Ponniyin Selvan 2: Here's why Oomai Rani's character is one to watch for in Mani Ratnam's drama

When the first instalment of Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan hit screens last September, there was one question that spread like wildfire among those who had not read the five-part novel. Who is Oomai Rani and why does she look like Nandini, the Queen of Pazhuvur? Also, why does she save Arunmozhi Varman every time he is in trouble?

Warning: Spoilers Ahead

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Oomai Rani will have a crucial part to play in the second instalment of the film as her character is the one that joins the dots. In the book, when Ilaiya Piratti Kundavai broaches the subject of Oomai Rani to her father, Sundara Cholan spills the secret that has been haunting him for years. 

Sundara Cholan reveals that he was in love with a beautiful mute woman called Mandakini Devi in Ilangai. They both lived happily together, until Sundara Cholan was asked to take charge of the kingdom after which he failed to keep his promise of returning to the island. Meanwhile, he is informed that Mandakini might have jumped off a cliff and is nowhere to be found, leaving him dejected. Sundara Cholan tells Kundavai that the ghost of Mandakini keeps haunting him in his dreams.

While Mandakini is very much alive, Sundara Cholan is also unaware that she had two children - Nandini and Madhurantakan (Rahman). While it's obvious that Nandini is the daughter of Mandakini with their striking similarities, the big reveal of Madhurantakan being her son came as a huge shock to the readers, too.

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The news is revealed to Madhurantakan himself by his mother Sembiyan Maadevi when the former talks about his wish to ascend the Chola throne. Sembiyan Maadevi tells Madhurantakan that he can never be the Crown Prince as it was the dying wish of her husband (Gandaraditya Chola) to follow the path of Shaivism and make his son a Shiva devotee.

When Madhurantakan doesn't budge, Sembiyan Maadevi informs him that she had given birth to a stillborn son, when at the same time, Mandakini, who was in Thanjavur at the time, had had two children - a boy and a girl. Sembiyan Maadevi had asked her maid to bury her stillborn son and had decided to raise Mandakini's son as her own. The girl child was given to Azwarkadiyan's parents to be raised as their daughter. When the maid and flower seller Vaani Ammal goes to bury Sembiyan Maadevi's son, she realises that the infant is alive and begins to raise him as her son and names her Senthan Amuthan!

However, Mandakini believes that Arunmozhi Varman is her son and hence, saves him on multiple occasions. The one person, whom the Oomai Rani trusts completely is Poonguzhali, her niece. By the time Oomai Rani alias Mandakini Devi makes an appearance before Sundara Cholan and reveals that she is indeed alive, the Chola kingdom is in massive trouble.