Chennai, Oct 2 (IANS): Team India Cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin, who is a big fan of eminent writer Kalki's literary classic 'Ponniyin Selvan', has described director Mani Ratnam's film, 'Ponniyin Selvan 1' as a "compelling watch".

Taking to Twitter to register his thoughts on the film, Ashwin wrote: "I don't know how many more times I will fall in love with this epic story 'Ponniyin Selvan'. Movies can't replace a good novel. However, the legend Mani Ratnam has made #PS1 a compelling watch."

He went on to say: "There are plenty of stars who have acted in this movie and added depth to some amazing characters that lived in my head who were brought to life by Karthi (Vandiyathevan), Trisha (Kundavai), Aishwarya Rai(Nandini) and Jayam Ravi (Arunmozhi) with grace and elan."

Apart from Ravi Ashwin, another cricketer Abhinav Mukund too chose to share his thoughts on the epic film.

Mukund tweeted: "Just walked out of #PonniyinSelvan1. Absolutely loved it. Can't wait for part 2. It is a magnum opus made beautifully with an excellent background score. Karthi was superb but all actors were cast really well."

The film is based on the classic Tamil novel 'Ponniyin Selvan' by eminent writer Kalki.

The brilliant story, that revolves around the early life of prince Arulmozhi Varman, who later on went on to be known as the great Raja Raja Chozhan, is one of a kind.

The film, called by Mani Ratnam as his dream project, features a host of top stars including actors Vikram, Aishwarya Rai, Trisha, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Jayaram, Parthiban, Lal, Vikram Prabhu, Jayaram, Prabhu and Prakash Raj. The project is among the most expensive projects ever undertaken in the country.