by Ratnam. Arya also joined the project to play a third leading male role after the script was narrated to him. Meanwhile, Sathyaraj was signed to play a supporting role in the film. During the course of the casting process, Ratnam had also considered other actors including Vikram, Suriya and Vishal but they eventually did not make the final cast. For the leading female roles, after considering Jyothika, the team finalised Anushka Shetty for a role and held discussions with Priyanka Chopra in regard to other characters. Seven days before the scheduled start of the shoot, a photoshoot for the film was held in Chennai featuring Vijay and Mahesh Babu. For the shoot, the team sought permission from the officials of Mysore Palace and Lalitha Mahal to film sequences. However, their requests were denied with palace officials keen to keep film crews away from the historic locations. The film was later shelved before the start of the filming stage, as the expected cost of production escalated. Jeyamohan stated that the film did not materialise as the team struggled to find available locations to shoot the film. He revealed that temple officials in Tamil Nadu refused to allow the team to film scenes on the premises and that the expensive cost of producing replica sets meant that it would not be a viable solution. Development In January 2019, Ratnam decided to revive Ponniyin Selvan after Lyca Productions, who earlier collaborated with him in Chekka Chivantha Vaanam (2018), agreed to fund the film. While Vikram, Vijay Sethupathi and Jayam Ravi decided to play the lead roles, along with Silambarasan in a crucial role, Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan too assigned the project; the former playing the role of Sundara Chola in the film. Composer A. R. Rahman, screenwriter Jeyamohan and editor Sreekar Prasad, were retained in the new version. In April 2019, a major change in the film's cast took place, with Sethupathi opting out of the project due to schedule conflicts, thus being replaced by Karthi, and Anushka Shetty was included in the film's cast, working with Ratnam for the first time. Aishwarya Rai, later herself confirmed her inclusion in the project, at the Cannes Film Festival. Anushka Shetty, who has been part of the film's old version, officially signed the project. Actress Amala Paul, too confirmed being a part of the film. Vikram, who is one of the principal