19 July 2022
Hyderabad

Acclaimed filmmaker Mani Ratnam on Tuesday was admitted to a private hospital in Chennai after he exhibited symptoms of fever in the morning. He was immediately conducted a COVID-19 test, which came out as negative. Reports coming in from Chennai indicate that he is feeling much better now and it’s likely that he will be discharged today itself.

The usually reclusive 66-year-old filmmaker was spotted in multiple film events in the last 15 days in Chennai.

The award-winning filmmaker is presently awaiting the release of his magnum opus, Ponniyin Selvan- 1 (PS-1). A two-part film based on the life of Raja Raja Chozhan, the movie is set in the 10th century during a tumultuous time in the Chola Empire and shows the crisis and dangers faced by the throne. It stars Vikram as Aditya Karikalan, Karthi as Vanthiyathevan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as Nandini, Trisha as Kundhavai, and Jayam Ravi as Arulmozhi Varman. The supporting roster includes Ashwin Kakumanu, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Sobhita Dhulipala, Sarath Kumar, Prabhu, Vikram Prabhu, Jayaram, Prakash Raj, Parthiban, Lal, Jayachitra and Riyaz Khan.

Bankrolled by Madras Talkies in association with Lyca Productions, the period drama, an AR Rahman musical, will release in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada on September 30. The expectations on the film are pretty high as Mani’s last film, Nawab, released four years ago.