Mani Ratnam refuses to talk about not working with Me Too accused Vairamuthu in Ponniyin Selvan: 'Let’s not...'
Mani Ratnam was asked about not getting to work with Vairamuthu in Ponniyin Selvan 1 despite so many years of their association. Here's how the filmmaker reacted.
Filmmaker Mani Ratnam recently commented on the exclusion of Me Too accused Vairamuthu from his upcoming magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan 1. The lyricist, who was initially part of the project, was relieved after he was called out in the Me Too movement by singer Chinmayi Sripaada. In a recent media interaction, when Mani Ratnam was asked how he felt about Vairamuthu not being part of the project, he refused to answer. Also read: Before Aishwarya Rai, Mani Ratnam wanted Rekha to play Nandini in Ponniyin Selvan
As part of a media interaction, Mani Ratnam was asked how he feels about not getting to work with Vairamuthu in Ponniyin Selvan after so many years of their association. The filmmaker responded by saying, “Let’s not talk about this now.”
A few years ago, when reports first emerged that Vairamuthu had been signed for Ponniyin Selvan, netizens took to twitter to question Mani Ratnam for signing the lyricist after being accused of sexual harassment by singer Chinmayi. After the backlash from fans, Vairamuthu was dropped from the project.
In 2018, singer Chinmayi had accused lyricist Vairamuthu of sexual harassment soon after anonymous allegations began surfacing about him on Twitter. Almost a week later, US-based artiste Sindhuja Rajaram too named Vairamuthu, sharing details her experience with him when she tried joining his hostel. Vairamuthu had denied the allegations.
Produced by Madras Talkies, Ponniyin Selvan 1 features Vikram, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Trisha, Sobhita Dhulipala and Aishwarya Lekshmi among other. The film marks Aishwarya Rai’s comeback to Tamil cinema after a decade. Aishwarya will be seen playing dual roles – Nandini and her mute mother Mandakini Devi.
Last year, the film’s title poster was unveiled. In 2020, the film went on the floors in Thailand where a major portion, including war sequences, was shot. The title poster features a sword with a golden hilt and it bears the emblem of the Chola kingdom along with the words ‘Beginning of the Golden Era’.
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