Aishwarya Rai's first look pic from Ponniyin Selvan leaked. See here

Actor Aishwarya Rai's role and look in upcoming movie Ponniyin Selvan has been kept under wraps for long. On Tuesday, however, a picture of the actor from the film's sets was leaked online.

The photo showed Aishwarya standing on a platform in a red silk saree, waving a fan in her face. She is wearing heavy golden jewellery-- necklaces, bangles, earrings, maang tikaa and other ornaments. Aishwarya is also surrounded by members of the film crew. A boom mic is held up next to her as well.

Aishwarya reportedly plays the dual role of Nandini and her mother Mandhakini. Nandini is the main antagonist of the film, which is directed by Mani Ratnam.

The film also features an ensemble of actors such as Vikram, Karthi, Trisha Krishnan, Prakash Raj, Jayaram, Jayam Ravi and Aishwarya Lekshmi among others. It is based on Kalki Krishnamurthy's 1955 novel Ponniyin Selvan.

The book chronicles the story of the early days of Arulmozhivarman, one of the most powerful kings in the south, who went on to become the great Chola emperor Rajaraja Chola I. Ponniyin Selvan is backed by Mani Ratnam's production house Madras Talkies, along with Allirajah Subaskaran's banner Lyca Productions.

Mani Ratnam has co-written the screenplay of the film with Elango Kumaravel. B Jeyamohan has been credited as the dialogue writer on the movie. The film's music has been scored by Ratnam's frequent collaborator and Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman. Cinematographer Ravi Varman has shot the film.

Aishwarya Rai recently flew to Orchha in Madhya Pradesh with her daughter Aaradhya for the movie's shoot. She returned just a couple days later to Mumbai.

Aishwarya's last release was 2018's Fanney Khan, co-starring Anil Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao. The film did not perform well at the box office. Ponniyin Selvan is her latest collaboration with Mani Ratnam after Raavan, Guru and Iruvar.