‘Ponniyin Selvan-1’: Aishwarya Rai returns to Tamil cinema after 12 yrs, fans in Chennai theatres line up drum rolls & crackers

One of the biggest attractions of Mani Ratnam’s ‘Ponniyin Selvan: 1’ is the comeback of popular Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The actress is seen in a Tamil film after 12-long-years. Her last Kollywood outing was with S Shankar’s sci-fi film ‘Enthiran’ opposite superstar Rajinikanth in 2010.

The former Miss World commands a huge fan following across India. All her previous Tamil films such as ‘Endhiran’, ‘Jeans’, ‘Kandukondain Kandukondain’, and ‘Raavanan’ have all gone on to become some of the biggest hits inTamil Cinema. Fans were eagerly waiting for Bachchan’s return to Tamil cinema, making the release of ‘Ponniyin Selvan: 1’ nothing short of a festive occasion.

On Friday, the film was released worldwide in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi. The grand release of the epic period action drama was welcomed with magnanimity by fans. One of the theatres in Tamil Nadu witnessed fans gathering outside in huge numbers to sing, dance, and burst crackers.

Rohini Silver Screens in Chennai’s Koyambedu witness fans thronging in large numbers to celebrate the release. Fans were seen playing drums and dancing in front of the theatre. Meanwhile, in Madurai fans went the extra mile to shower the large poster of Chiyaan Vikram. Some were even seen performing pooja outside theatres. Several theatres also witnessed fans showering confetti at the entry scene of Chiyaan Vikram.

Several Twitter users also shared live reactions of fans when Aishwarya Rai Bachchan made an appearance on the screen. The actress has been trending high on social media ever since she was seen at promotional events in the run-up to the film’s release.

‘Ponniyin Selvan:1’ helmed by Mani Ratnam features also stars Trisha Krishnan, Jayam Ravi, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Sobhita Dhulipala, R Sarathkumar, Vikram Prabhu, Jayaram, Rahman and R Parthiban in key roles. The film has music by AR Rahman, cinematography by Ravi Varman and art by Thota Tharani.