Chennai, Jul 8 (IANS): Actor Jayam Ravi, who plays prince Arul Mozhi Varman (who later on came to be known as the great Raja Raja Chola) in director Mani Ratnam's eagerly awaited magnum opus 'Ponniyin Selvan', says he has got goosebumps and has thanked director Mani Ratnam for the role.

Taking to Twitter soon after Lyca Productions and Madras Talkies tweeted his first look in the film as Ponniyin Selvan, Jayam Ravi, tweeting the picture on his timeline, wrote in Tamil, "The pride of Tamils, the history of Cholas, and in it as Arul Mozhi Varman. Goosebumps. Thank you Mani Ratnam sir."

Earlier in the day, Lyca Productions and Madras Talkies, which are jointly producing the film, tweeted the first look poster of Jayam Ravi and said, "Hail the Visionary Prince, the Architect of Golden Era, the Great Raja Raja Chola…introducing Ponniyin Selvan!"

Already, the makers have released the first look posters of Vikram as Aditya Karikalan, Karthi as Vanthiyathevan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as queen Nandini and Trisha as princess Kundavai from the film that is being made on a lavish scale.

The teaser of the film is set to be launched on Friday evening, the production houses announced.

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

Based on the classic Tamil novel 'Ponniyin Selvan' by eminent writer Kalki, the film will tell the story of prince Arulmozhi Varman, who later went on to be known as the great Raja Raja Chola.