Rajinikanth also stated that he imagined Kamal Haasan to play Arulmozhi Varman in Ponniyin Selvan when he read Kalki's book.
The grand trailer and audio launch of Ponniyin Selvan: I, the first part of the Tamil epic historical film, took place at Nehru Stadium, Chennai on Tuesday, September 6. The event was attended by the two superstars of Indian cinema, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, along with the film's director Mani Ratnam and cast members Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Trisha, Karthi, and others.
During the grand event, Rajinikanth revealed that he wanted to be a part of Mani Ratnam's magnum opus, even if it meant playing a guest appearance but the filmmaker refused. The Enthiran actor said, "I wanted to be part of Ponniyin Selvan. Asked Mani Ratnam to give me Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar. I said I'll do a special appearance. Mani asked me 'Do you want me to get bashed by your fans?' Anyone else would have agreed, but Mani didn't. That's Mani Ratnam", as per a report in IndiaToday.in.
The film, which would be released in two parts, is based on Kalki's novel Ponniyin Selvan, considered as one of the greatest novels written in Tamil literature. There have been various attempts in Tamil cinema to adapt the novel based on Chola kingdom on the screen, but finally, it was Mani Ratnam who succeeded with his grand vision.
Rajinikanth also stated that when he read the novel for the first time, he had imagined Kamal Haasan as Arulmozhi Varman, Sridevi as Kundavai, Vijaykanth as Aditya Karikalan, and Sathyaraj as Pazhuvettaraiyar. The same roles are now being played by Jayam Ravi, Trisha, Chiyaan Vikram, and R. Sarathkumar respectively.
READ | Ponniyin Selvan I trailer: Vikram, Aishwarya Rai, Sobhita Dhulipala dazzle in Mani Ratnam's epic directorial
Ponniyin Selvan: I is slated to release in theatres on September 30 in five languages namely Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada. It will clash with Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan starrer Vikram Vedha, an official Hindi remake of the Tamil film of the same name.
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 "Rajinikanth-Mani Ratnam/Twitter-File photo")
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