IndiaGlitz carried a report in December last year itself that Mani Ratnam’s next would be a period film and the ace director, who last made ‘Raavanan’, was busy with the ground works of the project.

It is almost official now, with sources suggesting that the film will be based on Ponniyin Selvan, one of the greatest works of Tamil literature, penned by arguably the most celebrated writer, Kalki.

It is said that the movie would be made on a whopping Rs 200 crore budget and would be produced by Sun Pictures, breaking their earlier record ‘Enthiran’, which was reportedly made on Rs 150 crore.

Sources have it that popular writer Jayamohan will pen dialogues for the film. ‘Ponniyin Selvan’, a fiction on Raja Raja Chola, was a highly popular novel known for its grand theme and colourful characters. It is also Superstar Rajinikanth’s favourite novel in Tamil.