Legal notice against Mani Ratnam for 'misrepresenting Cholas' in Ponniyin Selvan:I

It looks like Mani Ratnam's ambitious project, the magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan: I has landed in legal soup. We hear that a Chennai-based activist has sent a legal notice to Mani Ratnam claiming that the ace director has misrepresented Cholas in the film. According to the notice, actor Vikram, who plays Aditya Karikalan, is seen sporting a naamaam (a vertical thilak, which is sported by the Vaishnavite sect) in the newly-released poster of the film. However, the Cholas belonged to the Saivaite sect, who used only Thiruneer Pattai (sacred ash smeared horizontally on the forehead). This leads to distortion of the history of Cholas and misrepresenting them, claimed the notice. We hear that the petitioner has sought a special screening for him before the film's release in theatre to analyse the facts and misrepresentations in the film.

Ponniyin Selvan: I is an adaptation of Kalki Krishnamurthy's epic novel of the same name and the film, directed by Mani Ratnam, revolves around the Cholas, and the early days of Arulmozhivarman, who later went on to become the great emperor Rajaraja Chola I. The novel is considered as one of the greatest pieces of work in Tamil literature. The ensemble star cast for the film includes Vikram (as Aditya Karikalan), Karthi (Vanthiyathevan), Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (Nandini), Trisha (Kundavai) and Jayam Ravi (Raja Raja Cholan). The rest of the cast includes Prakash Raj, Parthiban, Prabhu, Sarathkumar, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Jayaram, Lal, and Ashwin Kakamanu are also part of the star cast. The film is said to be one of the most expensive ones made in India. There is also a buzz that Ulaganayagan Kamal Haasan has given the voiceover for the introduction scene of the film.

The screenplay for the film is by Mani Ratnam, Jeyamohan and Elango Kumaravel. Cinematography is by Ravi Varman, editing by Sreekar Prasad and art direction is by Thota Tharrani. Music for the film is by AR Rahman. Lyrics for the songs are by Elango Krishnan, Kabilan, Siva Ananth and Krithika Nelson. The film is all set to release worldwide in theatres on September 30 in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi.