Amala Paul says she turned down Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan: ‘I was not in the mental state to do it’

Actor Amala Paul has revealed that she turned down an offer to work in director Mani Ratnam’s upcoming magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan. In a new interview, she said that she doesn’t regret letting go of the opportunity, adding that she was not in the mental state to accept the project. Amala also believes that certain things are just perfect the way they are. (Also Read | Amala Paul says she quit films because she was ‘exhausted, burned out’)

Ponniyin Selvan Part 1 is based on the literary masterpiece by Kalki. The film is gearing up for release in cinemas on September 30. Ponniyin Selvan features Aishwarya Rai, Vikram, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Trisha, Sarath Kumar and Aishwarya Lekshmi among others.

In an interview with Times of India, Amala was asked about a movie she wished she hadn’t turned down while juggling projects in multiple languages. She said, “So, Mani Ratnam sir auditioned me for Ponniyin Selvan and I was so excited for that. I am a huge fan of Mani sir and I was so excited for it. And that didn’t happen at that time. I was so disappointed and sad.”

She added, “Then in 2021, he called me for the same project. And like I said, I was not in the mental state to do it, so I had to turn it down. If you ask me if I regret doing that, I won’t, because certain things are just perfect. It’s perfectly designed and I think it’s just about how we look at.”

Amala was recently seen in the Malayalam thriller Cadaver. She turned producer with Cadaver, in which she played a pathologist who helps police catch a serial killer.

Recently, she was seen in Sony Liv’s maiden Tamil anthology series Victim. She was part of the segment directed by Venkat Prabhu and played a carefree woman who has absolutely no qualms about living life on her own terms.

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