Mani Ratnam’s Nayagan (1987) with Kamal Haasan in the lead could have found its place in the 100 best films of all time. But it is Ponniyin Selvan, which has been in the making for almost 15 years now has been the legendary director’s dream project. From reliable sources we hear that Mani Ratnam has revived this project, which will be his next directorial that will be bankrolled by Lyca Productions. “The lead cast will have Vikram, Jayam Ravi and Vijay Sethupathi. The makers have also approached Simbu to play a crucial role,” a source told DTNext.

Hold on. The story doesn’t end there. Amitabh Bachchan has been approached to play the role of Sundara Chola for the film. “The official word on the project will be out once Vijay Sethupathi finalises his dates. The actor though has confirmed his availability for the project immediately after Mani Ratnam told him about the idea of reviving the project.” Mani Ratnam first conceived the idea in the last decade with Vijay, Vikram and Mahesh Babu in lead roles and later with Karthi and Ram Charan before shelving it temporarily. It was also rumoured last year that Chekka Chivantha Vaanam is the modern-day Ponniyin Selvan.

We also hear that Lyca and Mani Ratnam have agreed to collaborate for multiple films for which one of the films will have Vijay playing the lead.