ANCIENT TO THE FUTURE: HOW DIRECTOR MANI RATNAM MANAGED TO ADAPT PONNIYIN SELVAN, A 2,500-PAGE SERIALIZED HISTORICAL EPIC AND ONE OF THE BESTSELLING TAMIL NOVELS OF ALL TIME.

This article focuses on how Indian director Mani Ratnam adapted "Ponniyin Selvan," a 2,500-page serialized historical epic and one of the bestselling Tamil novels by Kalki Krishnamurthy, into a two-part film released in 2022 and 2023. Kalki, a freedom fighter and journalist, wrote the novel between 1950 and 1954, depicting tenth-century Tamil Nadu's Chozha dynasty amid political intrigue and cultural richness. Ratnam, who had long aspired to bring the novel to the screen, condensed its complex narrative—centered on royal succession, caste conflict, and romance—while emphasizing key themes such as caste divides and Tamil cultural heritage. Despite production challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic, the films achieved commercial success and renewed interest in Kalki's work, though some fans critiqued omissions in the adaptation.