Mumbai, Aug 19 (IANS): The A.R. Rahman-composed "Chola Chola" track from Mani Ratnam's upcoming epic period action film "Ponniyin Selvan: I", which was released on Friday, has a rhythm rooted in the cultural of Tamil Nadu and is sung in praise of the Chola emperor, Rajaraja Chola I.

The song brings back the combination of Mani Ratnam and Rahman, who have earlier given memorable soundtracks to Indian cinema with "Roja", "Iruvar", "Dil Se...", "Alaipayuthey" and "Yuva", to name a few.

The song uses South Indian folk instruments in a big way with a prominent percussion section. Composer Vishal Mishra has gone behind the mic with Swagat Rathod to lend his voice to the lyrics of the veteran Mehboob.

The orchestra brings together the sound produced by three powerful forces: Chennai Strings, the A.R. Rahman Foundation-based Sunshine Orchestra and Budapest Art Orchestra.

"Ponniyin Selvan: I", the first of two-part spectacle based on Kalki Krishnamurthy's 1955 novel of the same name, stars an ensemble cast of Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Sobhita Dhulipala, Prabhu, R. Sarathkumar, Vikram Prabhu, Jayaram, Prakash Raj, Rahman, and R. Parthiban.

The film is set to drop in theatres on September 30.