Mani Ratnam's magnum opus 'Ponniyin Selvan' to be filmed outdoors after lockdown is lifted

Mani Ratnam's magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan has been in the making for quite some time now. From the changes in the cast several times to the delay in filming due to lockdown, Ponniyin Selvan is running at a slow pace. The movie will be released in two parts and the ace director plans to release both parts within a gap of six months, reported DTNext.

Ponniyin Selvan is adapted from the 1955 novel of the same name written by Kalki Krishnamurthy. The Ponniyin Selvan cast consists of an ensemble of Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Trisha in lead roles and Aishwarya Lekshmi and Ashwin Kakumanu will be seen in supporting roles in the film. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will be seen in a dual role as the story's antagonist Nandhini and her mother Mandakini Devi. Trisha Krishnan took special horse riding classes whereas Aishwarya Lekshmi took boating classes to prepare for their roles, as per the report.

Ponniyin Selvan to be filmed outdoors post lockdown

The filming for the movie began in the latter part of 2019 and it continued in 2020 until the lockdown was imposed in March 2020. Director Mani Ratnam halted the filming citing that since the schedule needs 500 people on set, it will be difficult to follow the government's protocol of having 75 or fewer members. A small section with only the lead cast was filmed in December 2020 at Pollachi. In January 2021, the filming began once again at Ramoji Film City. A special dance sequence with Trisha and other 250 dances was also filmed in February 2021.

According to the same report, the filming for Ponniyin Selvan will be halted until the COVD cases are fewer and the lockdown is lifted. Mani Ratnam plans to film the scenes outdoors to make the scenes more visually appealing and natural. The scenes from the courtyard were previously filmed indoors. The next scenes for the film are planned to be filmed in Madhya Pradesh and Chennai. Hardly 50 days of filming for both parts are left, revealed a source to the media portal. 

(Image: Madras Talkies' Twitter and Mani Ratnam's Facebook)