Filmmaker Mani Ratnam, speaking at a promotional event in Hyderabad, thanked director SS Rajamouli and said that if he had not made ‘Baahubali’ and that too in two parts, there would be no ‘Ponniyin Selvan’. He said that it was ‘Baahubali’ that created the path for Ponniyin Selvan to be made into two parts.
‘Ponniyin Selvan 2’, the second part in the franchise, is set to release in theatres on April 28. The team was in Hyderabad last week as part of their promotional tour.
“I’d like to thank Subaskaran (producer) sir first. Sir, because of you, ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ was possible. I’ve said this before and I’m saying this again. I want to thank Rajamouli. If ‘Baahubali’ was not made. And not made in two parts. ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ would not have been made. So we owe him a big thanks,” Ratnam said.
He further added, “I’ve called him, met him and told him this. And I want to say here that it created the path for me to be able to mount ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ in two parts. It gave confidence to the entire industry to do historical (projects) and he opened a huge passage for a lot of Indian history to be converted into films.”
After two unsuccessful attempts, Mani Ratnam finally succeeded in making ‘Ponniyin Selvan’. In 1994 and 2011, he attempted to make the film but both times the project didn’t take off as planned.
The film features Jayam Ravi in the role of prince Arulmozhivarman while Vikram, Karthi, Trisha and Aishwarya Rai play key roles. The first part grossed over ₹500 crore globally and emerged as the highest grossing film ever in Tamil Nadu.
