Mani Ratnam moves from ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ to another project due to lockdown?

Mani Ratnam started his dream project ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ in 2019 after several attempts in the past.  He assembled one of the biggest star cast in India that includes Vikram, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Prabhu, Jayaram, Sarathkumar, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi and many others.  A major schedule was shot in Thailand and the first part was planned to be completed by the year-end.  However the coronavirus pandemic and the eventual lockdown have stalled the production indefinitely.

Since ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ involves a lot of war and other sequences that require close contact between the cast and crew it is difficult to resume shooting even after the lockdown restrictions lift phase by phase.  Hence it is now reported that Mani Ratnam has decided to make a quickie love story in the gap and then resume his magnum opus when it is appropriate.

Mani Ratnam and Suhasini in a recent Insta interaction already informed fans that a new script is ready and now it is said that its going to be a mature love story.  It is further added that Arvind Swamy who has collaborated with Mani Ratnam in five films is in talks to play the lead role.  More on this is awaited.