Mani Ratnam resumes shoot of Ponniyin Selvan in Pondicherry

After multiple delays due to the pandemic, director Mani Ratnam and the team of Ponniyin Selvan has once again resumed the shoot of the magnum opus. The team is currently shooting in Pondicherry and is expected to move to Hyderabad after the two-week-long schedule. 

In a recent interaction with the media during the promotions of Netflix anthology Navarasa, the filmmaker had informed that close to 70% of the shoot of the first instalment of the magnum opus is over. The makers recently released the title poster of the movie which was titled PS-1, hinting that the film will be released as several chapters as fitting for a sprawling epic novel such as Kalki’s Ponniyin Selvan. 

Before the Pondicherry schedule, the team had also shot in Thailand and there were plans last year to erect a huge set in the Pune to shoot the remaining portions. However, this seems to have been cancelled with the project now moving to Hyderabad. Madhya Pradesh is also another rumoured location. 

Karthi and Rahman are expected to be part of the Pondicherry schedule, as per a report in Chennai Times, while Vikram and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan are reported to join the team for its Hyderabad leg two weeks later. 

The big budget fantasy drama, which is expected to be a duology, also has Aishwarya Lekshmi, Lal, Jayaram, Jayam Ravi, Trisha, Sarath Kumar, Prabhu and Vikram Prabhu. B Jeyamohan has co-written the script for the movie, which is set against the backdrop of the Chola dynasty, along with Ratnam. The first instalment is set to release in 2022.