Mani Ratnam is a disciplinarian: Ponniyin Selvan actor Jayaram

Mani Ratnam's much-awaited Ponniyin Selvan (PS-1) will hit screens on September 30 this year. It is no secret that Madras Talkies had announced the news on their Twitter handle, in March.

The film, based on Kalki Krishnamurthy's 1955 celebrated novel, has a screenplay by Mani Ratnam, Jeyamohan and Elango Kumaravel. Ponniyin Selvan tells the story of the early days of Arulmozhivarman, one of the most powerful kings in the south, who went on to become the great Chola emperor Rajaraja Chola I.

The film, which wrapped production in September last year, has been shot across India, including Madhya Pradesh, Hyderabad and Pollachi.

Ponniyin Selvan features Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Karthi, Trisha, Jayam Ravi, Vikram Prabhu, Shobita, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Prabhu, Jayaram, Lal, Sarath Kumar, and Ashwin Kakamanu, in important roles.

Produced by Madras Talkies and Lyca Productions, Ponniyin Selvan has music by AR Rahman.

Actor Jayaram, who's said to play Azhwarkadiyan Nambi in the film, in a recent interview, shared his experience of working with Mani Ratnam.

He was quoted saying, "All actors in India would love to act under Mani Ratnam’s direction. I am no exception. I was lucky to have got the opportunity to act in such a prestigious project like Ponniyin Selvan; that too was in Mani Ratnam's direction. I'd consider this my biggest accomplishment to date."

The Malayalam actor continued to heap praise on the veteran filmmaker. "I haven't seen any other film set that is as disciplined as Mani Ratnam's. Everybody woke up at 3.30 in the morning and will be ready with make-up at sharp six on the sets, for their first shot. Such was the artistes' respect towards him!"

Cinematographer Ravi Varman has shot the film.

Though speculations were abuzz that Ponniyin Selvan would be released directly on the OTT; the makers had eventually confirmed both parts will release in theatres first. Further, the latest information is that the theatrical rights have been sold for a record price of Rs 125 crore. And, unconfirmed sources tell us it has been bagged by a platform that streamed several films of Suriya earlier.