Following last year's 'Nawab' ('Chekka Chivvantha Vaanam' in Tamil), Maniratnam has started working on his dream project 'Ponniyin Selvan' (Telugu title is not finalized yet), the movie adaptation of Tamil novelist Kalki Krishnamoorthy's epic novel set in the backdrop of the Chola Kingdom. This movie is scripted by actor Elango Kumaravel and will be produced by Lyca Productions.

The latest update is that the magnum opus will have 12 songs and all of them will be written by famous Vairamuthu.

Music composer AR Rahman is leaving no stone unturned to make the movie a special one.

The film is expected to begin shooting in December and will have Jayam Ravi, Vikram, Karthi, Aishwarya Rai, Mohan Babu, Nayanthara, Jayaram, Keerthy Suresh and many other actors as part of the cast.