MGR and Jayalalithaa in animated form in Ponniyin Selvan

It was a dream of the legendary MG Ramachandran (MGR) to make a film of Ponniyin Selvan, the historical novel which acquired cult status. He had even announced in 1958 that he had bought the film rights for Rs.10K, and that he would be directing and producing the movie besides playing the lead role of Vandhiyathevan (see poster).  But he met with an accidentand the project never took off.

Now, Saneeshwar Animations International has fulfilled MGR's dream by producing an animated movie, Vandhiyathevan: Ponniyin Selvan Vol 1, featuring both him and Jayalalithaa, who had been paired with him the most. The movie is directed by Dhavachelvan. A single from the film composed by Ramesh Thamilmani of Periyar Kuthu fame and written by Madhan Karky, was released on the occasion of the iconic actor/politician's 103rd birthday on 17th January, 2020. Santhosh Jayakaran has rendered the song, which begins with the words 'Ulagam en ulagam naan utharavittaal vidiyum'.

 “These lines were penned for MGR keeping in mind the timeless philosophical dialogues of the renowned actor, which will remain evergreen forever,” the director revealed. Karky also pens the dialogues for the film.

The movie, made at a whopping budget, was completed after four years of animation work and will be released in multiple Indian languages, says its maker.