Aishwarya Rai looks gorgeous in blue as she shares candid pics with Mani Ratnam during Ponniyin Selvan I promotions

Aishwarya Rai has shared a few candid pictures with Ponniyin Selvan I director Mani Ratnam. The pictures show Aishwarya decked up in a heavy blue and golden anarkali, posing with Mani Ratnam on stage during the Delhi promotions of the film on Monday. Also read: Ponniyin Selvan I movie review

Aishwarya plays Pazhuvoor queen Nandini, wife of Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar and Adithya Karikalan’s love interest in Ponniyin Selvan I. Her dual role is revealed only in the end.

Aishwarya along with director Mani Ratnam, music composer AR Rahman and co-stars Vikram, Trisha and others promoted the film extensively over various days. She was also seen touching his feet at various events. The film released in theatres on Friday in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Kannada and Malayalam. It collected around ₹10 crore in India on day one.

The Hindustan Times review of the film called Aishwarya a revelation. It read: “Aishwarya Rai as Nandini has to be the pick of the actors as she has very little to say in terms of dialogues but has so much to express with her eyes and she nails it so convincingly”.

Ponniyin Selvan I is Aishwarya’s fourth film with Mani Ratnam. The former Miss World made her film debut with his Tamil directorial, Iruvar in 1997. She featured alongside husband Abhishek Bachchan in his 2007 film Guru. Her third film with Mani Ratnam was Raavan, in which she was paired opposite Vikram, who plays her former love interest in Ponniyin Selvan I. Abhishek had featured as the antagonist in Raavan.

Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan I has been in the making for several years. It is based on Kalki Krishnamurthy’s 1955 novel which chronicles the story of the early days of Arulmozhivarman, a powerful king of the south who went on to become the great Chola emperor Rajaraja Chola I.

Working with the filmmaker is always a dream-like experience, said Aishwarya at a promotional event and credited him for shaping her as a performer. “He is the perfect school and guru. I didn’t come with any formal training. I just dived right into it all. I got to work with him. A lot of it is spiritual and divine and a lot of it is work ethic,” she said about Mani Ratnam.