Lyca Productions, producers of Mani Ratnam’s ambitious period drama Ponniyin Selvan, have just announced an exciting update on the much-talked-about film. The film, which is slated to release in two parts, has completed the filming of the first part. Lyca Productions has also confirmed that Ponniyin Selvan will release in theatres next year, in the summer of 2022.
Ponniyin Selvan is an epic period drama, adapted from the superb 1955 novel ‘Ponniyin Selvan‘ by Kalki Krishnamurthy. The film boasts a huge ensemble cast of Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in a double role, Trisha, Karthi, Jayaram, Jayam Ravi, Sobhita Dhulipala and Aishwarya Lekshmi, Prabhu, Sarathkumar, Vikram Prabhu and Ashwin Kakumanu. The music for the film has been composed by A R Rahman, while Mani Ratnam has directed the film, and co-produced it under his banner, Madras Talkies.
The film was in a bit of a legal tangle recently, when a horse died on its sets and the animal welfare organisation People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) filed a case against it for the same.
Now that filming for Ponniyin Selvan Part I is complete, Mani Ratnam will likely get to work on Ponniyin Selvan Part II. Summer 2022 is a good time to release Ponniyin Selvan Part I, given that it’s a family drama that will bring in the crowds to the theatres.