Three Pillars of Visual Aesthetics in Ponniyin Selvan

Ponniyin Selvan is a load of stunning frames with an intriguing story of Cholas written by Kalki. Maniratnam with the help of writers JayaMohan & Elango Kumaravel delivered a crisp and brief version of the whole five parts of Ponniyin Selvan. It is all about the flow where all the information and a line of balance in the story should be maintained within the shorter screenplay time and when it comes to cinema, it is about the engagement of the 'What's next' factor. Maniratnam here wins satisfying non-readers of Ponniyin Selvan book by fulfilling and presenting the intriguing factor of the story to the audience. He delivers grandeur with a good screenplay - Kalki's writing and Maniratnam's filmmaking techniques meet at a single point and he effortlessly kindles the audience with his aesthetic factors which can be evidently seen in Aga Naga sequences of Vanthiyathevan & Kundavai. He masterfully crafted it with control over all the departments and choice of the techniques in frames, production design, costumes, music and sounds, the casting of artists & their performances. 

Cinematography by Ravi Varman is the finest work that contributed to the film - most of the shots are made as handheld shots which gives a rush to the sequence and that really worked out in stunt sequences. One final sequence of Karikalan meeting Nandhini is a cherry on top of the film, he effortlessly composed the frame for the particular sequence which begin with a close-up of two shot and maintains most of the shots with close-ups of extreme and mid - really haunts the audience with the tight emotion and pain conveyed by the artist on screen. The overall lighting worked really well as most of the exteriors are left to natural lighting and the interiors are keenly crafted with details to periodic lighting elements. 

Thota Tharani's production design was a significant factor in the film's grandeur, the set designs and locations are mind-blowing - the palaces in different locations are given kneen importance as replicated Cholas architecture to the finest accuracy. They mostly used live locations to bring a real feel to the audience.