‘We have made the impossible possible with Ponniyin Selvan’

CHENNAI: Sporting a well-trimmed beard, with a full sleeve t-shirt of an Italian brand and matching it with brown trousers and loafers, Jayam Ravi looks dapper as he enters to meet us while his fans are waiting to get a glimpse of him outside the venue. We greet him as Arunmozhi Varman aka the great Rajaraja Cholan aka Ponniyin Selvan, he says, “When the teaser launched, my dad told me how proud he was to see me as Ponniyin Selvan and reminisced the days he cycled all the way to grab a copy of the book. Now to see his son as Ponniyin Selvan has overwhelmed him,” he begins.

Ravi says that the magnum opus kindled the curiosity in the actor in him. “Each actor in Mani sir’s film would have their own body language and I wanted to experience that. I couldn’t get a sneak peek into what the secret is in the first couple of meetings. Later we had a script-reading session in which I had to stress a couple of words and he guided me on how it should be an organic process and keep the basic emotion in mind. This is the most valuable lesson I learnt from him,” he opens up.

There have been mixed opinion from people away from the industry on how the PS-I would turn out ahead of its release on September 30. Jayam Ravi replies that he has taken all discussions in a positive stride. “People who have negative perceptions about the film is only because they are possessive about the novel and are anxious about how the movie has turned out. Mani sir has put in a lot of effort behind this film over the years and it has translated well on the screen. Moreover, this is a script that Kamal sir wanted to make and Mani sir himself made several attempts before this. We have made the impossible possible by bringing this film out. The attempt itself is praiseworthy but the film too would win accolades upon release,” replies the actor.

Apart from Ponniyin Selvan, Jayam Ravi also has Iraivan with I Ahmed, Agilan helmed by N Kalyan, an untitled-film with M Rajesh and Siren that will be directed by Antony Bhagyaraj. “I have completed the shoot of Iraivan and a schedule of Rajesh’s film. In Agilan, I play a north Chennai guy, who works in the harbour,” he concludes and heads to meet his fans outside.