Ponniyin Selvan makers searched by enforcement directorate in money laundering case

Mangalore Today News Network / News18

Chennai, May 16, 2023: The Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at the premises of LYCA Productions in Chennai, Tamil Nadu in connection to a money laundering case. This is the same production house that recently released hit movies Ponniyin Selvan 1 and 2. As reported by NDTV, searches by the central agencies are underway at eight locations in the city. More details about the searches are awaited.

 

It should also be noted that the income tax department also carried out searches at leading movie production houses in Tamil Nadu last year. Back then, the central agency also detected undisclosed income of more than Rs 200 crore. Not just this, they also seized cash and gold jewellery worth Rs 29 crore. However, it is not yet clear if ED’s Tuesday searches are in connection with the same.

 

ED conducts raids at LYCA Productions in Chennai. More details awaited: Sources pic.twitter.com/lZOX7pE9ks

— ANI (@ANI) May 16, 2023

While Ponniyin Selvan I was released in September 2022, the sequel of the film hit theatres last month. The movie starred Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Chiyaan Vikram, Karthi, Trisha Krishnan, and Jayam Ravi in key roles.

Ponniyin Selvan is based on Kalki Krishnamurthy’s novel of the same name. The first part of magnum opus collected a whopping Rs 500 crore at the box office worldwide, whereas part two earned around Rs 300 crore. The film is directed by Mani Ratnam and is jointly produced by Madras Talkies and Lyca Productions.

“Having watched both films now, I feel Ponniyin Selvan deserved a tad more depth, given the various characters and plotlines. The two-part series could have been explored as a grand web series of sorts, something similar to Game of Thrones, or even as a three-part film series, allowing the characters to be fleshed out fully and letting people pick their favourites. Overall, when Ponniyin Selvan was announced, it appeared like a great door-opener for those who weren’t aware of the five-part novel. However, the two-part series concludes as a great cinematic experience that fell short on storytelling," News18 Showsha’s review of PS 2 read.