'Ponniyin Selvan' is an epic historical fiction novel by renowned author Kalki narrating the tales of mystery, conspiracy and civil war within the Chola Dynasty to inherit the kingdom. Kollywood has been trying to adapt the book into a cinema for years and has failed numerous times.

Now, the legendary filmmaker Mani Ratnam has succeeded in adapting the best-selling novel into a two-part film franchise of the same name. The film stars Karthi, Chiyaan Vikram, Jayam Ravi, Trisha, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Shobita Dhulipala, Sarathkumar, Prakash Raj, Vikram Prabhu, Parthiban, Prabhu, Rahman and others in main roles.

Now, a recent report suggests that the runtime of 'Ponniyin Selvan 1' is expected to be around 170 minutes, that is 2 hours and 50 minutes. There is no official confirmation in this regard. However, the accurate runtime will be revealed only after the movie clears the censor process and gets certified by the CBFC. The film's Tamil and Telugu audio launch will take place on September 6 & 8 respectively.

'Ponniyin Selvan 1' will storm the silver screens worldwide on September 30 while the sequel is expected to hit the screens next year. The magnum opus venture is the first Tamil film to be released in IMAX format and it will be released in five languages - Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. AR Rahman scored music for 'PS1' with cinematography by Ravi Varman, editing by Sreekar Prasad and dialogues by Jeyamohan.