The team of director Mani Ratnam's eagerly-awaited magnum opus, Ponniyin Selvan on Monday, July 7, released a new poster of actor Vikram as Aditya Karikalan in the film. Taking to Twitter, Lyca Productions, the banner that is producing the film along with Mani Ratnam's Madras Talkies, said: "Welcome the Chola Crown Prince! The Fierce Warrior. The Wild Tiger. Aditya Karikalan! #PS1"
The first part of the film is set to hit screens on September 30 this year and will release in five languages — Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi. It is based on the popular Tamil novel Ponniyin Selvan by eminent writer Kalki. The story revolves around the early life of prince Arulmozhi Varman who went on to be known as Raja Raja Cholan.
The film, which Mani Ratnam has said is his dream project, features a host of top stars including actors Vikram, Aishwarya Rai, Trisha, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Jayaram, Parthiban, Lal, Vikram Prabhu, Jayaram, Prabhu and Prakash Raj. The project is reportedly one of the most expensive projects ever undertaken in the country.
AR Rahman is scoring the music for PS-1 and cinematography is by Ravi Varman. National Award-winning art director Thotta Tharani is in charge of production design while Mani Ratnam's trusted editor Sreekar Prasad is handling its editing.
Jayam Ravi will be reportedly essaying the role of Arulmozhi Varman or Ponniyin Selvan, who came to be known as Raja Raja Chola later, and Karthi will be appearing as Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan, a warrior prince of Vannar in the film. Aishwarya Rai will be seen as Nandini, while Trisha will be seen in the role of Kundavai Pirattiyar, a Chola princess.
Prior to Ponniyin Selvan, Mani Ratnam was on board as the co-creator of Netflix’s anthology Navarasa which featured several popular actors like Suriya, Vijay Sethupathi, Parvathy Thiruvothu, Prakash Raj, Aditi Balan, Siddarth, Yogi Babu, Bobby Simha and Revathi among others. The nine-part anthology premiered on Netflix on August 6 last year.
Welcome the Chola Crown Prince! The Fierce Warrior. The Wild Tiger. Aditya Karikalan! #PS1 @LycaProductions #ManiRatnam pic.twitter.com/HJoUP4P6Ln
— Madras Talkies (@MadrasTalkies_) July 4, 2022