter Thamarai (Kushboo) and the cheerful appearance of Thamarai when she must have been sad and heartbroken in the wedding scene with Prakashraj. Vikatan
Ananda Vikatan
Ananda Vikatan ஆனந்த விகடன் is the leading Tamil language weekly magazine published from Chennai, India. It is part of the Vikatan group which also publishes Junior Vikatan , Chutti Vikatan , Aval Vikatan , Naanayam Vikatan , Sakthi Vikatan , Motor Vikatan and Pasumai Vikatan Ananda Vikatan ஆனந்த...
stated that the only good aspects of the movie were its expensive sets and its avoidance of boring archaic Tamil dialogues, common in other period films in Tamil, giving it a rating of 41 points out of 100.
Historical inaccuracies
Rediff declared that "there is nothing even remotely historical about the movie". It added that though the movie is said to be based on Karunanidhi's novel, the film's commercialised look, along with "half clad women prancing around", made it resemble Ashutosh GowarikerAshutosh Gowariker
Ashutosh Gowariker is an Indian film director, actor, writer and producer. He is known for directing the films Lagaan , Swades , Jodhaa Akbar , What's Your Raashee and Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey...
's 2008 picture Jodha Akbar. It went on that "historical accuracy had been thrown to the winds" and that there were no references to actual places, kings or time periods. The Times of India pointed out the historical inconsistencies, such as the presence of a British
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
constructed dam in a scene while the film is set in pre-colonial period, "wire stunts of Prashanth in action sequences", revealing costumes donned by the leading ladies and also the bamboo dance sequence in the movie which is actually native to Nagaland
Nagaland
Nagaland is a state in the far north-eastern part of India. It borders the state of Assam to the west, Arunachal Pradesh and part of Assam to the north, Burma to the east and Manipur to the south. The state capital is Kohima, and the largest city is Dimapur...
. It summed that the movie lacks attention to detail which is a necessary feature of historical movies. The New Indian Express called it a "pseudo historical". Kavignar Sakthikanal, whose 1971 work was the basis for Karunanidhi's novel, observed that the inaccuracies originated from the novel itself due its usage of literary devices
Literary technique
A literary technique is any element or the entirety of elements a writer intentionally uses in the structure of their work...
like exaggeration
Hyperbole
Hyperbole is the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is not meant to be taken literally....
. He further stated that Ponnar and Shankar remained celibate throughout their lives while in the movie they were shown romancing with immodestly dressed women. They married only to avenge the ill treatment meted out to their mother and promptly sent their newly wed wives to prison denying coital relations with them, he added. Also, in the movie the titular characters were not shown committing suicide as in Sakthikanal and Karunanidhi's version, but rather were depicted emerging victorious from the war alive.
Music
The soundtrack for the film was composed by IlaiyaraajaIlaiyaraaja
Ilaiyaraaja is an Indian film composer, singer, and lyricist mainly in the Tamil film Industry. He is regarded as one of the finest music composers in India. Ilaiyaraaja is also an instrumentalist, conductor, and a songwriter...
. The album was released on March 27, 2011 at the Prasad Lab Studios in Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
with Karunanidhi presiding over the event. The soundtrack album consists of six tracks, with four of them sung by Shreya Ghoshal. The film initially had a track about the glories of Kongu Vellalar
Kongu Vellalar
Gounders also known as Kongu Vellalars are Kshatriyas native to the western region of Tamil Nadu known as Kongu Nadu. They were known as a noble, feudal and land owning caste of Tamil Nadu from the Sangam age...
which was removed later during the editing process. One of its tracks, Annanmaar Kathai belongs to the Tamil folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
genre. The song Kannai Padithaen received a special mention in The Hindu newspaper where it was cited as "simply melodious and rings in ones ears for long". The soundtrack received a negative review by Rediff, which stated that the "tunes were all generic" and that the operatic background score did not gel well with the movie's subject. It summed that "Ilaiyaraja had just skimmed the bare bones of his usually fulfilling musical compositions". There was also a review in Thinakaran on the inappropriateness of the film's tracks as the reviewer felt they were ill-suited to the film's historical themes.