'No regrets.' Amala Paul reveals why she turned down Mani Ratnam’s ‘Ponniyin Selvan: 1'

Tamil cinema is gearing up for one of its biggest releases in recent years. ‘Ponniyin Selvan: 1’ is all set to hit the theatres on September 30. The epic period action drama boasts an ensemble cast of Chiyaan Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jayam Ravi, Karthi Sivakumar, and Trisha Krishnan among others.

After Ratnam announced the revival of the film in January 2019, numerous names were suggested to be part of the cast. While some were rumours, some eventually made it to the movie. Popular Tamil actress Amala Paul was among the contenders to play a part in ‘PS:1’. However, things didn’t go as planned.

In a recent interview with ETimes, the 30-year-old actress admitted that she had no regrets turning down the magnum opus. The actress said that she had to turn down the role as she was not in the mental state to do it. She said that she had no regrets about her decision as certain things are just perfect.

“There has been a very valid reason for why this has happened. So, Mani Ratnam sir auditioned me for 'Ponniyin Selvan' and I was so excited about that. I am a huge fan of Mani sir and I was so excited about it. And that didn't happen at that time. I was so disappointed and sad. Then in 2021, he called me for the same project. And like I said, I was not in the mental state to do it, so I had to turn it down. If you ask me if I regret doing that, I won't, because certain things are just perfect. It's perfectly designed and I think it's just about how we look at it,” the ‘Mynaa’ actress was quoted as saying by ETimes.

In the same interview, Amala also opened up about her Bollywood debut. The actress confirmed that she was working with a big production house and a big actor, something she terms her perfect Bollywood launch. The actress went on to express her desire to work with Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Vicky Kaushal, Ranbir Kapoor, and Manoj Bajpayee.
It is widely known that the cinematic adaptation of novelist Kalki Krishnamurthy’s 1955 novel by the same name has been a longtime ambition of numerous film-makers and actors. However, maverick film-maker Mani Ratnam has finally achieved the rare feat of turning the wildly popular novel into a celluloid adaptation.