Originally Mani Ratnam had Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth play these roles in ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ in the 90s

Thirty years ago what went down?

‘Ponniyin Selvan’ will soon hit the big screens on the 30th of September. Only a matter of days but the film was in the works for thirty years. The great Mani Ratnam had conceived the idea of the film and thought to cast Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth in 1989. Things then were not able to work out. Recently Kamal Haasan attended Ponniyin Selvan’s grand event as the chief guest with Rajinikanth revealed which character he was set to play in the 90s.

Kamal Haasan shared that he competed with Rajnikanth to essay the role of Vandhiyathevan. He said, "Sivaji sir told me to cast Rajini as Vanthiyathevan. I told him that I wanted to play it, but he insisted that I played ArunmozhiVarman instead."

Who is cast in these roles now

The film ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ has cast Karthi to play Vanthiyathevan. The character is an adventurer and a spy. For Arunmozhi Varnam, Jayaram Ravi has been cast to essay the role. The role is of a prince who is the architect of the golden era and can be seen as the original gangster.

Rajnikanth on Mani Ratnam

Rajnikanth shared how despite things not working out in the past, upon hearing about the commencement of ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ he asked to be a part of it. To his surprise, Mani Ratnam rejected his request. He said, "I wanted to be a part of #PS1 somehow, so I asked Mani sir if I can play Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar. He denied the offer saying my fans would not be happy. Anyone else would have taken it, but Mani denied it and this is what makes him unique!"

‘PS-1’ the film

The grand trailer launch recently took place and saw several stars in attendance. The guests included Chiyaan Vikram, Karthi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Trisha Krishnan, and Jayaram Ravi. Furthermore AR Rahman, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan too attended the launch. The trailer of the film had to be dropped in the middle of the night as they faced issues with technicality. Alas, the trailer is up and the anticipation for the film is running wild. Expectations are high, after viewing the strong storyline and magnanimity of the characters.