Ace filmmaker Selvaraghavan's Naane Varuvean starring Dhanush under producer Kalaipuli S. Thanu's V Creations banner and featuring music by Yuvan Shankar Raja released worldwide on September 29, a day before iconic director Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan: 1 arrived on the big screens. For a while now and after the release of PS:1, many users on social media were drawing comparisons with Selvaraghavan's Aayirathil Oruvan, which the filmmaker has now addressed during an exclusive interview with Galatta. 

When queried about fans’ curiosity shooting up for films about kings and history, Selvaraghavan said, "If I do Aayirathil Oruvan 2, you will see a different dimension of me in it. I have a lot of hunger to do this. We're glorifying the way Tamil kings lived and ruled. As of now, only two films have come out during this time. If you go to Hollywood or China, several films have been made already [about their kings and culture]. There's so much to look into. There are a lot of things in our culture as well to talk about. I think, maybe, a lot of filmmakers might venture into doing such films. There's a wrong belief here that you require a big budget or other such aspects to do a film like that. If you have the right content in your hands and plan accordingly, you can get that film made easily."

As known already, a sequel to Aayirathil Oruvan was announced on New Year's Day in 2021 with Dhanush in the lead role along with a concept art poster and a 2024 release plan. Tentatively titled Aayirathil Oruvan 2 or AO2, the film has been described to be a magnum opus by Dhanush, who at the time quote-tweeted Selvaraghavan's announcement saying the pre-production alone will take a year but will be a dream venture for the Naane Varuvean director. He added that the wait will be a long one, but assured fans that they will give their best to make AO2 worth the wait while announcing that the Prince will return in 2024. 

Watch Selvaraghavan talk about the Ponniyin Selvan and Aayirathil Oruvan comparisons below: