Ponniyin Selvan main characters (and movie cast)

Before my kids watched the movie, I wanted to share my know-how of the characters… since there are many of them, and often related in multiple ways. The map has important locations in the story

1. Sundara Chola (actor Prakash Raj), the emperor is unwell, and stays within his palace in Thanjavur (check map) with his wife Vanavan Mahadevi.  His father Arinjaya and uncle Gandaraditya (elder) are no more. Gandaraditya has a son Madhurantakar (actor Rahman) through his wife Sembiyan Mahadevi (actor Jayachitra). Usually, the elder son becomes king. But before he died, Gandaraditya passed on the kingdom to Sundara Chola (his younger brother’s son) and also said Sundara Chola’s sons should succeed him. He specifically said that his own son Madhurantakar should not become king, and made his wife promise. His wife Sembiyan Mahadevi brought up Madhurantakar as a Shiva bhakta and gave him no martial training.  She wants Madhurantakar to stay away from the throne.  Sundara Chola and many others look up to Sembiyan Mahadevi (a.k.a. Periya Piratti) for advice.  Sundara Chola has 3 children as listed below.
2. Aditha Karikalan (actor Vikram) is Sundara Chola’s eldest son.  A brave warrior since his early age, he has won several important battles for the Chola dynasty, and is known to have beheaded Veerapandiyan (actor Nassar) a Pandya king.  He lives in Kanchipuram (check top of map) with his maternal grandfather Malayaman (actor Lal) who still goes to war with him. However, Aditha could never overcome his heartbreak and drowns himself in war and expansion of the kingdom. He doesn’t care about being king, and doesn’t want to return to Thanjavur.  He has two close friends with him a. Vanthiyadevan (actor Karthi), and b. Parthibendra Pallavan (actor Vikram Prabhu).  He trusts Vanthiyadevan the most, and sends him on a mission.
3. Kundavai (actor Trisha) or Ilayapiratti is Sundara Chola’s daughter, next to Aditha.  She is a sharp astute princess and cares deeply about the Chola empire. She loves her brothers and eventually sees her younger brother Arulmozhi Varman as the future. She is unmarried as she doesn’t want to leave the kingdom. She stays in a place called Pazhayarai (7 km from Kumbakonam – check map). She was brought up in the care of Sembiyan Mahadevi, her grand-aunt.
4. Arulmozhi Varman (actor Jeyam Ravi) is the youngest son of Sundara Chola and the most loved prince of the people. He got the nickname Ponniyan Selvan because once when he was a child, he slipped from a boat and fell into the Ponni river, but was saved by some mystery river goddess. The people of the Chola kingdom, his elder siblings and his parents love him the most. He likes Vanathi and expected to marry her. He is still working his way through a war against the Sri Lankan king Mahindan (actor Shyam Fernando) who has gone into hiding.  Eventually (beyond the scope of this story), Arulmozhi Varman is the king who gets the title Raja Raja Chola.
5. Vaanathi (actor Shobhita) is the daughter of Chinna Velar, the ruler of one of the smaller kingdoms Kodumbaloor. Such kingdoms submitted to Cholas, and the chieftains sent their daughters to Sembiyan Mahadevi to learn grooming etc. Her father is no more, but her uncle Periya Velar or Boothi Vikramakesari (actor Prabhu) is the chief of the army that Arulmozhi Varman is leading in Sri Lanka.  Vanathi is always around Kundavai and tends to faint when emotionally high.  Since birth Vanathi is spoken for Arulmozhi Varman.
6. Vallavarayan Vanthiyadevan (actor Karthi) is a trusted friend of Aditha Karikalan.  Aditha sees Vanthiyadevan as a good match for his sister Kundavai, but the two have not met before.  Vanthiyadevan is versatile at war and wit but has no kingdom because it became a part of the Chola empire.  He is the main protagonist of the story, and most parts are told from his perspective.
7. Kandanmaaran (actor Ashwin Rao) is Vandiyathevan’s fellow warrior and friend. Kandamaaran and his father Sembuvaraiyar (actor Nizhalgal Ravi) stay at their family house, the Kadamboor palace. It is a neutral place where the smaller kingdom’s chieftains gather for strategy meetings.
8. Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar (actor Sarath Kumar) belongs to the family of generals who protect the Chola kings and royal family for generations.  He holds access to the treasury.  A proven brave soldier who fought valiantly alongside Sundara Chola. Has been loyal till recently when he married a young woman called Nandini (actor Aishwarya Rai). Young for his age. He is completely mesmerised by her beauty and intelligence and starts acting as per her wishes. She doesn’t let him in her bed yet, since she has some condition he has to fulfil.
9. Chinna Pazhuvettaraiyar (actor Parthiban) is the younger brother who is also the chief of defence for the Thanjavur palace and Sundara Chola’s security. Does whatever his brother asks him to do, but doesn’t entirely trust Nandini. His daughter is spoken for Madhurantakar (the Shiva bhakt and Gandaradithan’s son).
10. Senthan Amudan (actor Ashwin Kakumanu) is a priest boy who sells flowers and lives behind the main temple with his mother (mute and deaf). He has good connections with Sembiyan Mahadevi and Kundavai since he is associated with the temple. He becomes friends with Vanthiyadevan and helps him out. He is in love with Poonguzhali who is his mother’s brother’s daughter.
11. Poonguzhali (actor Aishwarya Lekshmi) is a fisherwoman who loves the sea and lives in Kodiyakarai (one of the closest points to Sri Lanka – check map). She doesn’t reciprocate Senthanamudhan’s feelings but is in love with Arulmozhi Varman who gave her the name Samuthira Kumari (sea maiden). A strong supporter of the Cholas, Poonguzhali has dreams of becoming a queen one day.  She is bold, adventurous and quite familiar with Lanka.
12. Alwarkadiyan Nambi (actor Jayaram) is a Vishnu bhakt. Alwars were Vishnu devotees who attained sainthood. He is a devotee of them.  He is someone who the prime minister of the kingdom sends here and there with messages, with spy work, he knows everything and reports everything back to the prime minister. He and Vanthiyadevan end up on similar missions given to them by different people.  He had an adopted sister Nandini who he grew up with. Both would sing Vishnu bhakti songs in temples.
13. Nandini (actor Aishwarya Rai) was abandoned outside Nambi’s house as a child. A breathtaking beauty who grew up as a Vishnu bhakt and someone who adored Andal (a goddess married to Vishnu). Nandini falls in love with a prince as a young girl, but once people find out, she gets separated and sent away. Nambi doesn’t know where she went, who sent her and ever since she has appeared again as Pazhuvoor princess (Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar’s wife), and wishes to get in touch with her.
14. Pandiya Prince (actor Master Raghavan), a young boy is said to be the next in line after Veerapandiyan’s death. He is currently in hiding and has a group of supporters including Kaalamugars, a type of Veera Shaivites known to do penance on cremation grounds and believed to have special powers and curses (hence, common folk tend to stay clear of them).
15. Ravidasan (actor Kishore) is an aide to Pandyans, and the main antagonist in the story. He along with Soman Sambavan (actor Riyaz Khan) and several others plot to bring down the Cholas and make the Pandiya Prince the king. In the movie, his first appearance is in the secret tunnel. Karuthiruman (actor Yog Japee) is another boatman who helps these people to reach Lanka.
16. Mandakini Devi is a deaf and mute elderly lady who lives in Sri Lanka. She is often in recluse, but very fond of Poonguzhali. She seems to always be around Arulmozhi Varman and saves him from many dangers before disappearing again. They call her the Oomai Rani (the mute queen).

The below wiki page has details of more characters, but it has several spoilers too. Several relationships mentioned here get revealed much later as the story flows https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponniyin_Selvan

Author: Bhaskar N Subramanian, with most of the initial inputs from a friend’s cousin Gayatri Kannan