Here's Vikram as Aditya Karikalan from Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan

On Sunday, the makers of Ponniyin Selvan (PS-1) announced that the promotions of Mani Ratnam's upcoming big-budget historical drama were kickstarting. They shared a motion poster with the caption, "The Cholas are coming." 

In the first of the series of updates expected from Madras Talkies, who are backing the project, a poster of Vikram as Aditya Karikalan was shared. 

In an exquisitely designed poster that features the finery of the Chola Kingdom, we see a long-maned Vikram, with a twirled moustache and tilak on his forehead, riding atop a majestic horse.

Ponniyin Selvan is a two-part film that is based on the epic book of the same name, authored by Kalki.

The first part is set to hit the theatres on September 30, and is billed as one of the biggest multi-starrers in Indian cinema. Apart from Vikram,  Ponniyin Selvan also stars Karthi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Trisha, and Jayam Ravi in the leads. The ensemble includes Vikram Prabhu, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Prabhu, Jayaram, Prakash Raj, Lal, Sarath Kumar, Arjun Chidambaram, and Ashwin Kakamanu. 

Backed by Madras Talkies and Lyca Productions, the duology will have music by AR Rahman, and a screenplay by Mani Ratnam, Jeyamohan, and Kumaravel. With cinematography by Ravi Varman, Ponniyin Selvan has production design by Thota Tharani and editing by Sreekar Prasad.