Ponniyin Selvan: I
Ponniyin Selvan: I () also known as PS-I, is an upcoming Indian Tamil-language epic historical fiction film directed and co-produced by Mani Ratnam, under his production studio Madras Talkies, along with Allirajah Subaskaran under the banner Lyca Productions. It is the first of two cinematic parts based on Kalki Krishnamurthy's 1955 novel "Ponniyin Selvan". The film is written by Ratnam along with Elango Kumaravel and B. Jeyamohan. It stars an ensemble cast of Vikram, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Trisha, Jayaram, Sobhita Dhulipala, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Vikram Prabhu and Ashwin Kakumanu while R. Sarathkumar , R. Parthiban, Prabhu, Prakash Raj and Rahman appear in supporting roles. The film's music is composed by A. R. Rahman, with cinematography handled by Ravi Varman, editing done by A. Sreekar Prasad and production design by Thota Tharani respectively. The adaptation for the novel was planned by established actors and directors from the film fraternity, ever since the novel gained popularity. But, did not materialize due to several reasons. After a failed attempt by M. G. Ramachandran in late-1950s, Mani Ratnam unsuccessfully tried to adapt the novel in the mid-1990s and early-2010s. Stating it as his "dream project", Ratnam  revived the adaptation in January 2019, with Lyca Productions being brought on board for funding the project. With several changes in the cast and crew, the film went on production in mid-December and completed within September 2021, irrespective of production being halted twice due to COVID-19 pandemic. The film was shot in various places across India, with few sequences being shot in Thailand. It is scheduled to release on 30 September 2022. Premise. Set in 9th century, the film revolves around the early life of Chola Prince Arulmozhi Varman who was later known as the great Chola emperor Raja  Raja Chola. He was the most powerful king of his time, in South India, chiefly remembered for reinstating the Chola power and ensuring its supremacy in South East Asia and Indian Ocean. The story begins with Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan and narrates his adventurous journey. Most of the characters in the film are introduced through him. Queen Nandini, the wife of Commander of the Chola Army, Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar, moves on a mission to kill Aditya Karikalan and help her husband to ascend the throne. While Arulmozhivarman discovers several secrets about consipiracy planned by the minsters and Nandini, Vandiyadevan is assigned to bring  the prince Arulmozhivarman from Sri Lanka to save the throne. Production. Initial attempts. In 1958, M. G. Ramachandran announced "Ponniyin Selvan", a film adaptation of Kalki Krishnamurthy's historical novel of the same name. Ramachandran bought the film rights to the novel for , and would produce, direct and star in the adaptation, which would feature an ensemble cast including Vyjayanthimala, Gemini Ganesan, Padmini, Savitri, B. Saroja Devi, M. N. Rajam, T. S. Balaiah, M. N. Nambiar, O. A. K. Thevar and V. Nagaiah. Before shooting could begin, Ramachandran met with an accident, and the wound took six months to heal ; Ramachandran was unable to continue with the film even after renewing the rights four years later. In a January 1994 interview with "Filmfare", Mani Ratnam stated that adapting the novel was one of his "dream projects" that he had hoped to work on during his career. Ratnam revealed that he worked on a first draft of the film alongside actor-director Kamal Haasan, who had bought the rights of the novel, but the pair shelved their plan as the project did not make financial sense at the time. In late 2010, Ratnam renewed his interest in the project and worked  alongside writer Jeyamohan to finalise the script for the film adaptation of "Ponniyin Selvan". Expected to be made in the Tamil and Telugu languages at a cost of ₹100 crores, Ratnam planned to produce the film himself initially, with the intention of teaming up with a bigger production house later on in the film-making process. Technicians including composer A. R. Rahman, cinematographer Santosh Sivan, editor A. Sreekar Prasad and art director Sabu Cyril were soon after attached to the project. Ratnam cast Vijay in the leading role of Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan. After signing the film, Vijay called it a  privilege and a "dream come true" to be working with Ratnam for the second time after "Nerrukku Ner" (1997). Mahesh Babu was cast as Arulmozhi Varman, who later becomes the Chola emperor Rajaraja I in the project, and also expressed his delight at being selected by Ratnam. Arya also joined the project to play a third leading male role after the script was narrated to him. Meanwhile, Sathyaraj was signed to play a supporting role in the film. During the course of the casting process, Ratnam had also considered other actors including Vikram, Suriya and Vishal but they eventually did  not make the final cast. For the leading female roles, the team finalised Anushka Shetty for a role and held discussions with Priyanka Chopra in regard to another character. Seven days before the scheduled start of the shoot, a photoshoot for the film was held in Chennai featuring Vijay and Mahesh Babu. For the shoot, the team sought permission from the officials of Mysore Palace and Lalitha Mahal to film sequences. However, their requests were denied with palace officials keen to keep film crews away from the historic locations. The film was later shelved before the start of the filming  stage, as the expected cost of production escalated. Jeyamohan stated that the film did not materialise as the team struggled to find available locations to shoot the film. He revealed that temple officials in Tamil Nadu refused to allow the team to film scenes on the premises and that the expensive cost of producing replica sets meant that it would not be a viable solution. Development. In January 2019, Ratnam decided to revive "Ponniyin Selvan" after Lyca Productions, who earlier collaborated with him in "Chekka Chivantha Vaanam" (2018), agreed to fund the film. While Vikram, Vijay Sethupathi and Jayam Ravi  decided to play the lead roles, along with Silambarasan in a crucial role, Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan too assigned the project; the former playing the role of Sundara Chola in the film. Composer A. R. Rahman, screenwriter Jeyamohan and editor Sreekar Prasad, were retained in the new version. In April 2019, a major change in the film's cast took place, with Sethupathi opting out of the project due to schedule conflicts, thus being replaced by Karthi, and Anushka Shetty was included in the film's cast, working with Ratnam for the first time. Aishwarya Rai, later herself  confirmed her inclusion in the project, at the Cannes Film Festival. Anushka Shetty, who has been part of the film's old version, officially signed the project. Actress Amala Paul, too confirmed being a part of the film. Vikram, who is one of the principal characters in the film, too confirmed his part. Veteran actors R. Parthiban and Jayaram were also reported to join the film's cast. In June 2019, Elango Kumaravel announced that he will co-write the screenplay for this version with Ratnam and Jeyamohan. Ratnam decided to retain cinematographer Santhosh Sivan for this project. However, his  unavailability made the director to sign on Ravi Varman. Varman, was working for "Indian 2", directed by S. Shankar, before signing the film's project. But the latter's delay made Varman to quit the film, making him available for "Ponniyin Selvan". In September 2019, Ratnam confirmed that he will be working with the composer and lyricist duo Rahman and Vairamuthu, who were a part of Ratnam's frequent collaborations since "Roja" (1992). However, it received huge displeasure from netizens, as the latter was accused of sexual misconduct and harassment by several women singers and artists from the Tamil film  industry. This also resulted in Anushka Shetty opting out of the project. Art director Thota Tharani signed the new version of the project, thus replacing Sabu Cyril, who worked in the old version. Costume designer Eka Lakhani travelled to Thanjavur temples to study sculptures, meet weavers, and understand the heritage before starting the process of designing. Ratnam announced that the film's shoot will take place across Tamil Nadu and Thailand, and as per his advice, several actors from the film including Vikram, Jayam Ravi, Karthi grew their hair long for their roles in the film. In October 2019, Ashwin  Kakumanu announced his inclusion in the project. Actor Lal, shared a picture of him along with Ratnam, raising expectations about the film. He further confirmed his inclusion, stating that he will play the role of an aged warrior in the film. Prior to the film's shoot, Ratnam went on a location recce across Thailand, and a few reports stated on choosing Thailand as the primary spot, since its rich forests and the temples there resemble the 9th-century feel in which the story is set. Another major change in the film's cast happened, with Amala Paul and Keerthy  Suresh opting out of the film. While the former, stated call sheet issues as the reason, the latter cited the she was roped in for "Annaatthe". However, a few addition in the film's cast took place, with Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi and Vikram Prabhu were reportedly signed in the film. Characters. The story thread of "Ponniyin Selvan" spans years and more than 50 characters, with 15 principal roles. The older version of Ratnam's film adaptation had Vijay playing Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan one of the two protagonists and Mahesh Babu playing the other protagonist role of Arulmozhivarman alias Rajaraja I alias  Ponniyin Selvan, after whom the novel is named. After the project was revived, the roles went to Karthi and Jayam Ravi respectively. It was later reported that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will play dual roles in the film, as Nandini, the main antagonist of the novel, and her mute mother, queen Mandakini Devi. For his role as Azhwarkadiyan Nambi, Jayaram was sported a bald look in the film. Trisha would essay the role of Kundavai alias Illaiya Piratti. For the role of Poonguzhali, Aishwarya Lekshmi learnt rowing, as the character Poonguzhali is a boat woman in the novel. Post shooting being  suspended due to lockdown, Trisha trained in horseriding at the Madras School of Equitation, where she was enrolled for a special course on 26 October 2020, and completed within 14 November 2020. Both Jayam Ravi and Karthi, confirmed their characters playing in the film. Filming. Principal photography began on 11 December 2019 at Krabi, Kanchanaburi and other places in Thailand, where the crew planned its shooting schedule for 40 days. After completing the first schedule in January 2020, the team planned to shoot the second schedule in Chennai, but later moved to Puducherry. The second schedule of shooting took place  on 3 February 2020 in Puducherry, and completed within six days. Then the team moved to Hyderabad for the next schedule, on 10 February, where the entire team planned to shoot at Ramoji Film City. The second schedule was wrapped up on 26 February 2020. It was reported that, Karthi faced an accident while he was shooting in Hyderabad, where he was thrown up in the air, while riding a horse, however he faced only minor injuries. As of March 2020, the makers shot the major portion of the film for 90 days before shooting being interrupted due to the  COVID-19 pandemic. In January 2020, it was reported that the film would be split into two parts, which was confirmed by Mani Ratnam in April 2020. In September 2020, Ratnam eventually planned to resume the shooting at Sri Lanka, but due to restrictions on international travel, it was difficult for the team to get permission from the officials to resume filming, thereby decided to shoot major portions of the film in India. Ratnam wanted to shoot at major portions in Hyderabad, Jaisalmer, Jaipur, Madhya Pradesh and many prominent locations across India. Although the team eventually planned for filming in mid -November, he decided against doing so, lamenting that despite government allowing permission for film shootings, it was advised that the film's shooting must have minimal crew members, with not more than 75 people working on the film. Mani Ratnam stated that since 500 people will be featured in the film's shoot, it is difficult for shooting in mid-2020. On 10 December 2020, a minor schedule of the film took place in Pollachi, featuring the lead actors. The team stated that the major schedule of the film will take place in January 2021, and was touted to be the  biggest schedule, which will be wrapped up within a single stretch. Vikram was reported to be present in the schedule, after completing the shoot for "Cobra". After a nine-month long hiatus, the shooting for the film resumed on 6 January 2021 at Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad. The major schedule featured the attendance of Sarathkumar, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Trisha, Rahman, Prakash Raj, Parthiban and Mohan Raman. On 3 February 2021, the makers shot for a special number featuring Trisha and 250 other artists at a huge set constructed at Ramoji Film City. The art direction team, supervised by Thotta Tharani , had constructed five huge sets in the shooting location. According to the executive producer Siva Ananth, the lead cast members began shooting for the portions in Hyderabad, excluding Vikram, who earlier shot for the portions in January, and was reported to join the sets in between a brief break during the schedule. After filming for a schedule ended in March, the next schedule was to start in May; by 23 April, it was delayed to June due to a spike in COVID-19 cases. Plans to shoot in North Indian states during that time was changed to instead shoot in Chennai  and Hyderabad. In mid-June 2021, it was announced that shooting would only resume once there were fewer COVID-19 cases. Filming resumed in July 2021 at Puducherry. In August, the team went to Madhya Pradesh for location scouting, so that they can shoot the pending portions, and later resumed the shoot in Orchha and Gwalior. Within late-August 2021, Jayam Ravi and Vikram had completed his portions for both the parts in the film. The team later moved to Maheshwar for another schedule which majorly focuses on Karthi and Trisha. On 4 September 2021, Rahman confirmed that he completed his  portions. The team had begun shooting in Pollachi for a song sequence, in the middle of the month. The team moved to Pollachi and then to Mysore to shoot some sequences. It was reported that Karthi joined shooting in Pollachi and Ashwin Kakamanu joined shooting in Mysore. Karthi finished shooting for his portions on 16 September 2021. On 18 September, Mani Ratnam confirmed that the entire shooting of the first part has been wrapped, except for few sequences in the second part. The dubbing work has started on 27 September 2021. Trisha and Aishwarya Lekshmi, lends their own voice for  the role Kundavai and Poonguzhali respectively for the tamil version of the film. Controversies. In September 2021, the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) filed a lawsuit against Mani Ratnam in connection with the death of a horse allegedly during the film's shooting in Hyderabad in August 2021. An official from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India, complained to the local officials against Ratnam, his production house Madras Talkies and the owner of the horse under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PCA) Act and Indian Penal Code (IPC), saying that several horses were continuously  used for hours at the film set due to which the animals were tired and dehydrated. Khushboo Gupta, the Indian Chief Advocatory Officer from PETA raised objections against Mani Ratnam saying that "In the age of computer-generated imagery (CGI), production companies have no excuse for forcing exhausted horses to play at war until one of them drops dead" and felt that "Compassionate, forward-thinking filmmakers would never dream of hauling sensitive animals to a chaotic movie set and forcing them to 'act'". Another controversy arose when several Hindu organisations demand the arrest of Trisha for shooting in the premises  of the temple, with her footwear on. Music. The film score and soundtrack were composed by Mani Ratnam's norm composer A. R. Rahman. Rahman eventually stated that "Ponniyin Selvan" is one of the most difficult projects, since it is an epic film, and required an exhaustive research. He further stated that it took him six months to work on the project, and Rahman and Mani Ratnam also went to Bali to write some of the songs. However, the challenging part was to create a particular sound that Ratnam was looking for. In an interaction with an online news portal , Rahman stated that "He (Mani Ratnam) wanted a particular sound, which is unique but at the same time relatable and we had to work really hard to get the sound". Rahman researched on periodic instruments for the soundtrack in tune to the film's setting in Chola period. In a September 2019 interaction with the press, Ratnam confirmed his association, with Rahman and Vairamuthu, and he further stated that the film will have 12 songs (featuring in two-parts), all of them written by the latter. However, their inclusion received flak from the industry, following allegations of sexual misconduct against  Vairamuthu, and the team removed him out of the project, following the backlash. Rahman did not comment about Vairamuthu's exit, since the decision was made by the officials of Mani Ratnam's production house. Rahman told that two of the songs were written by Kabilan. In an online interaction, Mani Ratnam announced that Venba Geethaiyan wrote one song for the film, who was also present during the conversation. In August 2021, the production executives officially revealed that poet Ilango Krishnan will pen down eight songs for the film. Singer Harini confirmed in an interview that she has rendered her  voice for one of the songs in the film. Lyricist Kabilan confirmed that Shreya Ghoshal sang on a song in the film and shared his experience working with Ratnam, Rahman and Ghoshal. Rahman finished completing work on all the songs in the film, during the COVID-19 lockdown in India. Apart from composition, he also sang for the titular track in the film. Release. "Ponniyin Selvan: I" is scheduled to be released on 30 September 2022. It was previously scheduled to release on summer (May–July) 2022, but was postponed due to production works.