The Coronavirus pandemic sent the entire showbiz industry into a lockdown mode along with the rest of the country. Due to this, shoots of upcoming films and shows came to a crashing halt causing a disruption in the schedule. While the nation is in its fourth phase of lockdown, the cine industry is gearing up to resume with work in the next couple of weeks. As preparation for the same has begun, Mani Ratnam is restructuring schedules to complete his film Ponniyin Selvan. Starring Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Vikram in the lead is planned to release in 2021. The team of the film was to start with the third schedule before the lockdown was announced. But with major changes due to the pandemic, Mani and his team are working to get bulk dates from the cast to shoot the remaining portions in a start-to-finish schedule. A trade source informed a leading daily that the veteran filmmaker is ensuring that 2021 deadline is met without much hassle.
"Amid chatter that shoots may begin from July, Mani sir and his team are reworking the schedules to ensure the film meets its 2021 release. He is hoping to get bulk dates from Vikram, Aishwarya, Karthi and the ensemble cast so that the film can be wrapped up in one go. If all goes well, they will begin the Puducherry leg with Vikram and Aishwarya. If they don't get the necessary permission for an outdoor shoot, they might change the venue to the AVM Studios in Chennai," the trade source told.
Are you ready to witness the beginning of the golden era on the big screen? #PonniyinSelvan
Shooting in progress #Kalki #ManiRatnam @LycaProductions @arrahman #RaviVarman @sreekar_prasad #ThottaTharani #Jeyamohan @ShamKaushal @ekalakhani @BrindhaGopal1 @bagapath pic.twitter.com/KNaQTX15Rb— Madras Talkies (@MadrasTalkies_) January 2, 2020
The executive producer of Madras Talkies, Shiva Anand, confirmed that Ponniyin Selvan will be shot in one single go to meet the release deadline. "Like everybody else in the industry, we are waiting for the shoot to resume and talk to the actors about their dates. It will be difficult to coordinate the schedules, but it's our job to figure out a way. We have no intention of compromising on the film. We will release the first part next year, though we don't have clarity on the release date yet," he told.
Ponniyin Selvan is divided into two parts. The first will be releasing next year. The Mani directorial is a period drama revolving around the life of Arulmozhi Varman before he became the great Chola emperor. An adaptation of Kalki Krishnamurthy's historical period based fictional novel of the same name, the film also stars Aditi Rao Hydari, Sobhita Dhulipala, Karthi, Trisha among several others.
(Source: Mid-Day)
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