Madras HC bans Ponniyin Selvan-2 pirated version

Chennai: As ace film director Mani Ratnam's magnum opus 'Ponniyin Selvan-2' (PS-2) hit the big screens on Friday, the Madras High Court banned the release of the movie's pirated versions.

On a petition filed by 'Lyca Productions', makers of 'Ponniyin Selvan', Justice S Sounthar ordered a ban on the release of 'PS2' on pirated websites.

In all, 3,888 websites have been banned from releasing the film.

During the hearing, counsel representing 'Lyca Productions' contended that piracy might inflict a loss as the film made on a huge budget.

'PS-2' stars Jayam Ravi, 'Chiyaan' Vikram, Karthi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Trisha, Jayaram, Sarathkumar, Prakash Raj, and Prabhu among others in main roles.

PS-2 narrates the story of the Chola Dynasty. The film is an adaptation of Kalki Krishnamurthy’s five-part novel series of the same name. PS-1 covered one-third of the novel series and the rest is expected to have been covered in the second part.

The movie is directed by Mani Ratnam and AR Rahman has composed the music, while the visuals are captured by Ravi Varman.

PS-2 was released in more than 3,000 screens globally in Tamil, Telugu and other languages.

The first version of epic historical action adventure PS-1 released last year did well at the box office and raked in about Rs 400 crore collections globally. (UNI)