Ponniyin Selvan, Kalki Krishnamurthy’s five-part historical novel on the Chola dynasty, not only captivated generations of Tamil readers, it also cast a spell on Tamil filmmakers and actors, including M.G. Ramachandran, Kamal Haasan, Mani Ratnam and several others.
It has taken ₹500 crore and a host of stars -Aishwarya Rai, Karthi, Vikram, ‘Jayam’ Ravi, Sarath Kumar, Parthiban and others – for Mani Ratnam to bring the book alive onscreen as ‘Ponniyin Selvan Part I’, which was released in theatres on Friday to packed houses.
The film has opened to largely positive reviews from critics and audiences and house-full shows in over 650 screens.
