Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan-1 trailer and audio launch to be held on September 6?

Grapevine has it that the trailer and audio launch of Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan-1 are likely to take place in Chennai at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium on September 6. Although we await an official confirmation from the makers, a source confirmed to OTTplay that the news is true. Hearsay is that the much-awaited event will have its entire cast and crew in attendance. Earlier, reports suggested that the teaser of Ponniyin Selvan-1 would be launched at the Thanjavur Big Temple, however it didn't happen.

Madras Talkies, the production house of Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan, had confirmed that part one (PS-1) will hit the screens on September 30.

Ponniyin Selvan features Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Vikram Prabhu, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Prabhu, Jayaram, Sobitha Dhulipala, Lal, Sarath Kumar, Riyaz Khan and Ashwin Kakamanu, and is co-produced by Lyca Productions.

The Ponniyin Selvan duology will see Mani Ratnam team up once more with ace composer AR Rahman and cinematographer Ravi Varman. Notably, Lyca Productions had tweeted that Tips Music bagged the audio rights of Ponniyin Selvan for a whopping price of Rs 25 crore.

Recently, the Kalki Group announced Paraak Paraak, a travel documentary based on R Krishnamurthy's magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan, which will be released on their YouTube channel on September 24. This travel documentary appears to be aimed at reaching those who do not read print (books) and educating people about historical events. According to a report, published in the Hindu, the locations in which the novel has been set include Kattumannarkoil, the Kadambur palace, Kodumbalur, Kallanai, Kodiakarai, Thirukoilur, Mamallapuram and Thakkolam.
“The documentary consists of 15 episodes and was shot over 30 days covering 55 locations.”

For details, visit www.kalkionline.com.

Will Ponniyin Selvan, hailed as a classic and written in the 1950s as a serialised novel in the Tamil magazine Kalki, find a new audience in the twenty-first century, where people are more accustomed to OTT platforms and less inclined to read? Fingers crossed.

The Ponniyin Selvan-1 teaser dropped on social media platforms on July 8 and drew a roaring response, with images of mighty warriors, majestic emperors, and cunning princesses, set against the backdrop of the mighty Chola empire of the 10th century.

Mani Ratnam, on the other hand, is working on a new script, and will most likely be made in Hindi.