Mani Ratnam’s diktat forces Sathyaraj to opt out of Ponniyin Selvan?

It’s been almost two months since Mani Ratnam announced that he has started working on his dream project Ponniyin Selvan. Reports are also doing the rounds that actors like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Vikram, Jayam Ravi, Mohan Babu, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sathyaraj have already been finalised for the project and the film is all set to go on floors in December.

The latest we hear is that veteran Sathyaraj has decided to opt out of the project as the makers of the film had apparently asked the actor to dedicate an entire year for this film alone. A source in the know of things says, “Mani Ratnam wanted his entire cast and crew to spend at least a year for this film and requested them not to give their dates for any other projects. Sathyaraj wasn’t comfortable with it and decided to walk out of the film. However, he has no misunderstanding with the team as rumours suggest.”

We also hear that the makers are coming up with an official announcement on the film’s cast by the end of this month. Ponniyin Selvan will have its music by AR Rahman and cinematography by Ravi Varman. Thota Tharani is in charge of the art direction.