Mani Ratnam's long time dream project 'Ponniyin Selvan' went on floors in late 2019 and a major portion was shot in the forests of Thailand with Karthi, Jayam Ravi, and other actors participating. Unfortunately due to the coronavirus pandemic, there was an eight-month halt to production.

Mani Ratnam once again assembled his ensemble cast and has been shooting nonstop for the past two months at the Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. In this schedule Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Trisha, Aishwarya Rai, Sarathkumar, Parthiban and Nizhalgal Ravi among others took part. It is said that after a few weeks gap once again the work will resume and this time Vikram will also join the cast.

Sources close to the team reveal that by August the entire shooting will be completed and Mani Ratnam has planned to release the first part of 'Ponniyin Selvan' before Summer 2022 and the sequel in the same year in December. It is said that the ace director has visualized a cliff hanger climax in the first part that will make audiences want to watch the second and without much delay he wants to oblige them quickly.

'Ponniyin Selvan' based on Kalki's novel of the same name has music score by A.R. Rahman with Ravi Varman handling the camera and A. Sreekhar Prasad the editing. This is the costliest movie ever made in Tamil cinema bankrolled by Lyca Productions and produced by Madras Talkies.