Mani Ratnam | |
|---|---|
 Ratnam in 2015 | |
| Born | Gopalaratnam Subramaniam (1956-06-02)2 June 1956 (age 68) |
| Alma mater | Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Works | Full list |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives |
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| Awards | Full list |
| Honours | Padma Shri (2002) |
Gopalaratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally asMani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who predominantly works inTamil cinema and a fewHindi,Telugu,Malayalam andKannada films.[1]
He has won sevenNational Film Awards, fourFilmfare Awards, sixFilmfare Awards South,[2] and numerous awards at various film festivals across the world. In 2002, theGovernment of India honoured him with thePadma Shri, acknowledging his contributions to film.
Despite being born into a film family, Mani Ratnam did not develop any interest in films when he was young.[3] Upon completion of his post graduation in management, he started his career as a consultant.[3] He entered the film industry through the 1983Kannada film,Pallavi Anu Pallavi. The failure of his subsequent films would mean that he would be left with fewer offers. After working in Telugu and Malayalam Cinema, he made his major breakthrough withMouna Ragam (1986), established him as a leading filmmaker in Tamil cinema which won him his firstFilmfare Best Director Award. He was the director of the critically acclaimedNayakan (1987) andAnjali (1990), both of which qualified as India's official entry forThe Academy Awards. He found success with the crime dramaThalapathi, romantic terrorism dramaRoja (1992),Bombay (1995),Dil Se.. (1998), and his romantic trilogy ofMouna Ragam (1986),Alai Payuthey (2000),O Kadhal Kanmani (2015).
Each of his films contain its own unique style, with beautifully photographed songs and unique back-lighting. Exploring success in romantic, terrorism war and drama films. His epic historical dramas,Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022) andPonniyin Selvan: II (2023), based on the Indian epic written byKalki Krishnamurthy, were critical and commercial blockbusters with the former becoming the35th highest-grossing film in India and5th highest-grossing Tamil film.
Mani Ratnam was born on 2 June 1956 inMadurai, Tamil Nadu as the second child of a family that was closely associated with film production.[4][5][6] His father, S. Gopalaratnam, was a film distributor who worked for Venus Pictures,[7] while his uncle, "Venus" Krishnamurthy, was a film producer. His elder brotherG. Venkateswaran (died 2003) would go on to produce some of his films.[7][8][9] His younger brother G. Srinivasan (died 2007), like G. Venkateswaran, would also co-produce some of his films.[10] Mani Ratnam grew up inMadras (now Chennai),[11] along with his siblings and cousins. Despite being a film family, the children were not allowed to watch films as the elders considered them taboo.[12] "As a youngster, films seemed like a waste of time", he claimed in a 1994 interview;[5] however, he started watching films more actively when he was studying at the Besant Theosophical School.[12] During this time, he developed an admiration for actors likeSivaji Ganesan andNagesh; watching all their films. When he discovered the legendary directorK. Balachander, he became his fan. Upon completing his schooling, he graduated with a degree in commerce from theRamakrishna Mission Vivekananda College, affiliated to theMadras University. Later, he did hisMaster of Business Administration (MBA) in finance fromJamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies inMumbai.[8] After finishing his post-graduation in 1977, he was employed in a firm in Madras as a management consultant, and continued to work there for sometime.[8]
Ratnam married actressSuhasini on 26 August 1988.[13] The couple have a son.[14] The family resides inAlwarpet, Chennai, where he runs his production company,Madras Talkies.[15][16]
In 1995, Mani Ratnam was wounded and hospitalised after homemade bombs were thrown at his home by attackers, suspected by police asIslamic extremists, in the wake of opposition to his filmBombay which portrayed the romance of aHindu man with aMuslim woman.[17]
An FIR was filed on Mani Ratnam and 49 others in 2019 when they wrote toPrime MinisterNarendra Modi listing statistics and expressing concern over the rise ofcommunal violence against minorities includingMuslims,Christians, andDalits since Modi'sBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took power in 2014.[18][19]
Mani Ratnam was not satisfied with his job as a consultant as he found it to be a mere extension of his academics. During this time his friend Ravi Shankar, son of directorB. R. Panthulu, was in the process of making his first film. Mani Ratnam, Ravi Shankar and another friend Raman, son of filmmakerS. Balachander, worked on the script of the film.[12] Mani Ratnam took a sabbatical from his job to ensure his participation in the making of the film. Being inexperienced, the makers were largely dependent upon theAmerican Cinematographer magazine. The principal cast includedVishnuvardhan,Srinath,Ambareesh,Lakshmi, andRoja Ramani. When the filming was about to begin inKolar, Karnataka, Mani Ratnam left his consulting job and joined the crew. The film, however, did not take off and was eventually shelved. Nevertheless, he was firm in his idea of becoming a film-maker. Although not impressed with many of the films made in Tamil cinema, he was "amazed" atBharathiraja's16 Vayathinile (1977),K. Balachander'sApoorva Raagangal (1975), andMahendran'sMullum Malarum (1978) andUthiripookkal (1979). During this time, he befriended a group of people namelyP. C. Sreeram,Santhana Bharathi, andP. Vasu, who shared his interest of entering into the film industry.[12]
With a script in hand, Mani Ratnam had an idea to either get a producer for his film or to narrate the script to a "celebrated" film-maker, so that he could get a chance to work along with them and get to know about the various aspects involved in film-making. He chose three directors—Balachander, Bharathiraja, and Mahendran. As the attempts to meet and convince all the three proved to be unsuccessful, he decided to look out for a producer. In the process, he along withP. C. Sreeram—who would collaborate with him in most of his future projects—met around 20 people; however, all the efforts turned out to be unsuccessful.[12]
Mani Ratnam developed a script—originally written in English—into a film and named itPallavi Anu Pallavi. His uncle Krishnamurthy agreed to produce the film but imposed a condition that it should be made under a limited budget inKannada, to which he agreed. He persuadedBalu Mahendra to do the cinematography as he found the latter's work to be very impressive.[20] He managed to get other crew membersB. Lenin (for Film editing),Thota Tharani (forart direction) andIlaiyaraaja (for composer music), all leading craftsmen in their respective fields. For the male lead, he castAnil Kapoor after watching his performance in the Telugu filmVamsa Vruksham (1980).Lakshmi was signed up as the female lead.[20] The film explored the relationship between a young man and an older woman. Although an average grosser at the box-office, the film fetched Mani Ratnam theBest Screenplay Award from theKarnataka State Government for the year 1983.[21] After watchingPallavi Anu Pallavi,N. G. John offered him a chance to direct a film inMalayalam. Scripted byT. Damodaran and featuringMohanlal as hero,Unaroo was about the corruption in labour unions ofKerala.[22] The film was completed within two months and released in April 1984. Mani Ratnam attributed the failure of the film to the conflict of interests that he and the producer had.[12] Following this, he entered Tamil cinema whenG. Thyagarajan ofSathya Jyothi Films offered him a chance to directPagal Nilavu (1985). The film hadMurali andRevathi playing lead roles.[23] It was different from his previous two films in that it included dance sequences and a "comedy track". The same year, he directed another Tamil filmIdaya Kovil, aromantic drama. He remodelled a ready made script on the lines ofCharlie Chaplin'sLimelight (1952). Despite being unsatisfied with the final product, the film was a major box-office success.[21] The phase between 1983 and 1986 was the toughest of his career with onlyPallavi Anupallavi feeling satisfactory; the other three completed with a lot of "compromises".[12]
In 1986, Mani directed the Tamil romantic dramaMouna Ragam, which starredRevathi andMohan. The film was critically acclaimed for portraying urbanTamils in a "realistic" manner.[24] Specifically, it told the story of the friction between a newly-wed couple.[21] The score by Ilaiyaraaja was appreciated along with SPB in back ground score and became popular upon release.[25]Mouna Raagam was subsequently dubbed intoTelugu under the same title and became a hit inAndhra Pradesh as well.[26] The film elevated Mani's status as a director, and won theNational Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil at the34th National Film Awards. He won his firstFilmfare Award for directing the film.[21][27]
In 1987, Mani directedNayakan starringKamal Haasan, and the film became a huge success and brought him recognition at the national level.[24][28] Inspired by the 1972 American crime film,The Godfather,[8][29] the film was based on the real-life story of underworld donVaradarajan Mudaliar,[24][30] and tells the story of an orphaned slum-dweller and his rise to top of theBombay underworld hierarchy.[25] It was included inTime magazine'sAll-Time 100 Greatest Movies in 2005.[31]Satyajit Ray'sThe Apu Trilogy andGuru Dutt'sPyaasa are the only other Indian films that have appeared in the list.[32] Indian critics dubbed the film as India's answer toThe Godfather.[33][34][35]Nayakan was both commercially successful and critically acclaimed winning three National Awards—Best Actor,Best Cinematography andBest Art Direction—at the35th National Film Awards.[25][28] The film was India'sofficial entry to the Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film at the 60th Academy Awards, but was not nominated.[36]
Following these two commercial successes, Mani wrote and directedAgni Natchathiram in 1988.[37] The film deals with the story of half-brothers played byPrabhu andKarthik[25] and is notable for its use of new techniques in camera framework, especially during the songs.[38] The film had a successful run in the box office.[8][37]
In 1989, Telugu actorNagarjuna and Mani Ratnam collaborated for a Telugu film and it remains the only Telugu film directed by Ratnam.[39] The filmGeethanjali which hadNagarjuna andGirija Shettar in the lead, told the story of an ill-fated couple, both of whom are suffering from terminal diseases.[8]Geethanjali was critically acclaimed and won theNational Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment in 1990. In addition, it won theBest Director andNandi Award for Best Story Writer for Mani.[40] Mani maintained a momentum of making emotional stories of under-served people through the filmAnjali in 1990, which starredBaby Shamili as the central character. The film which also hadRaghuvaran andRevathy, told the story of anautistic child who changed the lives of people around her.[41] The film proved to be a commercial success and was nominated as India's official entry to the Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the63rd Academy Awards.[41][42] FollowingAnjali's release, Mani later made another underworld-themed Tamil film,Thalapathi (1991), starringRajinikanth andMammootty.[43] The film was loosely based onMahabharata, dealt with the friendship betweenKarna andDuryodhana portrayed by Rajinikanth and Mammmooty respectively.[25][44] The film met with both critical acclaim and commercial success upon release.[45] Ilaiyaraaja's musical score and Mani's work were highly appreciated as they both went on to win theMusic Director andBest Director awards respectively at the39th Filmfare Awards.[46]
WithThalapathy, Mani ended his long-term association with music director Ilaiyaraaja, bringing in debutant music directorA. R. Rahman to score his Tamil classicRoja (1992). The venture was successful, earning Mani various awards.Roja, a romantic film, was about terrorism in theKashmir region.[8] StarringArvind Swamy andMadhoo, it was nominated for the Golden St. George Award at the18th Moscow International Film Festival.[47] It became highly popular, gaining an iconic status in Indian cinema and was dubbed into other languages and met similar success in other regions.[48] Mani took a more light-hearted approach with his next film—Thiruda Thiruda (1993). Scripted byRam Gopal Varma,[49] the film was a fun filled caper,[50] which was a departure from Mani's previous style and fared moderately well at the box office.Thiruda Thiruda was premiered at theToronto International Film Festival in 1994.[51]
Mani again teamed up with Ram Gopal Varma to provide the screenplay for the latter's Telugu filmGaayam, a socio-politico film loosely based onThe Godfather.[52] In 1995, Mani returned toTamil language drama throughBombay starringArvind Swamy andManisha Koirala, which told the story of a Hindu-Muslim couple in the midst of the 1993 religiousBombay riots andbombings. It was also the first Indian film to focus on marriage between Hindu and Muslim people.[53] The film met with controversy and censorship upon release.[53] It was subsequently dubbed into Hindi where it gained commercial success and appreciation by critics.[53] It won a number of awards, such asNargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration,Political Film Society Awards|Special Award from the Political Film Society,[54] In the Spirit of Freedom Award at theJerusalem International Film Festival[55] and the Gala Award at theEdinburgh International Film Festival.[56]
Mani produced his wife's directorial debut film,Indira,[57] and then directed the critically successfulIruvar withMohanlal,Aishwarya Rai,Tabu andPrakash Raj in the lead.Iruvar was awarded the Best Film at the "Festival of the Auteur Films" at theFEST film festival held inBelgrade.[58] In 1998 came the third part of his "terrorism trilogy", namedDil Se.. and starringShahrukh Khan andManisha Koirala, with the latter fabricating the second collaboration.[59] It showed the relationship between a young man and a dangerous, disturbed woman. Although they fall in love, she is unable to take the romance further due to her bleak past. The soundtrack album, again composed by A. R. Rahman, gained mass appeal and gave Rahman his nextFilmfare Award for Best Music Direction in 1999.[60][61] Unlike his previous two projects,Dil Se.. opened with little note among film critics and performed poorly in the domestic market,[62] despite being a success overseas.[63][64][65] It was screened in many international film festivals, and won the Netpac award (Ex-Aqueo) in theBerlin International Film Festival.[66] The film over the years has achievedcult classic status.[67][68]
In 2000, Mani directed the romantic dramaAlaipayuthey that starredR. Madhavan andShalini. The film focussed on marriage and explored relationships and their consequences, and garnered critical recognition.[69][70] It was also screened at the Berlin International Film Festival.[71]
Along withVasanth, he was instrumental in organisingNetru, Indru, Naalai,[72] a stage musical that marked the first theatre production, with numerous other artistes, to aidThe Banyan, an organisation that rehabilitates women and children with mental illness.[73][74]
Mani's next film,Kannathil Muthamittal, dealt with the story of a child ofSri Lankan Tamil parentage adopted by Indian parents, who wishes to meet her biological mother during theSri Lankan Civil War.[75] The film was critically acclaimed and commercially successful, winning sixNational Film Awards,Filmfare Award for Best Direction in Tamil, In the Spirit of Freedom Award at the Jerusalem Film Festival,[76] and an award at theIndian Film Festival of Los Angeles.[77] In 2004, he madeAayutha Ezhuthu, which tells the story of how one incident sends the lives of three youths on a collision course and received positive reviews.[78] Mani made the film simultaneously in Hindi asYuva, his second venture into Bollywood.Ajay Devgn,Abhishek Bachchan, andVivek Oberoi replacedSurya Sivakumar,R. Madhavan, andSiddharth, respectively in the Hindi version.[78] UnlikeYuva,Aayutha Ezhuthu was appreciated by critics. Mani suffered his first heart attack while shootingAayutha Ezhuthu.[59]
In 2007, Mani madeGuru, a biographical film based on the life ofDhirubhai Ambani, a business magnate from India.[79] The film starred Abhishek Bachchan andAishwarya Rai.[80] The film, set in the early 1950s, became a box office success and received critical acclaim.[81] Guru was screened at the Tous Les Cinemas du Monde (World Cinema) section of the2007 Cannes Film Festival.[82][83] In 2010, Mani worked on a bilingual film, titledRaavanan startingVikram,Aishwarya Rai andPrithviraj Sukumaran in Tamil where in the film look was unveiled at2010 Cannes Film Festival, as part of its marketing campaign.[84] andRaavan in Hindi.[85] The Tamil version was dubbed into Telugu and titledVillain. The film was released worldwide on 18 June 2010.[86]
The film is loosely based on the Hindu epicRamayana; its narrative occurs over 14 days when a revolutionist named Veera, who lives in a forest, kidnaps a policeman's wife to avenge his sister's death. The Tamil version received positive reviews from the critics compared to its other versions.[87] TheNew York Times called the movie a "critics' pick". However, the reviewers of the Hindi version panned the film;Rajeev Masand said it was "a crushing bore of a film, a disappointment on virtually every count"[88] The Tamil version was declared a box office success.[89]
Mani's film,Kadal was released worldwide on 1 February 2013 to mixed reviews from critics and became a box office failure. Later the distributor of the film filed a police complaint against Mani on account of the huge losses suffered by him.[90]
His next film,romantic dramaO Kadhal Kanmani starringDulquer Salmaan andNithya Menen as the lead pair, was released in April 2015. Thecinematography and editing of the film was handled byP.C. Sreeram andA. Sreekar Prasad respectively, while music was scored byA. R. Rahman. The film depicted the life of a young couple in alive-in relationship in Mumbai, and was said to be a "reflection of the modern mindset of urban India", dealing with issues such as marriage and traditional values.[91] Made at a small budget of 6 crores, the film achieved widespread critical acclaim and commercial success.[92][93]
His next wasKaatru Veliyidai, starringKarthi,Aditi Rao Hydari andRJ Balaji.[94] The film, set in 1999 during theKargil War, followed a pilot who, during his time as a prisoner of war, reflects on his failed love life. Kaatru Veliyidai was released in April 2017 to mixed reviews and received an average box office return.
AfterKattru Veliyadai, Ratnam's next film was the crime thrillerChekka Chivantha Vaanam, starringArvind Swami,Silambarasan,Arun Vijay andVijay Sethupathi as the lead actors, whileJyothika,Aishwarya Rajesh,Aditi Rao Hydari and Dayana Erappa,Prakash Raj,Thiagarajan, andMansoor Ali Khan rounded out the supporting cast. The film followed three children as they battled for complete power of their crime family following their father's unexpected demise.Chekka Chivantha Vaanam opened in September 2018 to positive reviews and was a box office success. His next project was confirmed to bePonniyin Selvan: I, based on the Indian epic written byKalki Krishnamurthy. The film has an ensemble cast consisting ofVikram,Karthi,Jayam Ravi,Jayaram,Rahman,Aishwarya Rai,Trisha,Aishwarya Lekshmi,R. Parthiban,Lal,Babu Antony,Ashwin Kakumanu,Prabhu,Sarathkumar,Sobhita Dhulipala,Vikram Prabhu and many more, play the prominent roles. The venture was jointly produced by Mani Ratnam andSubaskaran under their banners,Madras Talkies andLyca Productions. The music was composed byA. R. Rahman, whileRavi Varman handled the cinematography of the film.A. Sreekar Prasad was the editor.[95][96] Initially planned as one film, reminiscent ofMughal-E-Azam,Ponniyin Selvan was divided into two parts. This was done to ensure that the audience would not be confused with the screenplay and story, adapted from the five books of the epic. The first part,Ponniyin Selvan: I, was released theatrically, on 30 September 2022.[97][98] The second part released on 28 April 2023. He is currently working onThug Life (2025) starring Kamal Hassan.[99]
Mani Ratnam grew up watching the films ofK. Balachander,Guru Dutt andSivaji Ganesan.[100] He is greatly influenced by the film-making styles ofAkira Kurosawa,Martin Scorsese,Krzysztof Kieślowski,Ingmar Bergman andMahendran.[100][101]
Unlike most of his contemporaries, Mani Ratnam did not assist anybody in film-making prior to entering the industry.[102] A majority of his films are characterised by a string ofsocio-political themes.[103] Because of his idea of combining art and commercial elements, most of his films garnered both critical acclaim and commercial success.[103]Nayakan,Bombay andIruvar were inspired from real-life incidents, whileThalapathi andRaavan were based on Indian epics.[51]
Mani Ratnam handled screenplays for a majority of his films. Lauded for his casting in each of his films, he claimed in an interview that "I am not a director who performs and shows. I discuss the role, the scene with my actors and let them bring life to it".[51] Right from the beginning of his career, his works were noted for their technical expertise in areas such as cinematography, art direction, editing and background score. For his debut film, he managed to handpick Balu Mahendra,Thotta Tharani,B. Lenin, andIlaiyaraaja, leading craftsmen in their respective fields.[104] As his career progressed, he worked with his childhood friendP. C. Sreeram and continued his collaborations with him untilGeethanjali. In 1991 for his filmThalapathi, he choseSantosh Sivan andSuresh Urs—both newcomers to the Tamil film industry—to do cinematography and editing respectively.[105][106] Both would later become a part of his regular crew.[107] While working onRaavan, Santosh Sivan noted "any cameraman can hone his skills just working with Mani" and described Mani Ratnam's films as difficult to film.[107] From his debut project tillThalapathi, Ilaiyaraaja was his regular composer.[108] For his next filmRoja (1992), he collaborated with debutantA. R. Rahman, who has been his regular composer for all his films till date.[108] Among cinematographers, he has also worked withMadhu Ambat,Rajiv Menon,Ravi K. Chandran,V. Manikandan andRavi Varman while switching betweenSreeram andSantosh Sivan otherwise.[109] SinceAlaipayuthey,Sreekar Prasad has been his regular film editor.[110][111]
Mani is well recognised outside India with a retrospective of his films held at various film festivals around the world such asToronto International Film Festival,Busan International Film Festival,Tokyo Filmex and Birmingham International Film Festival.[58] His films are being screened regularly at many film festivals such asVenice Film Festival,Rotterdam Film Festival,Montreal World Film Festival andPalm Springs International Film Festival.[58]
TheGovernment of India honoured Mani withPadma Shri in 2002.[112] He has won severalNational Film Awards,Filmfare Awards,Filmfare Awards South and state awards. Apart from these awards, many of his films have been screened at various film festivals and have won numerous accolades.Geethanjali, directed by him won theGolden Lotus Award for Best Popular Film at the37th National Film Awards. Other films likeMouna Ragam,Anjali, andKannathil Muthamittal have won theBest Regional Film awards at the National Film Awards. Two of his films,Roja andBombay have won theNargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration. The former was also nominated for Best Film category at the18th Moscow International Film Festival.[113] In 2010, Mani was honoured withJaeger-Lecoultre Glory to the Filmmaker at the 67th Venice International Film Festival.[24][114] In July 2015, he was honoured with theSun Mark Lifetime Achievement Award at the Bagri FoundationLondon Indian Film Festival for his esteemed contribution to international cinema.[115] Around the same time, theMuseum of the Moving Image, New York City, paid a special tribute to Mani. His filmsRoja,Bombay, andDil Se were screened at the museum as a retrospective.[116]
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