Filmmaker Mani Ratnam for long has toyed with the idea of adapting Ponniyin Selvan into a film with a huge star cast. Over a decade ago, he had almost announced the project with Vijay, Vikram and Mahesh Babu, and later with Karthi and Ram Charan. But for reasons unknown, the film never took off and after multiple attempts, finally, the project is shaping up and Ratnam is all set to revive it with Vikram, Vijay Sethupathi and Jayam Ravi in the lead.
Now the film will finally go to sets from December after nearly a year of pre-production. According to sources, the first leg of the shoot will commence in Thailand. The film is expected to be shot across a span of 120 days and the first schedule will last for 50 days.
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.
It has already been confirmed that Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Jayam Ravi are officially part of the cast but as per reports the film also stars Jyotika, Mohan Babu, Amala Paul and Keerthy Suresh in pivotal roles. Trisha Krishnan and Vijay Sethupathi are also said to be part of the project.
It is also said Malayalam actor Lal will also be playing an important role in the film. Lal has posted a picture on his social media page raising speculations that he is a part of the upcoming magnum opus.
The film will have music by AR Rahman and widely popular cinematographer Ravi Varman, who has worked in films such as Anniyan, Kaatrin Mozhi and Jagga Jasoos will handle the cinematography of this magnum opus.
It might be noted that Varman was supposed to begin filming for Indian 2, which marks the reunion of Shankar and Kamal Haasan after two decades, but he decided to opt-out to keep himself available for Ponniyin Selvan.
(Content provided by Digital Native)