28 December 2022
Hyderabad

The sequel to Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan: 1 has got a release date. On Wednesday, production house Madras Talkies dropped a short clip announcing the release date of the historical drama. “Let's get those swords in the air as we await the 28th of April 2023! #CholasAreBack #PS1 #PS2 #PonniyinSelvan,” read a post from the production house based out of Chennai. Along with Tamil, it will simultaneously bow in Telugu, Hindi, Malayalam and Kannada (albeit in dubbed versions of the respective languages).

The clip begins with Aditya Karikalan (Vikram) sitting in front of a Kali statute, while Arulmozhi Varman (Jayam Ravi) is seen sauntering among monks and Vandhiyathevan (Karthi) is seen sitting in a forest, wounded. It concludes with Nandini (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) gazing into the mirror with a sword. The text in the clip read, “The Cholas are back.”

Co-produced by Lyca Productions, the Ponniyin Selvan series boasts of an eclectic cast featuring Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Trisha Krishnan, Prakash Raj, Jayaram, Shobita Dhulipala and Aishwarya Lekshmi, among others.

Ratnam has co-written the screenplay with Elango Kumaravel. The film’s music is being scored by Ratnam’s frequent collaborator AR Rahman, while cinematographer Ravi Varman has shot it.

Ponniyin Selvan: I was released in theatres worldwide on 30 September earlier this year, receiving acclaim from film critics, who praised the direction, cast performances, musical score, visuals and faithfulness to the novel. It went on to gross more than Rs 500 crores, emerging as the highest-grossing Tamil film of 2022. It’s likely that Dil Raju will be releasing the sequel too in Telugu.