Ponnin Selvan Franchise is considered super-failure by Mani Ratnam, starring Chian Vikram, Ravi Mohan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Trisha Krishnan, for several reasons. The epic historical drama was a two-part film series released between 2022 and 2023.
However, do you know that the filmmaker initially took a completely different actors in mind when he planned the film in 2010? Yes, you read that right.
Ponniyin Selvan should have been made in 2010
In an old Tamil interview, Mani Ratnam’s assistant and director Dhana revealed that there was a plan to create a Ponin Selvan by 2010. He said that the filmmaker had already started pre-production work for the project, and there were many discussions.
The most important thing is that Dhana mentioned that Mani Ratnam had a completely different idea keeping in mind the actors of the film, which included none of the names with which the Ponyin Selvan was eventually created.
Was Mahesh Babu, the first choice for Thalapathi Vijay Ponyin Selvan?
Well, yes, Mahesh Babu and Thalapathi Vijay Poninin were the first to be signed to play lead in Selvan. Both of them had signed the project, and there was also a brief shoot.
However, it was Mani Ratnam that decided to stall the project, as he believed that the availability of advanced VFX was not so easily abundant. It was dropped and then taken after nearly a decade.
When Mahesh Babu confirmed a brief tenure with Thalapathi Vijay for Ponnin Selvan
Later, Mahesh Babu also confirmed this, he talked about a brief period spent working with Vijay, who was tumped on a small photoshoot for the film Mani Ratnam.
He said, “Before the seven days of the principal shoot, there was a photo shoot session with Vijay in Chennai, but unfortunately, the project was sheltered. Still, I shared a close synergy with Vijay; he is a good friend.”
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