Anushka is the new entrant in Mani’s Ponniyin Selvan

The pre-production work of Mani Ratnam’s dream project Ponniyin Selvan is happening at a brisk pace and the director is in the process of finalising the cast.

While actors like Vikram, Jayam Ravi, Karthi and Keerthy Suresh have already signed the project, we hear from highly reliable sources that Anushka Shetty has also been roped in for this magnum opus and it will be her comeback of sorts in Tamil. We hear that the actress will play empress Poonkuzhali, who rows Vandiyathevan to Sri Lanka and saves Arul Mozhi Varman.

A source close to the team says, “Mani Ratnam met Anushka a few weeks ago and finalised her for the project. The actress will sign on the official agreement once she is back from the US.” It looks like, actress Nayanthara, who was approached for this project earlier will not be a part of this due to date issues. “That’s one of the reasons why Anushka was brought on board,” the source adds. It must be noted that when Mani Ratnam decided to make Ponniyin Selvan a few years ago, Anushka was a part of the planned cast. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, too, recently confirmed that she has signed the project and her character will have a grey shade. Ponniyin Selvan will have its music by AR Rahman and the story will be narrated from the perspective of Vallavarayan Vandiyathevan played by Karthi.