Ponniyin Selvan: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan To Play Antagonist; Sobhita Dhulipala Joins Mani Ratnam's Next

The thought of adapting Kalki Krishnamurthy's historic novel, Ponniyin Selvan, had crossed director Mani Ratnam's mind long back. In fact, he wanted to make a film on this fiction way back in 1994. However, it was not until a few years back that the thought could materialise. It was in December 2019 that theshoot of the film had begun in Thailand. While the Thailand leg has wrappedup, we have gotten more details of the film.

According to a report in Mumbai Mirror, Sobhita Dhulipala has been roped in to play an important part in the film. The actress would play a princess who would be the master of Kuchipudi and Bharatnatyam.

But the more interesting part is that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan would be seen playing a negative character in the film. She would play the antagonist, Nandini, who would plot the downfall of the Cholas by manipulating her husband. A source close to the film was also quoted saying, "Most of her portions are with Vikram, who plays the role of prince Aditya Karikalan. They had worked together in Raavan."

The film would release in two parts like Baahubali and the first part would release in 2021. Both Aishwarya and Sobhita have been training intensely for the role and the latter, who is already a trained classical dancer, is enhancing her skill with more practice. The film would release in most major languages of India.