In 2010-11, Ace director Mani Ratnam planned to make a film based on the epic Tamil historical novel 'Ponniyin Selvan' written by late writer Kalki. The five part novel is the most widely read fictional works in the history of modern Tamil literature.

Writer Jeyamohan was involved in the project as the screenplay writer . Ilayathalapathy Vijay was rumored to play the lead role. However the project was shelved after initial pre-production works. Reports suggested that budget constraints forced Ratnam to drop the plan.

Now Jeyamohan who is at present the much sought after dialogue writer in Tamil films has revealed the real reason behind dropping of the dream project for many.

In his latest blogpost he has said that the crew could not get permission to shoot in any temple across Tamil Nadu. Creating sets for the purpose would have costed around Rs.50 crore and hence the project was dropped due to its non-feasibility.

This was not the first time the idea of making a film on 'Ponniyin Selvan' was conceived and dropped. Decades ago, Makkal Thilagam MGR planned to make it as a film and also asked director Mahendran to pen the script but was forced to drop the plan later.

In the recent years, the blockbuster success of films like 'Baahubali' has renewed the hopes of Tamils to watch Ponniyin Selvan in silver screen. We hope Mani Ratnam gives life to that dream very soon.