Ilaiyaraaja watches Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan

Maestro Ilaiyaraaja is the latest celebrity from the Tamil film industry to watch Mani Ratnam's latest blockbuster Ponniyin Selvan: Part 1. The filmmaker's wife and actress Suhasini Mani Ratnam, who is also associated with the film in the capacity of a producer, since it has been co-produced by Mani Ratnam's production house, shared this news on her social media handle.
"Such an honour to have the maestro watch our film," wrote Suhasini on her Instagram page, while also sharing a pic of her with the Isaignani. However, she did not reveal what the maestro had to say about the film.
Ilaiyaraaja's association with Mani Ratnam goes back a long way, to the ace director's debut film, Pallavi Anu Pallavi, in 1983. The celebrated composer collaborated with the filmmaker on all his films until Thalapathi, in 1991 (he's been working with AR Rahman ever since). Altogether, the duo worked together in 10 films that Mani Ratnam directed, and one film that he produced (Chatriyan).
The collaboration is considered one of the finest director-composer associations in Tamil cinema. Some of the legendary soundtracks include Mouna Ragam, Nayakan, Geethanjali, Idhaya Koil and Agni Natchathiram, and each of the albums are cherished by fans till date.
Ponniyin Selvan has been Mani Ratnam's dream project since the late 1980s, when he had planned to make it with actor Kamal Haasan. The film, a multi-starrer featuring Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, and Trisha among others, is an adaptation of Kalki Krishnamoorthy's popular historical novel of the same name. It hit screens on September 30 and is reported to have grossed over Rs 300 crores in its first week of releasing.