23 Sep – Although many people thought that the epic story of "Ponniyin Selvan" would be easier told in a series form, Mani Ratnam recently stated that he has never looked at it as a great way to tell the story. The renowned filmmaker, whose Part 1 of his dream project will be released on 30 September, stated that he has always seen the novel as a product for the big screen.
"The first time I read Ponniyin Selvan, I must've just finished school. And when I read it, I looked at it as a big screen thing. Everything looked big to me - the adventure, the horses, the war, the women, the men – everything appealed to you as something which is so graphic, so big. It has always been a film for me. I never looked at the option of it being a web series," he said. The director continued, "I'm sure that it can be done and I'm sure that somebody will do it at some point. Maybe you'll do it. But to me, it was meant for theatres, meant for cinema. It has everything that we celebrate in cinema." The upcoming movie, dubbed as Mani Ratnam's magnum opus, features stars that include Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Trisha Krishnan, and others, with award-winning musician AR Rahman composing music for the film.