Jayam Ravi reacts to rumours of ousting Silambarasan TR from Ponniyin Selvan: 'When I finally got the chance to...'

Directed by Mani Ratnam, the epic action drama films Ponniyin Selvan 1 and Ponniyin Selvan 2 are two of the biggest blockbusters in the recent past in Tamil cinema. While the first part released in 2022 grossed Rs 488 crore at the box office worldwide, the second part released last year earned Rs 344 crore globally.

The two films featured a huge ensemble cast consisting of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jayam Ravi, Chiyaan Vikram, Karthi, Trisha, Sobhita Dhulipala, Prakash Raj, Jayaram, R. Sarathkumar, and Nassar among others. When the project was announced, it was rumoured that Silambarasan TR aka Simbu aka STR would play Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan but Jayam Ravi refused to work in the film and asked Mani Ratnam to remove STR from the film.

Now, in a recent interview, Jayam Ravi has addressed these speculations. Ravi, who played Arulmozhi Varman aka the titular role of Ponniyin Selvan, told Hindustan Times, "For 21 years, I have had the dream of working with Mani Ratnam sir and when I got the opportunity in Ponniyin Selvan, I felt blessed and was over the moon. Firstly, do you think when I finally got the chance to work with Mani Ratnam sir, I would make any such demands? Secondly, do you think that such a big director will actually listen to me?".

The Thani Oruvan actor further added, "Simbu and I are good friends. We spoke about this issue when this rumour came out and he told me it would have been fun if we actually had worked together on the film. There is no issue between us and I don’t know how this whole rumour started."

Ponniyin Selvan films are adapted from Kalki's novel based on the Chola kingdom and is considered one of the greatest pieces in Tamil literature. The first part sweeped the recent 70th National Film Awards with the most wins, a total number of four. AR Rahman won Best Background Score, Ravi Varman won Best Cinemtography, Anand Krishnamoorthy won Best Sound Design, and the Mani Ratnam directorial was also awarded the Best Feature Film in Tamil.

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