Director Mani Ratnam is going to shoot his next film Ravan at the Athirapally water falls in Kerala and nearby forests with Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan in the lead.

According to a source, Mani Ratnam is finalizing the locations, and the shoot will start sometime next week. Incidentally, the Athirapally waterfalls are Mani Ratnam’s favorite location. He had earlier filmed parts of the Dil Se song, Jiya Jale (picturised on Preity Zinta, and the Guru song, Barso re (picturised on Ash) at the same location.

Mani Ratnam was earlier considering the idea of shooting the film in Sri Lanka. But he abandoned the plan after insurgency by Tamil rebel group LTTE increased against the Sri Lankan government.

“It was not considered as a safe haven for shooting, so the shooting of Ravan shifted to Kerala,” said a source.

Mai Ratnam scored a hit with Aishwarya Rai- Abhishek Bachchan pair in Guru last year- here is wishing a rerun of that success in the new venture.