Actor Jayam Ravi says he felt pressure stepping into role of Chola King Rajaraja I in Mani Ratnam’s magnum opus ‘Ponniyin Selvan-I’ and relied heavily on vision from the ace director.

An official adaptation of author Kalki Krishnamurthy’s 1955 Tamil novel of the same name, the film debuted in theaters on Friday to praise from audiences and critics.

The story follows the beginnings of Arulmozhivarman (Ravi), one of the most powerful kings in the south who became the great Chola Emperor Rajaraja Chola I in the 10th century.

For Ravi, the star of Tamil films “Mr. Kumaran S/O Mahalakshmi”, “Unakkum Enakkum”, “Santhosh Subramaniam”, “Tik Tik Tik” and “Thani Oruvan”, it was a lifelong dream to work with Ratnam.

“Before acting in his film, I studied and learned from him. Now, after acting in his film, I learned directly from him. So it’s a blessing for me,” the actor said. 42 years at PTI in an interview.

Rajaraja I, who ruled the Chola Empire in the 10th century, remains close to people’s hearts, especially in the South, and playing such a popular character made Ravi nervous.

“I was playing the great Rajaraja Chola and everyone in South India looked up to him. For all Tamils, he is their king. I am just a lucky actor who can play this role.

“As a fan of Rajaraja Chola, when you look at the things he has done, no one has ever done it in the last thousand years. So that pressure was obviously there, but Mr. Mani made me realize the importance of playing this character,” the actor said.

Ravi said the filmmaker made him understand the intricacies of King Chola.

“He told me six months before shooting that I should try to visualize and live like Rajaraja Chola. I tried and it really helped me,” he added.

While collaborating with Ratnam, the actor said he felt like a young boy on a journey with a mentor.

“The experience was always like he was holding my hand like I was a young boy and taking me on a journey. Whenever he felt I was getting out of the way, he held me tight hand. And he was loosening the grip, I’m moving forward on the path. So it was a great experience to work with him for the first time,” the actor said.

Ravi was the only first-timer working with Ratnam as the cast is packed full of the director’s former collaborators – Vikram, Karthi, Trisha Krishnan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

But the actor said he never felt “outsider”.

“Mani sir never makes you feel like a stranger. And while working on this movie, I met some of the sweetest people in my life. I’ve worked with Trisha before, and Vikram is like my brother. Karthi and I have become brothers now. This is the bond we have,” he added.

An actor always loves a challenge and for Ravi, he is happy that it came in the form of ‘Ponniyin Selvan’.

“A historical film is one of the biggest challenges. You have no idea how people lived and behaved in the past. And then you have CGI and you have to act like you’re seeing something wonderful and tall in frame.

“So I love challenges and this is the best challenge I’ve ever had,” the actor said.

“Ponniyin Selvan” is backed by Ratnam’s production house, Madras Talkies, and Allirajah Subaskaran’s banner, Lyca Productions. Music maestro AR Rahman provided the music with cinematography by Ravi Varman.

The film was released in five languages: Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi.

Image: Twitter/@actor_jayamravi

(Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from a syndicated feed; only the image and title may have been reworked by www.republicworld.com)