Mani Ratnam’s magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan Part 1, based on the eponymous novel by Kalki, continues its box-office onslaught as the film is inching close to worldwide gross collection of ₹400 crore. In the US, the film is now the highest grossing Tamil movie of all time surpassing Rajinikanth’s 2.0. The film released in theatres across the globe in five languages: Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.
PS 1 tells the story of the early life of Arulmozhivarman (Ponniyin Selvan), who would become the Chola emperor Rajaraja I (947–1014) and has been portrayed by Jayam Ravi. The film stars Vikram, Karthi, Aishwarya Rai, Trisha and Jayam Ravi in lead roles and Sobhita Dhulipala, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Prakash Raj in pivotal roles.
Industry tracker Ramesh Bala took to Twitter to announce that PS 1 has become the highest grossing Tamil film in the US, overtaking Rajinikanth starrer 2.0. He added that PS 1 has minted $5.545 million at the US box office and is still counting. He wrote: “In the last 25 years or so, for the first time a Non-Rajini movie has become USA ‘s All-time No.1 Tamil movie. #PS1 overtakes #2Point0 and is now all-time No.1 Tamil movie in USA 1. #PS1 – $5,545,000* 2. #2Point0 – $5,509,317 (sic).” He also tweeted that the film is inching closer to ₹400 crore mark at the worldwide box office.
In Tamil Nadu, PS 1 crossed ₹150 crore gross over the weekend. It is now the second highest grossing film in the state after Kamal Haasan’s Vikram which grossed around ₹190 crore.
The film marked Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s comeback to Tamil cinema after a decade. Aishwarya was playing dual roles – Nandini and her mute mother Mandakini Devi. Upon release, both audiences and critics were impressed with Aishwarya’s performance.
Mani Ratnam had recently said in an interaction that he’s glad he could make the film into two parts and release it now as audiences are ready to watch a film in multiple parts.