“Before acting in his film, I studied and learned from him. Now after acting in his movie, I learned from him directly. So it’s a blessing for me,” the 42-year-old actor told reportedly in an interview.”I was playing the great Rajaraja Chola and everybody in South India looked up to him. For all the Tamil-speaking people, he is their king. I’m just a lucky actor who gets to play this part.
As a fan of Rajaraja Chola, when you look at the things that he has done, nobody’s ever done it in the last thousand years. So that pressure was obviously there, but Mani sir made me realise the importance of playing this character,” the actor said.
Actor Karthi on the other hand, took to Instagram to share his message. He said, “Words cannot express the immense gratitude I feel for this experience and magnificent journey as Vanthiyathevan. First and foremost a big salute and all respects to Amarar Kalki for creating this magical epic Ponniyin Selvan for all of us. A million thanks to our Mani sir for pursuing it all these years and crafting this unforgettable masterpiece. To Ravi Varman sir for being the driving force on sets and giving us never seen before stunning visuals. To our treasure AR Rahman sir for making us ecstatic with his music. Finally, dear fans, friends and cinema lovers who have showered us with such love and pride.”
The lead actors and actresses revealed that the director gives them a lot of space and a chance to explore their characters. Actress Aishwarya Rai said that Mani Ratnam’s film has always been so different and iconic. The actress revealed that while shooting for the film, no one even knew when the shot was complete and it has been the same since her first film ‘Iruvar’ in Tamil with Mani Ratnam. “We will be figuring out how to do the scene and after completing the shot, we will still be thinking what to do and by the time we wonder if it was done right, he will have already moved to the next scene. We will look around and even will ask DOP Ravi Varman if it’s done,” Aishwarya said. In a recent press meeting, Mani Ratnam was quoted as revealing that the second part of the film is all set to release precisely 9 months after the first part’s release.