I attempted making Ponniyin Selvan thrice earlier, says Mani Ratnam and remembers MGR, Kalki Krishnamurthy

The much-awaited Tamil project, Ponniyin Selvan, has been slated for a theatrical release on September 30. The Mani Ratnam directorial which features around 30 prominent actors playing significant roles in it has been jointly bankrolled by his production house Madras Talkies and Lyca Productions.

At the film's teaser launch which was held at Chennai yesterday, the filmmaker began his short speech by thanking Kalki Krishnamurthy who penned the epic novel based on which the movie has been made. Mani recollected that he read the novel for the first time during his college days.

He said, "I became obsessed with the novel around 40 years ago when I read it for the first time during my college days. The characters in it have always been travelling with me since then. It was MGR who was supposed to do the movie first from the Tamil industry. His plan was to take it up after the blockbuster movie Nadodi Mannan."

Mani said it was written somewhere that he has to make the movie despite his plans not materializing thrice earlier. He said, "I attempted making Ponniyin Selvan first in the 1980s and then around 2000. The last time I made an attempt was after 2010," he recollected.

The filmmaker added, "I was aware of the responsibilities while making the project. It is a story which is loved by many people. Everyone who read it is possessive of the story and its characters. I, too, used to feel the same after reading it. And finally, I have presented it based on my imagination."

According to Mani, the film would not have materialized without support from the cast and crew. He thanked music composer AR Rahman, cinematographer Ravi Varman, production designer Thota Tharani, editor Sreekar Prasad and writer Jeyamohan among others.