Mani Ratnam's magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan Part 1 to be released in 2022

 The first part of filmmaker Mani Ratnam's Tamil-language historical drama "Ponniyin Selvan" is set to be released in 2022, the makers announced on Monday.

The star-studded magnum opus features an ensemble of actors like Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Karthi, Trisha Krishnan, Prakash Raj, Jayaram, Jayam Ravi and Aishwarya Lekshmi among others.

The film is based on Kalki Krishnamurthy's 1955 novel "Ponniyin Selvan".

The book chronicles the story of the early days of Arulmozhivarman, one of the most powerful kings in the south, who went on to become the great Chola emperor Rajaraja Chola I.

"Ponniyin Selvan" is backed by Ratnam's production house Madras Talkies, along with Allirajah Subaskaran's banner Lyca Productions.

The official Twitter handles of the production houses shared the film's latest poster with 2022 as the year of release.

"The golden era comes to life! #PonniyinSelvan #PS1," the caption read.

Ratnam has co-written the screenplay of the film with Elango Kumaravel. B Jeyamohan has been credited as the dialogue writer on the movie.

The film's music has been scored by Ratnam's frequent collaborator and Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman. Cinematographer Ravi Varman has shot the film.

Meanwhile, Ratnam is looking forward to the release of the Tamil film anthology "Navarasa", which he has co-produced with Jayendra Panchapakesan.

Also created by Ratnam, "Navarasa" is based on the nine rasas or emotions and will premiere on the streaming platform Netflix on August 6.