The South Indian film industry, often known as Tollywood, has produced several blockbuster hits. Movies like Baahubali and RRR have captivated cinemagoers across the world. PS-1 is a similar historical fiction drama that depicts mesmerizing visual effects and an engaging plot. The full name of the movie is Ponniyin Selvan-1 and is directed by the famous Mani Ratnam. The story is an adaptation of the historic fiction novel of the same name written by Kalki Krishnamurthy. This Tamil language novel revolves around the time the legendary Chola dynasty ruled all of South and Eastern India as well as parts of South East Asia. But South Indian movie fans are still left wondering – how much of the movie PS-1 is fact and how much is fiction?

The Plot of PS-1

Although the plot of the movie has not been revealed, you can get some idea from the trailer. You can also read the Tamil novel of the same name and get some idea of the plot. The characters and some incidents of this movie are based on real life. The story revolves around Aditya Karikalan (played by Vikram) and Arulmozhivarman (played by Jayam Ravi). Arulmozhivarman was the earlier name of the legendary Chola king Rajaraja I. However, the remainder of the plot has not been disclosed by the director or any of the cast of actors. From the novel in the 1950s, we know that the story starts with brothers Aditya Karikalan and Arulmozhivarman handling their royal duties. Aditya was the Commander of the Chola army in the North while Arul was busy fighting wars in Sri Lanka.

Story of PS-1: Fact or Fiction?

The character of Arulmozhivarman, both in the novel and the movie, went on to become the famous Raja Raja Chola. Raja Raja Chola, or simply Rajaraja I, is a very real Chola king who reigned from 985 CE to 1014 CE. He was known as the greatest Chola ruler to every adorn the throne. In fact, the war in Sri Lanka depicted in the movie comes straight from the history books. The Chola records called it the Invasion of Ila-mandalam. Moreover, the climax of the movie shows that Rajaraja crowned his uncle Uttama Chola as the new Chola emperor rather than himself being crowned. This would leave many fans in disbelief. However, the same has been depicted in historical records because Uttama Chola ruled from 971 CE to 985 CE, after which began the glorious reign of Rajaraja I.

Interesting Facts about the movie

  • The movie completed shooting between December 2019 and September 2021.
  • The shooting got halted several times due to the pandemic.
  • Some parts of the movie were even shot in Thailand. This was to stay true to the extent of the Chola Empire.
  • There was a failed attempt at making this movie in 1958. Director M.G. Ramachandran bought the rights to make the movie for a meagre INR 10,000.
  • Ramachandran then gave up the rights to this movie in the 1990s. Kamal Hassan purchased these rights and attempted to make the movie.
  • Finally, it was Mani Ratnam who worked on the storyboard alongside Kamal Hassan.
  • All the musical sequences of this movie are directed by the legendary A.R. Rahman.
  • The entire movie was shot in two parts. PS-1 will be released on 30 September. Whereas, PS-2 will be released sometime next year.

Takeaway

While most of the plot of the movie and the novel is based on real documented history, there is a great deal of dramatization of events. Nevertheless, this INR 500 Crore budget VFX packed movie is set to be a global blockbuster hit. Tollywood has been known for such hits like RRR and Vikram Vedha.