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The audio and the trailer launch of director Mani Ratnam‘s Ponniyin Selvan: Part One took place at a grand event in Chennai on Tuesday evening. The highlight of the event was the participation of the twin pillars of Tamil cinema, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan. The superstar duo had graced the event as the chief guest. They also revealed their shared love for iconic writer Kalki Krishnamurthy’s timeless epic saga Ponniyin Selvan.
Kamal revealed that he wanted to make Ponniyin Selvan and he even bought rights to the novel from matinee idol MG Ramachandran, who had then nurtured the ambition of turning this book into a movie. “I don’t know where to begin. Mani Ratnam and I have spoken about the film a lot. That itself is a separate story. The story was with MGR and when I went and asked, he gave it to me. And he told me to make the film immediately. I didn’t understand why back then. The novel came into the public domain. I felt very bad about that. I always thought about whether it will be me or Mani who will be making something like Ponniyin Selvan. I tried but I couldn’t make it. But Mani has had this dream all along. This film will be a success. And I am glad I am a part of it,” Kamal said at the event.
During the event, Rajinikanth recalled that back in the day he was the popular choice to play Vallavarayan Vanidiyadevan, which is now played by Karthi in Mani Ratnam’s movie.
“I am a reader of historical fiction, and people kept asking me if I have read Ponniyin Selvan. Whenever someone suggests me a book, my first question would be ‘how many pages?’ And when I was told it is a five-part book spanning more than 2000 pages, I was like ‘ada poya’ (chuck it). Later, I got to know that in Kumutham Magazine, former CM Jayalalithaa answered a reader’s question back in the 70s. One guy had asked who would she like to see as Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan if Ponniyin Selvan was made into a film. She wrote a one-word answer: Rajinikanth. I became so happy, and that’s how I picked up the book. Finishing the series, I was so moved. If Kalki was alive today I would go to his house and will fall at his feet,” Rajinikanth said.
Kamal also revealed that he too was fascinated by Vallavarayan character. “When I acquired the rights of Ponniyin Selvan story back then, Sivaji Ganesan sir told me one thing. Prabhu was present at that time, he is a witness. So, Sivaji told me if you make the film, cast Rajinikanth as Vallavarayan. I asked him then what should I play. He said ‘Arumozhi Varman’,” he said.
The upcoming historical drama will release in two parts. The first part is due in cinemas on September 30. The film has a sprawling star cast, including Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Sobhita Dhulipala, Prabhu, R Sarathkumar, Vikram Prabhu, Jayaram, Prakash Raj, Rahman and R Parthiban.
“I was thinking I should play Vallavarayan. Kamal should play Arulmozhi Varman, and Vijayakanth should play Aditya Karikalan. Rekha should play Nandini. Sathyaraj for Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar… I was dreaming all of this back then,” Rajinikanth added.
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