Ponniyin Selvan: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan looks regal as Queen Nandini in BTS picture

It looks like a BTS (behind-the-scenes) picture of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan from Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan: I has surfaced on the internet. In the picture, Aishwarya is seen as her character Nandini, the queen of Pazhuvoor. The actress looks regal in a gorgeous silk saree that she has accessorised with some traditional jewellery. She is seen along with the film's cinematographer Ravi Varman and both are posing for the camera. The picture, however, was not shared by any of the official handles related to the film. Aishwarya plays dual role in the film- that of Queen Nandini and Mandakini Devi.

Ponniyin Selvan, director Mani Ratnam's ambitious project is gearing up release on September 30 across theatres worldwide. The magnum opus features Vikram, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Trisha and Aishwarya Rai in the lead roles and will release in five languages- Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Tamil. The film is an adaptation of the novel of the same name and revolves around the Chola dynasty and early days of Arunmozhivarman, who goes on to become Raja Raja Cholan I.. The star cast also includes Prabhu, Prakash Raj, Parthiban, Sarathkumar, Nasser, Rahman, Jayaram, Vikram Prabhu and Aishwarya Lekshmi. 

Music for the film is by AR Rahman. While the cinematography is by Ravi Varman, editing is handled by A Sreekar Prasad. Thotta Tharani is incharge of the art direction. With just over a month to go for the film's release, the team has begun aggressively promoting the film. Two songs from the album- Ponni Nadhi and Chola Chola, have already been released and have received a lot of appreciation from fans. The lyrics for the songs are by newcomer Ilango Krishnan. The team is expected to release the rest of the songs and the trailer of the film soon. Ponniyin Selvan, which will be released in two parts, has been jointly bankrolled by Lyca Productions and Madras Talkies. The shooting for both the portions are complete.