Aishwarya Rai replaces Raadhika Sarathkumar in Mani Ratnam's dream project

Hyderabad: Kollywood fans are thrilled after hearing the news of Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan, an adaptation of the novel by the same name written by well-known novelist Kalki Krishnamurthy. The internet is filled with likes, shares and subscriptions of news about the stellar cast. The book is considered to be one of the best classics in Tamil literature.

Recently, during a film conversation, Raadhika Sarathkumar revealed on a lighter note that she had been replaced by Aishwarya Rai in Ponniyin Selvan. She said she was a few inches shorter than what was required for the role concerned. Ergo, Aishwarya, who seemed to be a perfect fit, landed the role. Raadhika seemed quite comfortable with the decision, keeping the best interests of the movie at heart.

Well, before anyone could weave a new rumour about Mani Ratnam and Raadhika, all is absolutely well between the two friends. In fact, they co-wrote a script together for her next film.

Coming to the classic film, the shooting has already commenced. Only a stalwart like Mani Ratnam can bring together an ensemble cast that includes Vikram, Sarath Kumar, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Aishwarya Rai, Trisha Krishnan, Aditi Rao Hydari, Vikram Prabhu, Prabhu, Aishwarya Rajesh, Aishwarya Lekshmi, and Rahman as Periya Vellar.

For the uninitiated, this is Mani Ratnam’s dream project. The movie’s rights were first bought by yesteryear superstar MGR. It got shelved due to some issues. Mani Ratnam has been keen on bringing the story to the celluloid for 26 years now. It first hit the news in 1994 alongside Kamal Haasan. The topic was revived in 2010 when Mani Ratnam chose actors like Vijay, Mahesh Babu, Anushka Shetty for the film. He even held talks with Priyanka Chopra for a role.

Finally, after 10 years, his dream is coming true with the movie-going on floors. The movie is said to be made in two parts. The music will be given by A R Rahman, Santosh Sivan will take care of the cinematography.