Aayirathil Oruvan starred Karthi, Reema Sen and Andrea Jeremiah in the lead
With Ponniyin Selvan opening to positive reviews from the audience, many have been lauding the film adaptation of Kalki's novel. Ponniyin Selvan, directed by Mani Ratnam, has an ensemble cast, including Vikram as Aditha Karikalan, Trisha as Ilaiya Piratti Kundavai, Jayam Ravi as Arulmozhi Varman, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as Nandini Devi and Karthi as Vallavarayan Vanthiyathevan. The film has emerged as one of the biggest openers in Tamil cinema.
Meanwhile, the film seems to have rekindled the interest in Selvaraghavan's Aayirathil Oruvan among a section of the audience. The reason being that the film was a fictional account of the decline of the glorious Chola empire. In the film, which hit screens in 2010, a Chola king who is under attack by the Pandyas, is seen sending his young prince to a place of hiding along with the people of his kingdom. The place of hiding remains a secret among many and later when a team of archaeologists venture to discover the place, they end up going missing. Karthi plays a Chola descendant who acts as a messiah that takes them back to their homeland. The film, though didn't set the cash registers ringing, eventually became a cult film of sorts.
In a recent interview with a YouTube channel, Selvaraghavan revealed that if people had appreciated Aayirathil Oruvan when it was released, he would have made many sequels. "I have never wanted to make part 2 of any film. But if people had appreciated Aayirathil Oruvan at that time, we could have by now finished part 2 or even 3. When the results are not expected, you tend to lose the motivation to work on a sequel. This also means that we need to make a better film." If all goes well, the pre-production of the film is likely to begin next year.
In the meantime, Selvaraghavan's psychological thriller Naane Varuvean is raking in the moolah at the box office. The film has Selva in a cameo appearance and Dhanush playing dual roles after a long time.
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