It’s been Mani Ratnam’s longtime desire to adapt 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, it is learned Mani Ratnam may soon revive it with Karthi, Jayam Ravi and Vikram in the lead roles. According to the latest reports, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been roped into the essay the role of Princess Nandini, the wife of Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar.
Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar is the chancellor and treasurer of the Chola kingdom in the epic novel, written by Kalki Krishnamurthy. In an interview to Film Companion, Aishwarya said that her film with Mani Ratnam is in the works.
She said, "What I will commit to is even though Mani hasn't formally announced it himself, I'm working with him. The word is out so I'm committing to that fact. And I don't have to agree. I'll always be more than thrilled, excited, overwhelmed, humbled, and just happy to work with my guru. So, ya that's happening. Back to school." Telugu veteran actor Mohan Babu is said to have been roped into the essay the role of Pazhuvettaraiyar.
Aishwarya Rai made her acting debut with the movie Iruvar which was directed by Mani Ratnam. Both are collaborating after 9 years and this will be Aishwarya’s fourth outing with Ratnam after her Iruvar in 1997 followed by Guru (2007) and Raavan (2010).
It was told that Lyca Productions is most likely to 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.
But the latest reports suggests that Mani Ratnam is currently in talks with Jio Studios to co-produce the project. If everything goes as planned, the project might kick off from this year-end or early next year and it will be simultaneously made in Tamil and Telugu.
(Content provided by Digital Native)