Mani Ratnam’s 'Ponniyin Selvan' shoot to resume in Sri Lanka

The novel corona-virus outbreak brought Ponniyin Selvan work to halt. Now the team is planning to resume shoot in Sri Lanka
Mani Ratnam’s 'Ponniyin Selvan' to resume shoot in Sri Lanka
Mani Ratnam’s upcoming Tamil magnum opus 'Ponniyin Selvan' is one of the most-awaited upcoming projects of the Tamil film industry.

The project went on the floors in Thailand last December where the first schedule was filmed for over 90 days. Actors Karthi, Jayam Ravi and Aishwarya Lekshmi took part in the first schedule. The title poster of Ponniyin Selvan was unveiled earlier this year in January.

While the next chedule was planned to be shot in Madhya Prades, the latest report says that the veteran has zeroed in on Sri Lanka as the next location.

“The makers have approached the government to travel to Sri Lanka in the next few weeks. Leading actors in the cast too will be a part of the shoot. There are other possibilities too that are being discussed. One thing for sure is that Ponniyin Selvan isn’t shelved or dropped. The shoot and other updates will be announced soon,” said a source close to the film.

Reports suggest that the cast and crew of Mani Ratnam's 'Ponniyin Selvan' will travel to the neighboring island nation on September 20th for a one-month long schedule. Ponniyin Selvan could be the first big-budget Tamil film to resume shooting amid the pandemic. The film will be an adaptation of Kalki’s epic novel of the same name.

While Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will be seen in a double role - playing both Nandini - the wife of Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar, and the role of Queen Mandakini Devi, Sara Arjun, the popular child actor who rose to fame with the Vikram starrer Deiva Thirumagal, will play the younger version of Nandini in the movie. It was revealed that Prabhu is playing the role of Periya Pazhuvettaiyar and Nizhalgal Ravi as Chinna Pazhuvettaiya.

A few months ago when reports emerged that Vairamuthu has been signed for Ponniyin Selvan, netizens took to Twitter to question Mani Ratnam’s decision to sign the veteran lyricist, who has been accused of sexual harassment by singer Chinmayi. While the makers and composer AR Ratnam are still silent over inclusion of Vairamuthu in the project, recent reports suggest that the award-winning lyricist is no longer part of the film.

Bankrolled by Lyca Productions and Madras Talkies, Ponniyin Selvan will feature an extensive star cast including Vikram, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Trisha Krishnan, Vikram Prabhu, Shobita Dhulipala, Jayaram, Prabhu Ganesan, Lal, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Rahman, Ashwin Kakumanu, and so on in the other pivotal roles.

Mani Ratnam, the director himself has penned the adapted screenplay of the project, along with Siva Anand and Kumaravel. AR Rahman, the academy award-winner composes the songs and background score for the movie. Ravi Varman is the director of photography. Sreekar Prasad handles the editing. Ponniyin Selvan is jointly bankrolled by Mani Ratnam's Madras Talkies and Lyca Productions.

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