Chennai, Jul 4 (IANS): The team of director Mani Ratnam's eagerly-awaited magnum opus, 'Ponniyin Selvan' on Monday released the first look of actor Vikram as Aditya Karikalan in the film.

Taking to Twitter, Lyca Productions, the firm that is producing the film along with Mani Ratnam's Madras Talkies, said: "Welcome the Chola Crown Prince! The Fierce Warrior. The Wild Tiger. Aditya Karikalan! #PS1"

The film, the first part of which is set to hit screens on September 30 this year, will release in five languages - Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, and Hindi.

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 on went on to be known as the great 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 will be among the most expensive projects ever undertaken in the country.

The film has the best in business handling each of its departments. A.R. Rahman is scoring the music for this film and cinematography is by Ravi Varman. National Award winning art director Thotta Tharani is in charge of production design while Mani Ratnam's trusted editor Sreekar Prasad is handling its editing.