Legal Notice Over Tilak! Mani Ratnam's 'Ponniyin Selvan' Accused Of Misrepresenting Cholas
Mani Ratnam and actor Vikram have been accused of misrepresenting facts about Cholas in Ponniyin Selvan over red tilak.
Ace filmmaker Mani Ratnam, who is known for movies like Iruvar, Guru and Raavan among others, is facing legal trouble for his forthcoming movie Ponniyin Selvan, the film which is based on the Chola dynasty.
Twitter
A legal notice has been issued against Mani Ratnam and actor Vikram for alleged misrepresentation of historical facts about the Cholas.
Lawyer Selvam in the notice has claimed that the film's poster shows Aditya Karikalan (played by Vikram) sporting a tilak on his forehead but not the teaser. Thus, he claims that
Cholas could be misrepresented in the film. To make sure that the historical facts are not distorted, he has sought a screening of the film before its release.
Twitter
The film, which is based on a novel of the same name written by Kalki Krishnamurthy, is also being accused of misrepresentation of facts on Twitter since the teaser has been released.
A shot from Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan, based on the Cholas. When did Cholas who were devout Hindus, have Red flags? Guess Saffron flags turn Red in Dravidian land. Only things missing on the flag are a Hammer & a Sickle and we would have the first Communist Chola in history. pic.twitter.com/ifxeUupwpE
¡ª Cogito (@cogitoiam) July 9, 2022
My first impression on #PS1 teaser #PonniyinSelvan1
¡ª Saigeetha (@Saigeet36566874) July 9, 2022
1. Looks completely devoid of Shaivaite symbols. No Vibhooti/Thiruneeru on anyone's forehead.Cholas were stauch Shaivaites.. removing such symbols is a grave injustice.Remember Raja Raja called himself 'Sivapatha Sekaran' 1/n
The Chola flag is literally a tiger on a yellow-ish orange flag. What¡¯s this red flag in Ponniyin Selvan teaser?
¡ª Krishnan (@cvkrishnan) July 9, 2022
And on the tilak part, don¡¯t Cholas apply Thiruneer on which the Thilak comes? Pardon for the very crude way of question but @tskrishnan can you enlighten us?
The Cholas wore such Vibhuti with pride. Staunch Shaivites who built the mindblowing Brihadeeshwarar temple with interlocking grids. No cement or mortar.
¡ª Chillout?? (@Chilloutppl) July 17, 2022
And an upcoming Tamil film by a so-called reputed director shows the Cholas wearing a red tilak. Must boycott it.
No hate for Maniratnam but so far the best portrayal of #Cholas & ancient Tamilagam was in #Dasavatharam! Costumes, hairstyles are historically accurate to the ancient murals & statues! Kulothunga II's dispute with Vaishnavates was real! @ikamalhaasan the Genius! #PonniyinSelvan pic.twitter.com/KXH9wBR2PE
¡ª Mohan MK (@adithyatalks) July 8, 2022
The makers of the movie has recently released a video about the history of the Cholas.
Ponniyin Selvan will be made in two parts. The first part starring
Vikram, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi, R. Sarathkumar, Vikram Prabhu, Sobhita Dhulipala, Prabhu, Jayaram, Prakash Raj, Rahman and R. Parthiban among others is set to be released on Sep 30.
The movie, based on the 1955 novel Ponniyin Selvan by Kalki Krishnamoorthy,
is made on a whopping budget of Rs 500 crore.
The film according to Mani Ratnam, his masterpiece and he has been able to helm it only after several failed attempts.
Legendary Tamil actor MG Ramachandran (MGR), who later went on to become the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, and was awarded Bharat Ratna posthumously, had tried his hand in making Ponniyin Selvan after the novel hit the stands. His attempt, too, did not lead to any results due to various reasons.
Mani Ratnam himself tried to make the film in 1999 and 2009 but in vain. He later roped in Lyka Productions for funding the movie and thus the movie shoot commenced. His own Madras Talkies and Alirajah Subaskaran also joined in the production of the movie.
The script of the movie is written by Mani Ratnam along with Elango Kumaravel and dialogues have been penned B. Jayamohan.
(With inputs from PTI)
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Garima Satija leads the Entertainment vertical of Indiatimes. A storyteller at heart who enjoys the thrill of writing, she is sometimes found daydreaming about living the lives of movie characters. Also, she hates talking about herself in the third person.
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