Not Vikram, Karthi, but these stars were Mani Ratnam's initial choices for Ponniyin Selvan, they got replaced after..

Director Mani Ratnam's last directorial, Ponniyin Selvan series has been a dream project of the director. The Nayagan director wanted to depict the Chola Dynasty for many years. However, it was in 2022 when Vikram, Karthi, Trisha, Aishwarya Rai, and Jayaram Ravi came together and made it happen with Ponniyin Selvan Part One, followed by Ponniyin Selvan Part 2 (2023). 

As per the media reports, Mani was keen to start the project in 2010, and with a different cast. As Pinkvilla reported, Mani initially thought of making the PS series with Mahesh Babu and Vijay in the key roles. Reportedly, the actors even signed the film, but, back then, there were limited VFX and graphics, and due to financial constraints, the film was shelved.

During a previous interview with Vikatan magazine, Mahesh Babu confirmed that he and Vijay had even done a photoshoot for the film in Chennai, however, 7 days prior to the principal filming, the film got shelved.

About Ponniyin Selvan 

Helmed by Mani Ratnam, Ponniyin Selvan is a Tamil language historical fiction novel by Indian author Kalki Krishnamurthy. The film stars an ensemble cast including Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Jayaram, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Sobhita Dhulipala, Prakash Raj, Prabhu, R. Sarathkumar, R. Parthiban, Rahman, Lal, and Vikram Prabhu and turned out to be fifth-highest-grossing Tamil film of all time and the nineteenth-highest-grossing Indian film of all time. 

On the work front, Mani Ratnam is working on his next directorial Thug Life with Kamal Haasan. Thug Life will mark the reunion of Mani and Kamal after 32 years. Their last collaboration was the iconic gangster drama Nayakan, which was remade in Hindi as Dayavan. 

Kamal Haasan was last seen in the action drama Indian 2. Though it was an anticipated release, the film earned negative reviews from critics and audiences and became a box office disaster. Thalapathy Vijay will be seen in The Greatest of All Time, and Mahesh Babu is busy shooting SS Rajamouli's next directorial.

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