#Vikram Aditya

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Comics Review: Vikram Aditya - Yellow Scarf Killer - Comics Adda

कॉमिक्स समीक्षा: विक्रम आदित्य - येलो स्कार्फ किलर - कॉमिक्स अड्डा (Comics Review: Vikram Aditya - Yellow Scarf Killer - Comics Adda)

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[hollogramhallucination]

[dosai-maavu]

Aditha Karikalan and Nandini

ok so like i just watched ps2 and OML the scene bw aditha and nandini actually destroyed me. i would literally pay to watch the movie again JUST to see their confrontation. the music, the visuals UGHH just everything was amazing.

so many people analyzing it from aditha's pov but let's look at it from nandini's view. she intentionally invited aditha to meet her. she's going to meet her childhood sweetheart, her first love who completely destroyed her life. she despises him. she hates him. she will kill him. she wants vengeance. not only for veerapandiyan, but for the royal life she was denied TWICE. both times because of the cholas.

but all thoughts of revenge go away once she sees him. because she doesn't see the blood-thirsty, war-hardened warrior who beheaded veerapandiyan without second thought. she doesn't see the carefree young prince who took her on horse rides all those years ago. she instead sees an anguished, tormented man, wracked with guilt. haunted by the horrors he's done.

nandini meant to show her superiority when she tells ravidasan he cannot possibly accomplish a task even she can't. but as she looks at aditha, she realizes that it's true. aditha won't let himself be killed by anyone else. only nandini can do it. in his eyes, dying by nandini's hands is his only way to redeem himself, at least in death.

how can she kill him now? her love for him, buried beneath her hate slowly springs back. she wants nothing more than to forgive aditha, accept his idea and run away, leave this conspiracy, this revenge and all this hatred in her heart behind. she wants playful games of hide-and-seek in the forest. she wants horseback rides by the banks of ponni at sunset. she wants the innocence and happiness of her childhood. because as much as she is HIS nandini, he his HER aditha. she doesn't know how not to love him.

but she's too far gone. it's not only about her anymore. the fate of a kingdom rests in her hands. she remembers her promise to veerapandiyan. she remembers how aditha refused to listen to her, even as she begged at his feet. she remembers how chola soldiers stormed into her house and forced her to flee. sembiyan maadevi's disapproval. kundavai's taunts. every injustice comes to the forefront of her mind and she is able to hate him again, for a fleeting moment.

she wishes she was stronger, because now aditha is pushing a dagger into her hands. she's close, so very close to her goal. barely a hair's breadth separated the dagger and aditha when she realizes she can't do it. she can't kill him. she CANNOT be the one to snuff out his life.

in the dark, aditha talks softly. no more yells, no more sarcasm, no more pleading. he speaks from his heart. he tells her that the man she loved died long ago. she starts to cry. she wants to yell that it's not true. the man she loved is here, right in front of her eyes, begging her to kill him. how can he ask that of her?

aditha embraces her. she's screaming now. because, this is all wrong. she cant do this. she cant. with whatever strength she has, she tries to stop the dagger from going in. but here again, she's weak. before she knows it, aditha goes limp in her arms. he stops breathing. he falls to the floor. nandini clings onto him desperately. she screams loudly, because surely aditha would hear her pain and come back. he doesn't.

someone drags her away. she's not sure who. she doesn't care. her hand remains outstretched. her fingers burn with the touch of his skin, his blood. as his face fades from her view, she catches a ghost of a smile on his face. a happy, satisfied smile. the one her aditha karikalan wore. he's finally at peace.

people die many times. nandini died again, for the last time.

[mahi-wayy]

I plan on watching BB2 tonight why bcz I can and its been a while and WHY AM I EMOTIONALLY ATTACKING MYSELF WITH PS STUFF WHEN I AM ALREADY PLANNED TO SUFFER THE AMRENDRA BAHUBALI DEATH SCENE WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!?

[grishaxverse]

I’m a child of divorce actually

[nidhi-writes]

Vēṭkai (Part -1)

Karikalan knows that going in meant that there is no exit, no way to live once he stepped inside the room which was light by his past love who now waits for him to plunge his heart. He knows that there will be no going back, and he didn't want to go back. All these years he waited and endure the torture of his own heart that cause him great loss. If this is what will free him then he wants it to accept it, what's better than letting it go by her hands?

As he entered the surroundings made it look as if he is teleported to this world where it was just him and her. There she is currently close to the ground and touching the sword that is on the ground. A gold-embedded sword with a fish-like structure adorning its hold. But it's her fish-like eyes that captivated him. There she just being her, her skin glows like shining gold, her hair black as khol that spreads to the surface, Her face showed both longing and hurt along with something he can't read. As he proceeds to get near her she looks up and meets his eyes.

There they are feeling like a 15 yr old who fell in love with each other, who didn't expect anything from each other, who wants to live together and cherish their love. But here they are now completely separated by their duties, their living, their pride.

When the words failed. When the eyes look through each other's souls. When the time stops two hearts can beat at once.

Aditha watch Nandhini silently picking up the sword, the same sword which she kept to take his life.

Nandhini abruptly stood and placed the sword in between them, ready to pierce his heart and take his life to present to the ones she owed. The sharp end of the sword poked Aditha's chest, a tiny scarping of the skin causes it to tear and from inside a single drop of blood poured out. He didn't care or give sense to it nor did he acknowledge it. It was her eyes that held the answers to all his answers.

Nandhini opened her mouth to speak for the first time over the years to him

NANDHINI: I have been waiting for this moment my whole life.

ADITHA: You do?

NANDHINI: Yes, I do! you are the reason for my life being hell, you are the reason I have been banished out of the kingdom. You are the reason that I am having to deal with all kinds of madness that is played out so far in my life. So for that, I will be the reason for your death

Aditha held the sword that has been cutting his chest little by little and dig it deeper. But the action made Nandhini nervous and tried to take it out of his hand. She knew that they are being watched and this is the moment she was trained for, but her emotions are making her blind and her hand are trembling to not take action further.

Silent tears fell down her eyes running down her cheeks, and that's when she knew that she can't do it. How could she? After all it's him, the one who made her fall in love and made her earn for the same love over the years. Seems both of them need the same thing.

His eyes didn't leave hers. How could he look away, it's her! Who made him feel harder for her. She is his as much as he is hers.

NANDHINI: After all this time?

ADITHA: (smiling softly) Always.

Like the cry of the peacock who is missing her mate, Nandini dropped the sword and hugged the man before her. The souls which are separated for a long time finally touched others to drink from each other. No other thoughts crossed their mind. Aditha hugged her back and silently caressed her upper back like a feather going down and buried his head into her aroma-filled hair. It is like he finally breathed into the life of elixir which made him feel alive.

With her head against his chest, she listened to his heart beating faster but that made her feel safe, safe after life long run that finally led her to her destiny. This is her destiny, at that moment her past trauma has been forgotten, her relationship with others has been forgotten, and now she is just a Nandhini who was waiting for her prince long back.

But their moment of solitude with each other was short-lived, Karikalan was quick on his feet and took out the dagger that has been in his hip, and shoved Nandhini to his back to protect them from whoever that is in the room with them.

NANDHINI: You have to leave! I will hold them, please escape from here.

ADITHA: (Looks at her with a smile) Do you think I am going to leave you here with those people? after all this time! We will be out of here but I won't be running away like a coward.

He jumped to his feet as Ravidasan came towards them but Aditha is quick on his feet and made a dagger cut the chest of the enemy who is currently standing in front f him.

Nandhini watched the fight helplessly, She knew Karikalan could able to overpower Ravidasan but he is not alone there, as she is thinking Devaralan came running inside but he is been caught by Vandiyathevan who just in time broke the door lock to defend his Prince. And also he heard everything, but who is he to judge as what he witness is nothing but pure love.

Nandhini went in and held Ravidasan's hand from going forward with his action, the look of betrayal crossed Ravidasan's face and anger took over him as the woman who promised to support them and kill the Chola prince now turned against them. Just cause of her itch to be with a prince, and he looked at her with utter disgust. But Nandini didn't care, all these years she helped them and made sure to do so without expecting anything in return.

Ravidasan pushed her and fought with Aditha, he have to say that the Chola prince is indeed a great warrior, that he give him and it would be an honor to take his head off and keep it as a trophy. Maybe Kotravai is blessing him to do the killing. As he yield the sword and run to take the life out of the Chola prince, he planned to first strike at his stomach and make him weak to see the pain, the Chola prince's experience should be equal to what his King Veera Pandian experienced at the last moment.

But as he struck the sword it punctured the stomach but not Aditha Karikalan's but Nandini's who was now standing in front of him. Aditha froze and held the body of his love who saved him, the one he fell in love with saved his life and doesn't care that she took the blow for him. Vandiyadevan looked at the scene and anger consumed him as he punched Devaralan and got hold of Ravidasan by his neck.

VANDIYADEVAN: Ilavarase(Prince)! you have to take Devi Nandini to Vaidyar now! I will hold them as much as I can.

Aditha didn't wait for one sec he carried Nandini and she rested her head against his chest. If this is how she is going to go then she is most fortunate. She may have gone against the promise she made for Veera Pandian but nothing comes before Love, Heart wants what it wants.

ADITHA: Don't close your eyes, Nandini, don't you dare do it.

His voice broke as he said those lines and his eyes never left his lover's body which is now slowly losing its blood. He couldn't use the regular way to get outside of the palace nor did he trust the raja vaidya here will be helpful, he knew that down the hill a Siddha vaidya works for the poor. His legs carried him outside and to the end of the hill. As he is going to descend the hill a loud shouting made him turn around only to be struck by an arrow in his chest a few inches away from Nandini's head

There stood Ravidasand and injured Devaralan who is making sure to get the task done, but one thing they didn't expect is there is no fear in the eyes of Karikalan who stood there holding his love close to him, he is not running away but he is in need to make sure to protect his Nandini. As the thoughts consumed him he smiled at the attackers. Vandiyadevan came running shouting at the attackers along with him all the Kadamburs and other chieftains who is shocked to witness the scene before them.

Karikalan looked down to see Nandini smiling at him, even with both of them in so much pain this moment made them happy. He knew that they can't be together here, nobody would accept, as he looked down at the hill and back to Nandini who nodded her head like she knows what was going on inside his brain. As he smiled at her he stepped backward and welcomed the fall with grace. There they are finally reunited and happy, even if it's dead they are together and none can now separate them.

VANDIYADEVAN: Ilavarase! No! No!

As he run towards the end of the hill ready to jump in to save his prince but was held back by Kandamaran, who told him to not do it, as they are already dead by now. Vandiyadevan sobbed and cried his heart out. Ravidasan and Devaralan escaped like how the wind goes by fast to not get captured.  Smirking at themselves that they are now closer to defeating Cholas.

Is this the end of the love of the Chola crown prince and the beauty of his eye?

                                             To be Continued..

@vibishalakshman  @thatacademic @thelekhikawrites Let me know your thoughts! 

[subuthetitan]

this scene. THIS SCENE.

[amnmich]

am rewatching ponniyin selvan and WHAT DID ARULMOZHI AND VANTHIYADEVAN BATHE TOGETHER AFTER THEIR DUEL????? IT JUST CUTS TO THEM BOTH WET AND HALF CLOTHED HELLOOOOO????

and some of y’all still don’t think they lost focus and had a consensual workplace relationship smh.

[shaevilux]

Just woke up and still thinking about PS-1. Spoilers ahead.

Vikram. My god. His role is reminded me of an evolved and refined version of veera from raavanan. That scene where he's going on a tirade and he's so expressive and gesticulating and the camera won't stop moving around him and shit?

Like that legit reminded me of that scene in raavanan when he's talking about his rage clouding his fear or something I forgot what exactly but he was talking to an forest guard he has captive. Anyway, yes. Get Vikram for these kinds of intense dramatic scenes and make sure the cinematography really amps the drama up. He definitely can play borderline unhinged really well and mani ratnam will definitely let him chew the scenery.

But the cinematography that annoyed me was the action cinematography. The larger scale battle when the armies collided? You really got to immediately muddy the action with shaky cam? Like why? I'm sure there's some good choreography just perfect it and then show it in full. It feels cheap to have an actually good looking action setpiece but wussing out with shaky cam. I refuse to believe it's a stylistic choice. That's just plain bad.

I want more elephants. Can't believe that's a note I have but it's the chola dynasty. War elephants are a must. I don't care that it's not feasible to get a bunch of elephants and train them for a movie or the cgi budget won't allow creature effects just do it. I want war elephants.

I like the naval scenes. The ship designs and the horses coming out of them was all really cool to look at. I like the ending setpiece with ponniyin selvan and vanthiyadevan fending off the pandis on the ship. A little dark with a lot more hectic camerawork and weird editing choices to hide the imperfections, but as a whole with all the water spraying about and the ship breaking and everything it was very good.

Can't believe they're getting aishwarya rai to play mandakini as well lmao. Tamil movies really like having the same actors playing father/son or mother/daughter, huh? Just add some white hair and a bit of make-up that is simultaneously supposed to age them up but also make them hot but fails at both so it just looks weird. Not that we actually saw oomai raani properly but that's definitely what's gonna happen.

I'll keep posting more thoughts and shit I have but for now, I just want that track that plays when Nandhini and Kundavai meet. *saaya sakkarai*

[masalafilmsrevival]

Asha Jaoar Majhe (2014)

[suchananewsblog]

Anurag Kashyap reveals 'Sacred Games 3' has been shut down; says OTT doesn't have the guts after 'Tandav' controversy - Times of India

Anurag Kashyap’s last release was ‘Dobaaraa’ starring Taapsee Pannu. The filmmaker is gearing up for the release of its next which is a love story titled ‘Almost Pyaar With DJ Mohabbat’. The film stars Karan Mehta and Alaya F. While promoting his film, Anurag spoke about ‘Sacred Games’ as well in an interview with Mashable India. Anurag co-directed both the first and second seasons of the show,…

[hollogramhallucination]

[balladedutempsjadis]

I drove 30 minutes each way today to go and see Ponniyin Selvan 2 at the theater closest to me that was still showing it. So this is the sequel to a movie that I didn’t even know about until last Saturday but I’m now OBSESSED (so if you’re a fan and I just friended you that’s why!)

The long drive was soooo worth it though I’m a little ticked off that the manager of the theater was so late to open things up that we missed the first ten minutes of the film (but I know I’ll watch both films again when Amazon gets PS2 in late June so no violence was done ;))

Short version: well worth seeing in the theater and I’m really glad I got the chance. I loved the movie, and couldn’t believe how fast it moved for an-almost 3 hour film. The characters and plot were as engrossing as in the first film and I’m glad I was mostly unspoiled except by history (spoilers below) because there were moments of intense suspense. I’m sad that it’s not a trilogy because I really wanted to spend even MORE TIME in this world with these people.

Longer version (with SPOILERS):

1. I knew Aditha Karikalan would die at some point because he never became a Chola king. And it was probably for the best that he didn’t rule the Cholas lands because I think he would not have made a good king, being so ruled by his passions. At least a few courses in anger management would have helped probably. But … Vikram was really stunning in the role of a man who loathes himself for what he’s become and is dying of guilt and shame long before he actually dies. Just ... I need to watch both movies again and see how his character develops from the flashbacks to the bitter husk of a man he is.

I still can’t figure out one thing, which is why he agreed to basically give up the kingdom for Madhurantakan without taking account the interests of his brother Arunmozhi Varman, whom he very demonstrably cared for deeply. (He was destroyed by the thought that his younger brother had drowned, and the only time we've seen present Aditya happy what when Nambi told him that Arunmozhi was alive.) Was it just because he already knew he was either going to convince Nandini to run away with him or more likely let her kill him and other people would be sorting out that mess anyway? Another reason that he wouldn’t have made a good king - running off with another dude's wife - but which made him such a fascinating and complex character and I keep thinking about how both Nandini and Aditha were destroyed by his family's actions. *sob* (Although, Arunmozhi also gave up a crown twice - the one the monks offered him in Sri Lanka and the one his father gave him at the end - so maybe giving up kingdoms just runs in the family. I'm #TeamQueenKundavai TBQH :P)

2. That brings me to Nandini. I felt like she really did love Aditha Karikalan but she also did love power and being a Queen (because of the theater malfunction I only got to see the very end of the flashbacks of young Aditha and young Nandini at the beginning of the movie so I may have a clearer understanding that this is not what she's about once I see that.) Aditha says "lies!" when she says she wants power, and riches, and a throne, but I think it's not *entirely* lies? She was powerless when the Cholas deported her, and powerless to stop Aditha from killing the man she thought of as a father (who actually WAS her father), so I can certainly understand why part of her longed for the power to protect herself from heartbreak and destitution and why that part of her was willing to use her beauty to manipulate men (like Parthibendran, more on him later.) Her vengeance and hatred hollowed out her character just as much as guilt and anger did to Aditha, but she doesn't murder Vanthiyadevan (OMG HOW DO YOU SPELL THAT?) when she has the chance even though she knows he's going to do everything to spoil her plans. So there's still something in her that isn't completely spoiled, and I ended up just feeling incredibly awful for her (and even more awful for her mother!)

She is so damn beautiful! (One slight thing that I WISH they had done was give the young woman who played young Nandini (wonderfully) some hazel contact lenses so I'd wouldn't mentally have to color her eyes :P)

3. Next we come to Vandiyadevan, who was just ... perfect? I loved him. He was like an ancient Tamil D'Artagnan (and that would make Aditha Karikalan Athos and Nandini Milady, I guess? And Nambi is Porthos and Kundavai is Aramis, the clever one.) Anyway, he was great, smart, quick-thinking, a great warrior, but also not at all dumb. I really liked him and enjoyed all of his scenes. And I found out from history that the historical character did get to marry Kundavai so YAY! He was just a nice bright spirit without a ton of angst.

4. And now we come to the titular character, Ponniyin Selvan (Ponni's son) himself, Arunmozhi Varman, who eventually becomes Rajaraja Chola. I had never even heard of Jayam Ravi (sorry, this is I think the first Tamil movie I've watched since I was a kid) but he was ABSOLUTELY PERFECT as the young "King of Kings." I think this might have been the most difficult role in the film to pull off, simply because Rajaraja Cholas is so famous and so beloved STILL, a thousand years after his death. It's very rare that I would love the unequivocally good guys in a historical epic or fantasy movie/series but there is something about this character played by this actor that is just extremely charismatic. To start with, he's tall and handsome so that helps. But there's another quality that no one else in this film has, which that he radiates inner calm.

It's not that he doesn't have strong emotions that he shows on his face, because yes absolutely he does, and it's not that he doesn't have much do action-wise because he does, especially in P-S2.

But in the midst of this frenetic action and these tortured characters, Arulmozhi Varman has this quality of stillness at his core. No wonder the Buddhist monks like him so much that that they will put themselves between him and assassins' daggers. (Also did I mention the tall and handsome part?)

Plus, he has that classic "worthy to be a king" thing going because he does not want the throne and that's what makes him worthy. First of all, he refuses the throne of Lanka when he's offered it by the Buddhist monks there, and then, after he's won the battle and broken the rebellion and secured the safety of his family's kingdom, he gives up THAT crown too. WE - the audience - know that Uttama Chola will ultimately die (I think peacefully?) and Arulmozhi will become Rajaraja Chola but HE doesn't know that, and none of the other people, his friends and family, know that either. Like, I'm kind of in awe of the actual historical figure too. The character could have died so many times in these two films, and the historical person, who was a warrior king, could also have died long before he took the throne, so he was FOR REAL making a huge sacrifice. And I think he did it so there would be no divisions that the Cholas' enemies could take advantage of, as there had been for Nandini and the Pandyas to exploit when Maduranthakan decided that yes, he did want to be king and that it wasn’t fair that his brother’s oldest son would be king instead of him. No one living at the end of the film knows that Aditha essentially killed himself, but everyone knows that the plotters were using Maduranthakan as a puppet. (The crown was kind of funny looking so I'm actually glad my boo didn't put it on at the end :P) (Also more on Maduranthakan later.)

Also, how cool is it that in the battle at the end, Arunmozhi comes riding out of the smoke while the Chola anthem plays, just as his brother did in the first scene of the first movie. I love that parallel (and the differences are important too, because Aditha was engaging in a conquest of a neighboring kingdom and Arunmozhi is defending the Chola kingdom.)

Anyway, Ponniyan Selvan lived to become the great Rajaraja Chola, whose reign saw one of the highest points of Indian art (the extraordinary Chola bronzes) and the construction of the great South Indian temple of Brihadeswara in Thanjavur.

The carvings are amazing (look closely at this elephant which is doing something that happens in PS2 :D)

OK, moving on ... though I don't want to ...

5. Kundavai, the third royal sibling, who I also love to BITS. She didn't have as much to do in this film, I thought, and maybe it's because there was more focus on Nandini in this one, but she remained smart and sensible and I love the face-off with her uncle when he brings the Shiva-yogis to make his mother (Kundavai's grandmother) apologize for not putting him on the throne. Kundavai forces him and his rather intimidating crowd of followers to back off with a lot of hard stares (Paddington would be so proud.) And then she has the lovely little scene with Vandiyadevan (I'm still so sorry I don't know how to make this work) and and another gorgeous scene with her brothers at the Buddhist monastery (which, I love the scene but I hate that it’s the ONLY one). I love her, and I think she should have become the queen and my only consolation is that IRL she got to basically shape two great kings of the Chola dynasty, Rajaraja AND his son Rajendra. (And Rajaraja named his daughter after her so he obviously appreciated her a LOT.) Anyway, I love her and would love a series about her (IF ANYONE IS LISTENING.)

Awww! I just want to draw little hearts and flowers around this GIF. I wish we got more of them being adorable and hot together.

6. Everyone else (sorry this is getting super long), including some questions I have.

a. Vanathi: I know I saw some scenes of her and Arulmozhi in one of the song videos hat got cut in the actual film and I just would have liked to know more of her relationship with Kundavai and with Kundavai's brother. They were lovely together, but it just felt like there was a lot of missing stuff. I liked what I saw of her especially the adorable dance in PS1. And she was also related to ... someone? Because she called him "mama" (uncle?) and he seemed to be the commander of Aditha's forces, but then there was another dude at Kadambur who was a relative of the Cholas and the treasurer guy who was married to Nandini but they were not the same person and I thought one of them was Vanathi's uncle. NEEDS MORE BACKSTORY.

b. Poonguzhali (AGAIN I AM SURE I SPELLED THIS WRONG): I REALLY need more backstory on this. When did she meet Ponniyan Selvan? Why did he call her Samudra Kumari? Why did she risk her life for him (I mean, besides being in love with him which checks out because everyone else is :P) and what was the deal with her and the flower man at the temple? I just feel like a lot of stuff was missing that would have helped me understand better what was happening. (Also she was an amazing sailor to have gotten through that storm.)

c. Parthibendran Pallava and his lightning-fast enmity to Vandiyadevan and then his baseless accusation that Arunmozhi Varman had sent Vandiyadevan to murder Aditha Karikalan. I mean, did he even meet either of them? Why did he think Arunmozhi wanted his brother dead? Was it all just from meeting Nandini THAT ONE TIME because bro, you need a slap if that's the case?

d. Madhurantakan - I was screaming at him (in my head) to realize that there would be no coup without bloodshed, GOD OF COURSE SOME OR ALL OF HIS BROTHER'S KIDS AND HIS BROTHER WOULD DIE. And the other kings wanted a puppet on the throne, not a warrior like Aditha or someone as popular as Arunmozhi (also a brave warrior). But finally Madhurantakan learned his lesson before he fully betrayed his kingdom and family and people. However, the bit about how he was administrating the kingdom for 25 years dropped in at the end was a bit sudden and I would have liked to know Arunmozhi’s thought process, even if it was just “hey I just want to go have adventures with Vandiyadevan because it’s super fun.” I would have also liked some evidence of said administration because they kept playing up his devotion to Shiva and not much else (though he clearly had the Shaivite warrior-mendicant vote SOWN UP! But I'm also confused because some - but not all - of those dudes appeared to be Secret Pandya Assassins, like the lady who attacked the Buddhist monastery and forced Arunmozhi to come out and show himself to the people and by people I mean assassins.) So I don't know ... Anyway, glad Madhurantakan came to his senses and did not side with the other kings against his family. While his reward for only being partially a traitor seemed disproportionate, on the other hand, I thought Arulmozhi was also smart to say that his sword and Vandiyadevan's would be backing up Uncle M so no one got any ideas and probably Kundavai would also be advising Uncle M about good administration. :D (It was kind of funny that Arulmozhi had to get the crowd to cheer for his uncle because they were all like *do not want**we want YOU, young victorious prince* but it’s a sign of his charisma that he got them to accept his uncle as king.)

e. The Pandya assassins were a bit reminiscent of Wile E. Coyote tbqh. All their plans kept not working out in spectacular ways. Is there some reason why no one tipped an arrow with poison or put poison in a cup of wine for Aditha who liked his wine or put poison on their swords so even if they nicked Arunmozhi they'd end up killing them? Do you sense a theme here? Was there some reason why the revenge had to involve actual beheading or it didn't count? Honestly, without Nandini they would have failed even more spectacularly. Also, after Nandini killed herself, what happened to the little Pandya boy king - Nandini's half-brother who swore vengeance? (FYI, I read somewhere - wish I could remember where - that Rajaraja Chola hunted down the assassins of his brother even as far as Indonesia.)

f. I was a little confused by all the uncles and grandparents and so on, like the white-haired general was the grandfather of the three Chola siblings, I assume their mother's father?

g. I would have liked some of the storylines more fleshed out (especially Mandakini's because that was very sudden and if she came and gave birth to Nandini in the Chola lands, how did Sundara Chola not know about this and I guess she spent time hanging out so she could save Arunmozhi when he fell in the water at home and abroad? Why did she care for him so much? Because he was like his father? That seems pretty generous. Anyway ...) If there is a director's cut that is five hours long for each film, PLEASE BRING IT ON. I would love to see it.

In conclusion - I LOVED both movies. This feels like a very special and great achievement, and I hope its success leads to more really good directors delving into South Indian history, like that of the Vijaynagara Empire (which is the subject of Salman Rushdie's latest novel which I haven't read yet.)

ETA: THE MUSIC. I loved it. I've been listening to some of it on a constant loop.

I'm now off to read the books and explore the filmography of Vikram, Trisha, Karthi and Jayam Ravi (if there are any films that are really awesome or really awful please let me know in the comments.) I have been meaning to get into South Indian cinema more and this was a great starting point.

[fleabagoftheendless]

10 characters/10 fandoms/10 tags

Thank you @augbesian for the tag!!

1. Dream of the Endless | Morpheus - The Sandman (he is my little meow meow).

2. Jake Peralta - Brooklyn Nine Nine (He is so husband material).

3. Molly Hooper - Sherlock (literally my wife. And the writers did her dirty, sorry not sorry).

4. Jonah Simms - Superstore (annoying but male-wife all the way).

5. Johnny Saxby - God's Own Country (my little meow meow part 2).

6. Aditya Kashyap - Jab We Met (literally one of the most unproblematic bollywood man).

7. Rishi Shekhawat - Mismatched (cutieee).

8. Bruce Wayne - The Batman 2022 (it's Robert Pattinson, of course I love him).

9. Vikram Rathore - Jawan (one word: Daddy).

10. Calum - Aftersun (dude broke my heart in a million pieces).

Tags:

@tryan-a-bex @beauty-of-nyx @notallsandmen

@imnotcrying-ipromise @ithinkimightbelost925-blog @ironic--maiden @persbaderse @kydrogendragon @parasocialite

[eenadu-varthalu]

Ponniyin Selvan has been watched (at a rather very late time last night) so here’s my review? (though I am in no position to review a mani ratnam film)

(I would like to emphasize this is my personal opinion and I would not like to start a war. There’s already one happening on Twitter if you’d like to go pick a bone)

Would I say this is the best Mani Ratnam film I’ve watched? No.

Would I say it’s his best from the past decade?. Heck yeah!

The movie (like one kind person said on this app) is fast paced and slow paced. If you’ve read atleast the first book, you’ll realize how jam packed the scenes are but if you’re clueless as to who the heck even the cholas are, this is gonna be one heck of a slow ride for you.

This movie is COMPLETELY different from the rajamouli periodic films (because some idiots on Twitter are comparing it to baahubali). There are barely any elevations, and the actors are very simply, just there when it’s time (in fact the only character that gets “a proper intro” is Aditya Karikalan, and it’s literally just him riding his horse through mist). Everything is super subtle and more pleasing on the aesthetic side. It’s more like an art film, like the ones of Kurosawa, than it is a commercial one like Rajamouli’s.

(Although, I actually am very interested to see how rajamouli would utilize a LOADED story like ponniyin selvan)

If you are planning on watching this movie, I would recommend reading the character descriptions on Wikipedia, because guess what? Mani sir does it again. Like in Chekka Chivantha Vaanam, every character has an important role, but mani sir is practically running out of time to explore the characters deep enough, so we just get mere glances into who they actually are.

BUT THE ACTING (my lord the acting) does HEAVILY compensate for that. Simple glances, body language, voice modulations, if one observes carefully, they can understand what type of a person said character is.

For me personally, Karthi (my man), Trisha, and Aishwarya Rai SWEPT ME OFF MY FEET. Karthi is AMAZING as Vandiyadevan. Trisha and Aishwarya Rai can step on me and I WILL APOLOGIZE. My god. Their initial face off scene is one of, if not the best scene for me in the movie. (Also Vandiyadevan is one hell of a mood for simping over literally EVERYONE in this movie).

In the very little screen time that is given, Chiyaan Vikram is ABSOLUTELY fantastic (pleaseeee more characters where he actually acts and not just shows is skill of being versatile) and so is the rest of the main cast, Jayam Ravi, Aishwarya Lekshmi and Shobitha. They’re on for very little, but when they are, you will not be able to take your eyes off of them.

And finally. The man of the hour. The person who literally carried this movie like Ponni did Arul Mozhi Varman. ISAI PUYAL AR RAHMAN. My god what did we do to deserve him? Many said the songs slowed down the pace, but honestly it kind of worked for me. And the BACKGROUND SCORE. HOLY CRAP IM GONNA NEED THAT OST. Super unique score and it kind of reminded me of Thiruda Thiruda (Donga Donga) Rahman where he just experiments with different styles and it works wonders. My personal favorite has to be the one that plays during the entire act of Kundavai and Nandini meeting for the first time. Some others are definitely when Vandiyadevan and Kundavai meet (and, of course, Vandiyadevan falls for her) and the ending of Chola Chola.

That is all. Sorry it’s ridiculously long.