When Trisha asked Mani Ratnam for Nandini’s role in ‘Ponniyin Selvan’, but he said ‘only Aishwarya Rai can do it’

The ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ film franchise helmed by Mani Ratnam has conquered the hearts of movie buffs across the globe. The magnum opus featured Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the role of Nandini, and Trisha essayed the role of Kundavai.
It is no wonder that every female actor who worked in the franchise wanted to play the powerful Nandini. But did you know that even Trisha wanted to play the part? In an earlier interview with News 18, Trisha revealed that she had asked Mani Ratnam if she could play Nandini instead of Kundavai, however, the director didn’t think so!
Trisha revealed that when she went to meet Mani Ratnam at his office, she asked if she could play Nandini, and Mani Ratnam said ‘No’.He said that Nandini’s casting was the first thing he did and only Aishwarya Rai can do it! Trisha was excited to learn that Aishwarya Rai was playing the part, and she was ‘totally okay’ with it.

‘Ponniyin Selvan’, which was released as two parts featured a stellar cast including Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Trisha Krishnan, Karthi, Aishwarya Lekshmi and Jayam Ravi among others. Both the films received great response in the theatres, and the films are currently streaming on OTT.
On the other hand, Trisha was last seen in the Vijay starrer 'GOAT' which was directed by Venkat Prabhu. Her special appearance in the song 'Matta' received good responses from the audiences.