Sometimes, no amount of money does the trick for promotions than a single speech. The magnum opus of Mani Ratnam, Ponnian Selvan-1 is being released on a pan-Indian scale and the movie team is leaving no stone unturned to promote the film. The cast of PS1 is touring all over India for the promotions and in the process, Chiyaan Vikram has given a speech in the Mumbai press meet which has completely gone viral on social media with many netizens appreciating the way Vikram has articulated the greatness of the Cholas and the ancient Indians in general. He opined that there is a necessity of showcasing our rich culture and pass it on to future generations.
“We all go to the Pyramids or the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Someone said that we are actually appreciating a building that doesn’t stand. It’s falling over and we all tend to go wow and feel like let’s take a picture. We all get excited. But, we have temples that stand even today which didn’t use any plaster. For this particular stone(Brihadeeswara Temple), they had to use a ramp that was 6 km long. Bulls, Elephants, and men used to pull it. Without any machinery, they built this and it withstood 6 earthquakes without any plaster. These are the things we need to know about. This particular king (Raja Raja Chola) built 500 dams in his time. He made a water management ministry at that time. He held elections for village leaders. He names cities after women. They’ve had hospitals that are free. He gave loans to people for their dignity. This is something that is so illustrious and happened back in the 9th century. You talk about superpower countries today. But back when we had the biggest maritime naval force in the world, which went all the way to Bali, Malaysia, and had even sent the ambassadors to China. Do you know what these superpowers were doing back then? America was not even discovered by Columbus. Europe was in the dark ages during the 9th century. Think about our culture. Think about how advanced we were. It’s nothing to do with North India or South India. We are Indians and we need to feel proud about that. So don’t you think we should celebrate history?” said Chiyaan.
The video of this speech has instantly become viral which in fact is contributing to the promotion of PS1. Many people who do not have any idea about the Chola and Tamil culture are now looking to book tickets to witness that grandeur on the screen.