Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who is gearing up for the second part of Mani Ratnam's magnum opus 'Ponniyin Selvan', was spotted arriving for a media event on Tuesday. Ponniyin Selvan 2 is one of the most-anticipated films. The film features Vikram, Jayaram Ravi, Karthi, Aishwarya Lekshmi, and Trisha among others. Ahead of its release, the promotions have started in full swing. Today, the team reached Mumbai and Aishwarya was spotted wearing a gorgeous white outfit.
The actress chose traditional Indian attire for the event. She wore an ivory coloured anarkali suit with shimmery embellishments and a matching dupatta. She kept her long tresses open and rounded off her look with a statement emerald neckpiece.
Aishwarya, who has acted in Hindi and Tamil films like "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam", "Devdas", "Dhoom 2", "Guru", "Iruvar", "Enthiran", and "Ponniyin Selvan", said she doesn't differentiate between cinema as North and South.
"I look at cinema as Indian cinema. I had the opportunity to subtly but strongly and clearly convey that in the work that I did right from the beginning. I do not support this viewpoint that there is no work here, so go there (south), and vice versa. As an actor, wherever we get the opportunity to shine, learn, to grow and to be able to do fabulous work, it naturally draws you," Aishwarya said.
From the South film industry, the actor said she is grateful to have collaborated with stalwarts like Mani Ratnam, Shankar and AR Rahman.
"I was blessed to have got the opportunity to work with Mani garu in my first film. Why wouldn't I say a yes? Thereafter, I got to work with wonderful directors like Rajiv Menon and Shankar, so naturally I will say yes to these movies that I have done, the proof is in the pudding. Besides, all the films have had AR Rahman's music, why wouldn't I happily say yes to these incredible combinations of talent. It's not about going here or there. Since the beginning of my career, I have made it clear with my choices that I don't follow these thought processes, systems and that's never been my journey and reasons for my choices," she added.
The film is based on author Kalki's eponymous novel. The first part of the film dramatises the early life of Chola prince Arunmozhi Varman, who would become the renowned emperor Rajaraja I. Ever since its publication in 1955, a film adaptation of the novel 'Ponniyin Selvan' had been explored by several Tamil filmmakers. However, it never materialised due to financial constraints. Even Mani Ratnam attempted to adapt the novel in the late-1980s and early-2010s but was unsuccessful. Calling it his dream project, Mani Ratnam revived the effort in January 2019. While the first part was released back in September 2022, the second part will land in theatres on April 28.
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