'Robot' director S Shankar lauds Mani Ratnam for magnum opus `Ponniyin Selvan 1`

Ace director S. Shankar, known for his films like `Robot`, `I` and `Nayak`, praised director Mani Ratnam`s magnum opus, `Ponniyin Selvan 1`, which is based on the literary classic by eminent writer Kalki.

Shankar took to Twitter on Wednesday and wrote: "`PS1` captivates. A quality Tamil historical film after years. Mani Ratnam sir`s mastery in filmma`King` proven yet again (sic)."

While praising the film`s technical team, the ‘I’ director said: "Hats off to cinematographer Ravi Varman`s picturesque depiction. A R Rahman music riveting! Full three hours intrigue you for the sequel. Hail to the vast Army that made this epic!"

Apart from Shankar who was impressed by the magnum opus, scores of people including celebrities like Telugu star Nagarjuna too have been impressed by the epic. The film, which released last Friday much to the delight of fans, has been receiving a thunderous welcome from audiences.

It grossed a worldwide sum of over Rs 80 crore on its very first day, thereby entering history books as the film with the biggest ever opening in Tamil cinema.

The film`s brilliant story is based on the early life of prince Arun Mozhi Varman, who went on to be known as the great Raja Chozhan.

The film was called by Mani Ratnam as his dream project.

The film features a host of top stars including actors Vikram, Aishwarya Rai, Trisha, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Jayaram, Parthiban, Lal, Vikram Prabhu, Jayaram, Prabhu and Prakash Raj.

Mani Ratnam's period drama 'Ponniyin Selvan:1' was released along with 'Vikram Vedha' on September 30 whereas release of Chiranjeevi’s GodFather on October 5, today will give competition to the movie and affect the box office collection.