Filmmaker Mani Ratnam’s upcoming movie Ponniyin Selvan: 1 is in a legal soup over the character look of Aditya Karikalan, who is played by Tamil superstar Vikram. A lawyer has sued Mani Ratnam, accusing him of distorting the historical facts about the Cholas.
According to reports, in the notice, the lawyer has claimed that the Cholas didn’t have the practice of sporting ’tilak’ on the forehead as seen in the posters of Ponniyin Selvan: 1. In the character posters of Aditya Karikalan, which was released last week, Vikram was seen with a ’tilak.’
As per Thanthi TV, the lawyer in the notice has appreciated Mani Ratnam for making a movie on the Chola dynasty. However, he has also noted there will be some serious consequences if Ratnam has hidden “facts about the Cholas” in the movie. He has also demanded an early screening of the movie before its release in cinemas.
Ponniyin Selvan is Mani Ratnam’s most ambitious film yet. The film set against the backdrop of the Chola dynasty and is based on the novel of the same name written by Kalki Krishnamurthy. The five-volume novel Ponniyin Selvan narrates the story of Arulmozhi Varman, who eventually became Rajaraja Chola I.
Ratnam has put together an all-star cast to essay the roles of the iconic characters that hold a special place in Tamil literature and pop culture. Besides Vikram, the film also stars Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Sobhita Dhulipala, Prabhu, R Sarathkumar, Vikram Prabhu, Jayaram, Prakash Raj, Rahman and R Parthiban.
Ponniyin Selvan: 1 is due in cinemas on September 30.