Ace director Mani Ratnam is gearing up to take the most awaited film based on the epic novel Ponniyin Selvan to the floors. The groundwork for this project is on and reports have it that the shooting will begin later this year.

An interesting piece of info doing rounds about this magnum opus is that there will be 12 songs in the album. Also, Mani Ratnam will be retaining his core team. Oscar-winning music composer AR Rahman will score the music and lyricist Vairamuthu will be penning the lyrics for all the songs. Sources tell us that the director is set on working with Vairamuthu despite the widespread criticism. The lyricist has been accused of sexual misconduct during the recent #MeToo movement.

This is an ambitious project inspired by the classic novel Ponniyin Selvan. The book traces the life of the most popular among the Chozha kings, Raja Raja Chozhan I. It is in fact about his early life when he was known as Arul Mozhi Varman.

The director has roped in a bevy of stars including Vikram, Karthi,  Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jayam Ravi, Keerthy Suresh and others to play the main characters in the film. Elango Kumaravel will be co-writing the adaptation along with Mani Ratnam.

In a recent interview to The Hindu, Aishwarya Rai confirmed she has signed the project, but said she can’t reveal more at the moment. “I don’t think it will be fair to override Mani sir and speak about the project. He’s my Guru. I started my first film ever (Iruvar) with him, and even though there’s such warmth and familiarity in our professional relationship today, it’s his wish to share details with the world whenever he chooses to.”

Lyca Productions, which had previously released Ratnam’s Chekka Chivantha Vaanam, will bankroll the project. Apparently, buoyed by the success of Chekka Chivantha Vaanam, Lyca has agreed to come on board to fund Ratnam’s dream project.    

(Content provided by Digital Native)