Ponnar Shankar is a 2011 Indian epic historical drama film produced and directed by Thiagarajan. It is a fictionalised account of the Ponnar Shankar epic, adapted from M. Karunanidhi's novel of the same name. It features Thiagarajan's son Prashanth in lead dual roles as warrior princes, portraying the title characters, with actresses Pooja Chopra and Divya Parameshwaran making their film debut as princesses and Prakash Raj as the main antagonist. The film also features an extensive cast of supporting actors with Prabhu, Jayaram, Khushbu Sundar, Sneha, Vijayakumar, Nassar, Rajkiran, Napoleon, and Ponvannan, amongst others. The background score and soundtrack of the film, composed by Ilaiyaraaja, with cinematography handled by Shaji Kumar and editing done by Don Max.


Cast
Prashanth as Ponnar and Shankar, the twin brothers from Kongu Nadu
Pooja Chopra as Muthaayi, Shankar's love interest
Divya Parameshwaran as Pavalaayi, Ponnar's love interest
Prakash Raj as Manthiappan, the rival king who schemes to bring down Ponnar and Shankar
Prabhu as the Chola King, an ally to Ponnar and Shankar
Jayaram as Nellian Kodan / Massasamy, Ponnar and Shankar's father
Khushbu Sundar as Thamarai Nachiyar, Ponnar and Shankar's mother
Sneha as Arukkaani Thangam, Ponnar and Shankar's sister
Vijayakumar as King Periyamalai Kozhundu, Thamarai's father
Nassar as Mayavar, village chieftain in Periyamalai Kozhundhu's kingdom
Rajkiran as Raaki Annan, Nellian's servant
Napoleon as King of Kongu Nadu Thalaiyoor Kaali, an ally to Mandhiyappan
Ponvannan as Chinnamalai Kozhundu, Thamarai's brother
Riyaz Khan as Vaiyamperumal, Chinnamalai's son
Lakshmi Ramakrishnan as Silambayi, Chinnamalai's wife
Sukumari as Vaanayi, an old lady
Seetha as Azhagu Nachiyar
Captain Raju as Chellatha Gounder, Manthiappan's father
Ponnambalam as Thalapathi
Bose Venkat as Veerannan
Bharat Dabholkar as Thirumalai
Raj Kapoor as King's Minister
Delhi Ganesh
Santhana Bharathi
Shanmugarajan
Mahanadi Shankar
Besant Ravi
Bharathi Kannan
Geetha Babu
Bhanu in a special appearance