If the industry grapevine is anything to go by, lyricist Vairamuthu, who was recently outed in the MeToo movement, has been dropped from Mani Ratnam’s upcoming magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan after severe backlash from audience. A few months ago when reports emerged that Vairamuthu has been signed for Ponniyin Selvan, netizens took to Twitter to question Mani Ratnam on his ethics to sign the veteran lyricist after being accused of sexual harassment by singer, Chinmayi.
While the makers and Ratnam are still silent over inclusion of Vairamuthu in the project, recent reports suggest that the award-winning lyricist is no longer part of the project. Ponniyin Selvan went on the floors last week in Thailand where the first schedule will be filmed for 40 days.
Actors Karthi, Jayam Ravi and Aishwarya Lekshmi are currently part of the first schedule. Another update is that actor Keerthy Suresh, who was roped in to play a pivotal role, has opted out of the project as he dates were clashing with Rajinikanth’s next film. Trisha is said to have been signed as her replacement. The cast so far includes Vikram, Jayam Ravi, Vikram Prabhu, Amitabh Bachchan, Mohan Babu and Aishwarya Rai among others.
Actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who has already confirmed that she is part of the project, will be seen playing dual roles in the highly anticipated project, according to trusted sources. In the film, she is expected to be seen as Nandini, the wife of Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar (a role played by Telugu actor Mohan Babu), and her mute mother, Queen Mandakini Devi. Apparently, Aishwarya is pumped up about playing dual roles and immediately jumped at the opportunity when she was offered.
The pre-production work on the project has been going on for over six months now. The makers are in the process of erecting huge sets to shoot crucial portions of the film in Chennai as well.
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