Amala Paul explains why she declined Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan: 'Was not in the mental state to do it'

Amala Paul has discussed why she declined to be a part of Ponniyin Selvan-1, a film by Mani Ratnam. The actor admitted that she had initially tried out for the role in the movie but was unsuccessful. In 2021, the filmmaker called her to offer a role in the project, but Amala refused to star in it because she was "not in the mental state to do it."

The actor told ETimes, "There was a very good reason why this took place. I was thrilled when Mani Ratnam sir called me in for an audition for Ponniyin Selvan. Being a major admirer of Mani sir, I was incredibly anticipating it. And at the time, that didn't take place. I felt incredibly let down and depressed."

Further, she went on to add, "In 2021, I was approached by him for the same. But, I was not in the right frame of mind to accept, so I had to decline. I won't say I regret anything if you ask me because certain things are just meant to be. In my opinion, it just depends on how we view it."

The star cast of Ponniyin Selvan includes Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Vikram, Karthi, Jayamravi, Trisha, Aishwarya Lakshmi, Vikram Prabhu, Jayaram, and Sobhita Dhulipala, among others.

The movie is based on Kalki Krishnamurthy's popular historical novel 'Ponniyin Selvan (The Son Of Ponni)'.

The film has been backed by Lyca Productions and will premiere in cinemas on September 30 in five languages; Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada.

The film will clash with Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan's Vikram Vedha at the box office.

Meanwhile, on the work front, Amala was recently seen in the Malayalam thriller Cadaver, for which she also turned producer. She recently featured in the Tamil anthology series Victim (streams on SonyLIV), in the segment, helmed by Venkat Prabhu.