Veteran director Mani Ratnam’s dream project Ponniyin Selvan is made in two installments and the first one is releasing this Friday. Mani Ratnam has been working on this project and it took four decades to materialize and complete the shoot. Popular producer Dil Raju bagged the Telugu theatrical rights of Ponniyin Selvan. He bought the rights for Rs 10 crores and is releasing through his distributors on an advance basis. The entire amount would be refundable if the film fails to live up to the expectations. The makers also allocated Rs 2 crores as the promotional budget for the Telugu version.

A grand pre-release event took place recently in Hyderabad and the other amount would be spent for the tv and media promotions. For the first time, Mani Ratnam is promoting the film aggressively. Ponniyin Selvan features Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Sobhita Dhulipala, Prabhu, R. Sarathkumar, Vikram Prabhu, Jayaram, Prakash Raj, Rahman and R. Parthiban. Lyca Productions and Madras Talkies bankrolled this big-budget periodic drama jointly.