The release date of Mani Ratnam’s upcoming film Ponniyin Selvan: Part One has been announced as September 30, 2022.
The film will be the first instalment of a two-part series, which is based on the classic novel about the life of Raja Raja Chozhan I, by Kalki Krishnamurthy.
Jayam Ravi in a still from the film
The magnum opus, produced by Madras Talkies as well as Lyca, has a star-studded cast of Vikram, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Ashwin Kakumanu, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Sobhita Dhulipala, Sarath Kumar, Prabhu, Vikram Prabhu, Jayaram, Prakash Raj, Parthiban, Lal, Jayachitra, Riyaz Khan, with more names expected to be revealed soon.
The technical crew boasts of several A-listers such as AR Rahman for music, Sreekar Prasad for editing, Ravi Varman for cinematography, Thotta Tharani for production design, Jeyamohan for dialogues, Eka Lakhani for costumes, Vikram Gaikwad for makeup, master Brinda for choreography and so on.
Aishwarya Rai in a still from the film
The story is set in the 10th century during a tumultuous time in the Chola Empire when the power struggle between different branches of the ruling family caused violent rifts between the potential successors to the reigning emperor. The movie is touted to be an adventure epic where brave soldiers, cunning spies and evil schemers all try to win the empire for themselves, and a civil war becomes imminent until the scores can be settled.
All this political and military turmoil leads to the Cholas becoming the most prosperous and powerful empire in the continent and one of the most successful and long reigning in history. PS-1 marks the beginning of the Golden Era.
Mani Ratnam’s last directorial was Chekka Chivantha Vaanam which released in 2018, and he also created the Netflix anthology Navarasa with Jayendra Panchapakesan in 2021.
