The making of veteran filmmaker Mani Ratnam’s most ambitious film project ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ is underway in full swing. Just a few hours back, actor Prakash Raj shared a photograph of himself along with Mani Ratnam and Karthi who had landed in Gwalior airport.
The ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ team will reportedly commence their next filming schedule in the town of Orchha in Madhya Pradesh, which is famous for its forts and temples that were built in the 16th and 17th centuries. Considering Orchha’s historical significance and olden setting, the place seems to perfect for an epic historical drama like ‘Ponniyin Selvan’.
A few weeks back, the shooting of ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ was underway in Pondicherry as per COVID-19 protocols. While Orchha’s shoot will ostensibly commence from tomorrow, that is from 19th August, and will reportedly be done over a period of fifteen days. It is being said that almost 80% of the film’s shoot has already been concluded. As per the latest buzz, for the Orchha schedule, major palace portions will purportedly be filmed in Fort Orchha, Fort Garkundhar, Gwalior fort, and Maheshwar.
Mani Ratnam’s star-studded magnum opus boasts of an interesting pool of cast members. As per a list circulating on the internet, the cast included Vikram as Aditya Karikalan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as Nandhini/Mandhakini Devi, Prakash Raj as Sundhara Chozhar, Karthi as Vandiyadevan, Jayam Ravi as Arulmozhi Varman, and Trisha as Kundavai.
While Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will be seen as the film’s antagonist, the titular role of Ponniyin Selvan (Arulmozhi Varman) is being essayed by Jayam Ravi. Prakash Raj had earlier replaced Amitabh Bachchan for the role of Sundhara Chozhar.
You might already be aware that ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ is based on Kalki Krishnamurthy’s 1955 novel of the same name. The book chronicles the account of the early days of Arulmozhi Varman, who later became the great Chola emperor Rajaraja Chola I. ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ will be released in two parts, while the first part ‘PS 1’ is slated to release in the first half of the year 2022.