Ace filmmaker Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan: I is the talk of the town after the film's star-studded audio and trailer launch event held on Tuesday, September 6, turned out to be a sensational success. Produced by Madras Talkies and Lyca Productions, promotions for the epic historical film featuring music by Academy Award-winning composer A. R. Rahman are in full swing, with acclaimed Tamil writer Jeyamohan recently sitting down for an exclusive interview with Galatta. Jeyamohan, who has written the screenplay along with Mani Ratnam and Kumaravel for Ponniyin Selvan, while also penning the dialogues, went on to reveal the original star cast that was planned for the film. 

Talking about Ponniyin Selvan, Jeyamohan revealed that he was a part of the casting process and said, "During the initial stages, we were looking to cast Vijay for the role of Vanthiyadevan. For the role of Aditya Karikalan, it was Vikram even back then. Telugu actor Mahesh Babu was to play the role of Arunmozhi Varman. These were the actors whom we were looking to cast for these characters. Even back in the day, Aishwarya Rai was Mani Ratnam's first choice to play Nandini. He had imagined her for the role and there was going to be no change in that. In the later stages, Vijay was not able to act in the film. Likewise, Mahesh Babu was not able to take up the role. Later, we decided to go with different casting. Otherwise, Vikram is a part of the film." 

This latest revelation from writer Jeyamohan about Vijay, Mahesh Babu, and Vikram portraying Vanthiyadevan, Arunmozhi Varman, and Aditya Karikalan comes across as new information as the casting for each of the roles in Ponniyin Selvan was unknown up until now. It has been known for a while now that Mani Ratnam had opted to cast 'Thalapathy' Vijay and Mahesh Babu in the film. For the unversed, the filmmaker had made an attempt to adapt Tamil writer Kalki Krishnamurthy's novel of the same name back in 2010. As for the upcoming Ponniyin Selvan: I set to open in cinemas worldwide on September 30, Vikram and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan are the only initial cast members who have been retained from the original cast and will be seen alongside Jayam Ravi as Arunmozhi Varman, followed by Karthi as Vallavaraiyan Vanthiyadevan, and Trisha as Ilaiya Piratti Kundavai. 

Watch writer Jeyamohan shed light about Ponniyin Selvan and more in the interview below: