Ponniyin Selvan director Mani Ratnam reveals why he couldn't make Aishwarya Rai starrer with Kamal Haasan

Vikram, Aishwarya Rai, Trisha starrer epic-adventure Ponniyin Selvan Part One will hit cinemas next week. Currently, the cast is promoting the film in full strength, with the director Mani Ratnam and music director A R Rahman. The team even landed in Mumbai for a special event. 

At the event, the team held a press conference, and there, Mani Ratnam shared that he wanted to make the film since the late- 80s. Mani even revealed that earlier he was supposed to make PS-1 with Kamal Haasan, and they were supposed to start after their cult crime drama Nayagan (1987). Explaining further Mani said, "After Nayagan, I thought of (making) this. I and Kamal wanted to this film. At that time, we didn't have any cast and we working on the script. It didn't get materialised, because it's too big, we couldn't put it in a single film, and we couldn't afford it. So we left it back."

Kalki's novel Ponniyin Selvan is considered as one of the greatest pieces in Tamil literature and there have been various attempts in Tamil cinema to adapt the novel based on the Chola kingdom on the screen. At the grand trailer and audio launch of Mani Ratnam's film on Tuesday, September 6 in Chennai, Kamal Haasan, who was the chief guest at the event along with his contemporary Rajinikanth, revealed that he too wanted to make the historical epic and had even bought the rights for the same from MG Ramachandran, who had initially wanted to adapt the novel on the big screen.

Kamal, who has narrated the film in its original Tamil version, said at the event, "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." Ponniyin Selvan will hit cinemas on September 30.