Mani Ratnam's 'Ponniyin Selvan' from October?

Maverick director Mani Ratnam's on screen adaptation of Kalki's epic novel 'Ponniyin Selvan' is getting bigger and better. After making several films with elements of history or mythology, this time the ace director is planning a full-fledged adaptation of the novel.Vijay, Mahesh Babu and Arya will play the lead roles while Anushka will be Vijay's love interest and Mahesh Babu's sister.Meanwhile, the director is all set to begin the shoot in Mysore from October 2011. 'Ponniyin Selvan', widely regarded as the greatest novel ever written in Tamil, has been a dream for many actors and directors, including Kamal Haasan.According to sources, Kamal has advised the film maker to import the horses from France (which Kamal did for his period flick 'Maruthanayagam').'Ponniyin Selvan' deals with the fortunes of the Chola empire during the 10th century. The story revolves around Vandiyathevan, a charming young man who comes to the Chola land to deliver a message from Crown Prince Aditya Karikalan. Noted Tamil writer Jayamohan will pen the dialogues.The 'Ponniyin Selvan' team will include Mani's favourites A.R. Rahman, Santosh Sivan, Sabu Cyril and Sreekar Prasad.