The teaser of Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan Part I begins with the landscapes of the Chola Kingdom, cutting to a grand coronation, with the masses celebrating in glee. "The Cholas Are Coming," declares the text, as the teaser masterfully cuts between Jayam Ravi, Karthi, and Vikram, who is perched on an elephant.
"All of this wine, song, blood and war is to forget — to forget her and myself," Vikram lets out a scream, depicting the despair of Aditya Karikalan. The teaser further shows glimpses of high-intensity war sequences and political unrest in the Chola Kingdom, which play out on the warfield with soldiers and horses unleashed in numbers.
At the centre of Kalki's Ponniyin Selvan are three siblings in the Chola Kingdom — Aditya Karikalan (Vikram), Kundavai (Trisha) and Arulmozhi Varman (Jayam Ravi). The AR Rahman musical follows the various power struggles during the Chola reign between ADs 900 and 950. The headlining ensemble cast also includes Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as Nandini and Karthi as Vanthiyathevan. The film also stars Sarathkumar, Prakash Raj, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Jayaram, Parthiban R and Sobhita Dhulipala in important roles.
You can watch the teaser here:
Based on Kalki's historic fiction and 5-volume novel of the same name, the big-screen adaptation will be released in two parts. Ponniyin Selvan I will be released on September 30. The film has been lensed by Ravi Varman and edited by Sreekar Prasad. The film will also be produced under the banner of Lyca Productions and Mani Ratnam's Madras Talkies. The film will also be releasing in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada languages.