It is often said that 'the fruit of patience is sweet'. Mani Ratnam's 'Ponniyin Selvan: I, a period drama based on Kalki Krishnamurthy's Ponniyin Selvan, serves as a perfect example of this idea. Tamil superstar Vikram, who plays 10th century Chola prince Aditha Karikalan in the film, shares his thoughts on the movie as well as giving a peek of the intricacies that happened behind the scenes. On being asked about his preparation for the jaw-dropping action scenes of the movie, Vikram explains: "We took a basic sword training and horse-riding training. It is the team which made it possible for us to do all this without taking any damage. We learned from each other."

The movie, 'Ponniyin Selvan: I', have Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as the queen Nandhini and Chiyaan Vikram as the Prince Aditya Karikalan, a fierce warrior, and Karthi plays a grey-shaded role of a spy as Vanthiyathevan. Directed by Mani Ratnam, it is a period drama based on Kalki Krishnamurthy's 1955 novel Ponniyin Selvan. The movie depicts the story of prince Arulamozhi Varman aka Ponniyin Sevan, who later became Chola emperor and was known as Raja Raja the Great. Playing a historical character in a movie based on a novel written nearly seven decades ago is no mean feat. Mani Ratnam attempted to make this film in the mid-1990s and early 2010s but could not succeed.