The trailer and audio for Ponniyin Selvan, co-starring Chiyaan Vikram, Karthi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and others, were officially launched at Chennai’s Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Tuesday. The event’s chief guests were Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth. Speaking at the trailer launch event, Kamal Haasan revealed that although he wanted to make Ponniyin Selvan, Mani Ratnam was the one who “succeeded.”
Mani Ratnam was lauded by Kamal Haasan for his commitment to the film’s production. “Marudhur Gopalan Ramachandran (popularly known as MGR) had bagged the rights and when I asked, he gave them to me. He asked me to take the film as soon as it came to the film domain. I was upset that it was already in the public domain, as it was a film I wanted to make. Mani Ratnam has preserved this dream for 40 years. I knew that either me or Mani would make Ponniyin Selvan. I attempted but Mani succeeded. This is a historical film, a winner. It’s going to be an important film.”
Additionally, Kamal stated that Ponniyin Selvan fulfilled their desire to create a movie as iconic as Sholay, which starred Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Hema Malini, Jaya Bachchan and Amjad Khan.
There have been several failed attempts in the past to turn Kalki Krishnamoorthy’s five-volume historical novel Ponniyin Selvan into a film. The production of this magnum opus with an ensemble cast was first announced by MG Ramachandran in 1958, but nothing ever came of the project.
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A screenshot of excerpts from Kamal Haasan’s 1989 interview with a weekly film magazine quickly gained popularity on social media when the film was announced. In the interview, Kamal Haasan said that Mani Ratnam and he first discussed turning Ponniyin Selvan into a movie in the 1980s. The two then worked on adapting the books into a movie but their ambitious project was shelved yet again, only to be resurrected by Mani Ratnam in 2019 with a new cast.
Ponniyin Selvan is being hailed as a disruptor in the Tamil film industry. One of Lyca Productions’ most ambitious projects, the two-part franchise is reportedly being made on Rs 500 crore budget. The cast includes Chiyaan Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Trisha and Sobhita Dhulipala among others. On September 30, Ponniyin Selvan will debut in theatres as the first Tamil film to be presented in IMAX format.
