The first single from Mani Ratnam’s magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan I — Kaveri Se Milne was released on Sunday evening in a grand launch event. The accompanying lyrical video gave glimpses of the film’s grand scale and some scenes as well. But the fans were more focused on the composition and the reunion of Mani and composer AR Rahman, who walked away with plaudits for the song. Also read: Ponniyin Selvan Part 1 teaser: Mani Ratnam’s film matches Baahubali standards

The song, an ode to the Kaveri river, has been composed by AR Rahman with vocals by Rahman, Swagat Rathod, and Pooja Tiwari. The Hindi lyrics have been written by Mehboob. The Tamil version of the song is titled Ponni Nadhi. It has been sung by Rahman, AR Raihanah, and Bamba Bakya with lyrics by Ilango Krishnan.

The video shows glimpses of the landscape of the erstwhile Chola Empire, on which the film is set. There are also stills and scenes showing Karthi’s character Vallavaraiyan Vandiyadevan travelling across the Chola countryside. Sharing the Tamil version of the song on Twitter, the actor wrote, “When I heard this song for the very first time, I felt as if I was riding into the Chola Kingdom! Pure magic! Join me in this journey.”

Fans shared a lot of praise for Rahman’s music as well as his vocals. One fan commented, “Time and again, ARR proves why he is the best. Pure class written all over.” Another added, “I can’t stop listening to this. It is so beautifully composed.” One fan summed up the praise from several others as he commented, “AR Rahman is not a singer or musician, he is a magician.” Many fans also noted how Rahman used voice modulations in his singing, something he seldom does. “In his (ARR) 30yrs of Musical Journey, I think this is 1st time he used a different tone of voice modulation in a single song,” read one comment.

Ponniyin Selvan, based on the eponymous epic novel by Kalki, has been produced by Mani Ratnam’s Madras Talkies. Lyca Productions will be releasing the film. The first part will be released in cinemas worldwide on September 30. Apart from Karthi, it also stars Vikram, Jayam Ravi, Aishwarya Rai, and Trisha. The film is a historical epic set in medieval times and focuses on king Raja Raja Cholan, also called Ponniyin Selvan.

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