Ponniyin Selvan 1 trailer: Aishwarya Rai is surreal, Vikram, Jayam Ravi are Karthi action stars in Mani Ratnam’s epic

The first trailer for Mani Ratnam’s magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan Part 1 is out. The film reunites him with music composer AR Rahman and actor Aishwarya Rai. (Also read: Goodbye trailer: Amitabh Bachchan’s traditional dad fights his modern kids over wife’s cremation. Watch)

Based on Kalki Krishnamurthy’s historical epic, Ponniyin Selvan tells the story of the ‘greatest’ empire in India’s history, the Chola Empire. It begins with the visuals of a comet across the sky and it asks for the sacrifice of the royal blood. We are introduced to Chiyaan Vikram’s Aditha Karikalan, Jayam Ravi’s Arunmozhi Varman and Karthi as Vanthiyathevan. The three men brandish swords, ride horses, go out on adventures and secret missions and meet princesses of distant lands, includes Trisha Krishnan, who plays Kundavai.

The highlight of the trailer is of course Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who plays Queen Nandini. She warns against the union of Aditha and Arunmozhi, perhaps knowing more than she is letting on. Wars and battles ensue and blood is shed in the scenes that follow but Nandini’s eyes do no leave the royal throne.

Aishwarya will be seen in dual roles. She will play queen Nandini, the princess of Pazhuvoor, who is on a mission to seek vengeance, as well as Mandakini Devi in the historical drama.

Apart from these, Sobhita Dhulipala is also part of the movie. She is all set to portray the role of a witty and courteous queen Vanathi in Mani Ratnam’s next Pan-India project.

Ponniyin Selvan marks the second collaboration of Aishwarya with south actor Vikram after their critically acclaimed film Raavan in 2010, and the fourth collaboration with director Mani Ratnam after Iruvar in 1997, Guru in 2007 and Raavan in 2010.

The AR Rahman musical is all set to hit the theatres on September 30, in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. The big-budget period film will be released in multiple parts.

The teaser of this magnum opus was launched in Chennai at a grand event on July 8. The entire cast and crew of the film were present as well. Taking to social media, actors Amitabh Bachchan, Mahesh Babu, Rakshit Shetty, and Suriya also shared the teaser.

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