Ace filmmaker, Mani Ratnam's upcoming magnum opus, Ponniyin Selvan, is currently under pre-production stage. The writer-director was last seen directing the commercially successful crime-drama Chekka Chivantha Vaanam that featured an ensemble cast comprising of STR, Vijay Sethupathi, Arvind Swamy, Arun Vijay, Jyothika, Prakash Raj and others in the lead.
It is revealed that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been signed up to play a pivotal role in this epic. Rumours were doing the rounds that the actress will be seen in a negative role. However, sources close to us have said that the actress won’t be seen in a negative role and will essay the role of 'Nandhini', based on the pivotal character in Kalki’s 5-part novel 'Ponniyin Selvan'.
This will be the actress' fourth collaboration with the filmmaker after Iruvar, Guru and Raavan/Raavanan. The actress will be starring in a Tamil film after a long gap of nine years. She was last seen in Atul Manjrekar’s Fanney Khan.