Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam, known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six National Film Awards, four Filmfare Awards, six Filmfare Awards South, and numerous awards at various film festivals across the world. In 2002, the Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri, acknowledging his contributions to film.
Trisha Krishnan is an Indian actress and model, who appears in films of 5 languages, predominantly in Tamil and Telugu. She gained prominence after winning the 1999 Miss Chennai pageant, which marked her entry into the film industry. Trisha is often referred as the "Queen Of South India" for her contributions to the film industries of all of the South Indian languages. She has been ranked among the best actresses of South India by The Times of India.
Kannathil Muthamittal is a 2002 Indian Tamil-language musical war film produced and directed by Mani Ratnam. It was based on a short story, "Amuthavum Avanum" by Sujatha. The film stars R. Madhavan, Simran and P. S. Keerthana with Nandita Das, J. D. Chakravarthy, Prakash Raj and Pasupathy portraying other pivotal characters. The film's score and soundtrack were composed by A. R. Rahman, while Ravi K. Chandran handled the cinematography. Mani Ratnam presents the story of a child of Sri Lankan Tamil parentage adopted by Indian parents, whose desire is to meet her biological mother in the midst of the Sri Lankan Civil War. It was released on 14 February 2002.
Vairamuthu Ramasamy is an Indian lyricist, poet, and novelist working in the Tamil film industry. He is a prominent figure in the Tamil literary world. A master's graduate from the Pachaiyappa's College in Chennai, he first worked as a translator, while also being a published poet. He entered the Tamil film industry in the year 1980, with the film Nizhalgal, an Ilaiyaraaja musical, directed by Bharathiraja. During the course of his 40-year film career, he has written over 7,500 songs and poems which have won him seven National Awards, the most for any Indian lyricist. He has also been honored with a Padma Shri, a Padma Bhushan and a Sahitya Akademi Award, for his abundant literary output.
Rashin Rahman is an Indian actor. He has worked in around 200 films, primarily in Malayalam cinema, in addition to Tamil, Hindi and Telugu cinema, and has won several awards. In Tamil and Telugu cinema, he is also known by the screen names Raghuman and Raghu.
Chinmayi Sripaada is an Indian playback singer, working mainly for the South Indian film industry. She is also a voice actor, composer, television presenter, radio jockey, and an entrepreneur. She is the founder and CEO of a translation services company Blue Elephant, an architectural and interior design firm Heka Studios, a skincare company importing K-beauty to India - Isle Of Skin, and a medi-spa Deep Skin Dialogues in Chennai and Hyderabad. She is often credited as Chinmayee and Indai Haza. She rose to fame for her critically acclaimed song "Oru Deivam Thantha Poovae" from the National Award winning movie Kannathil Muthamittal directed by Mani Ratnam and composed by A. R. Rahman. She was 15 years old when she made her singing debut in Kannathil Muthamittal. She debuted as a Dubbing Artist in director Krishna's Sillunu Oru Kaadhal rendering her voice for Bhumika Chawla, after being referred by one of A. R. Rahman's sound engineers. She debuted as a composer with a short lullaby titled Laali, which she also sang and released as part of Instagram's #1MinMusic. She is also a social activist often raising her voice against issues faced by women and has been the face of the #MeToo movement in India.
Kalki is a 1996 Indian Tamil-language drama film written and directed by K. Balachander, starring Shruti, Rahman, Prakash Raj, Geetha, Renuka, Suvaluxmi and Fathima Babu. The film was released on 10 November 1996, and was dubbed into Telugu with the same name.
Pillaiyar Theru Kadaisi Veedu is a 2011 Tamil-language romantic drama film written and directed by newcomer Thirumalai Kishore and starring Jithan Ramesh along with Sanchita Padukone. Suhasini, Jayaprakash, Prakash Raj, Soori, and Bose Venkat play supporting roles. The film is the 81st from Ramesh's home production Super Good Films. The score was by Telugu composer Chakri in his debut and only Tamil film he had worked so far. The film released on 24 June 2011.
Anand Krishnamoorthi is an Indian film sound designer, sound editor and production sound mixer.
Anandhi is an Indian actress who primarily appears in Tamil and Telugu films. After her debut in the Telugu film Bus Stop (2012), she appeared in Vetrimaaran's Tamil production Poriyaalan and Prabhu Solomon's Kayal (2014). She won Special Prize for Kayal at the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards.
Shashaa Kiran Tirupati is a Canadian playback singer, songwriter, and music producer of Indian descent. Popularly known as "The Humma Girl", in 2018, she won the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer, as well as the Filmfare Award for the Tamil song "Vaan Varuvaan" from Kaatru Veliyidai. Tirupati has recorded songs in over 20+ languages including: Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Punjabi, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Konkani, Arabic, and English with more than 200 songs to her credit as a vocalist.
Kaatru Veliyidai is a 2017 Indian Tamil-language romantic war film, produced, written and directed by Mani Ratnam. Made under the Madras Talkies banner, it features music composed by A. R. Rahman, cinematography by Ravi Varman and editing by A. Sreekar Prasad. The film stars Karthi and Aditi Rao Hydari, with Lalitha, Rukmini Vijayakumar, Delhi Ganesh and RJ Balaji playing other pivotal roles. Set in the backdrop of the Kargil War of 1999, the film narrates the story of an Indian Air Force pilot who recalls his romance with a doctor in the lead up to the war, while being kept as a prisoner of war at a jail in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
Vairamuthu is an Indian lyricist, poet, and novelist working in the Tamil film industry. A master's graduate from the Pachaiyappa's College in Chennai, he first worked as a translator, while also being a published poet. He entered the Tamil film industry in the year 1980, with the film Nizhalgal, an Ilaiyaraaja musical, directed by Bharathiraja. During the course of his 40-year film career, he has written over 7,500 songs and poems which have won him seven National Awards, the most for any Indian lyricist. He has also been honored with a Padma Shri, a Padma Bhushan and a Sahitya Akademi Award, for his abundant literary output.
Kaatru Veliyidai is the soundtrack album, composed by A. R. Rahman, to the 2017 Indian Tamil romance film of the same name, written and directed by Mani Ratnam starring Karthi and Aditi Rao Hydari. The soundtrack album consists of six tracks each, in the original Tamil, and in the Telugu version of the album. Four of the tracks for the original version were penned by Vairamuthu, one by his son Madhan Karky, and one by Shellee. The lyrics to the Telugu version were written by Sirivennela Sitaramasastri. The album won Rahman the National Film Award for Best Music Direction in the “Songs” category at the 65th National Film Awards. The choreography for the songs were done by Brinda and the cinematography for the film by Ravi Varman.
Ponniyin Selvan: I, also known and marketed as PS-1, is a 2022 Indian Tamil-language epic historical action adventure film directed by Mani Ratnam, who co-wrote it with Elango Kumaravel and B. Jeyamohan. Produced by Ratnam and Subaskaran Allirajah under Madras Talkies and Lyca Productions, it is the first of two cinematic parts based on Kalki Krishnamurthy's 1955 novel, Ponniyin Selvan. The film stars an ensemble cast including Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Sobhita Dhulipala, Prakash Raj, Jayaram, Prabhu, R. Sarathkumar, R. Parthiban, Rahman, Lal and Vikram Prabhu. The music was composed by A. R. Rahman, with cinematography by Ravi Varman, editing by A. Sreekar Prasad, and production design by Thota Tharani. Ponniyin Selvan: I dramatizes the early life of Chola prince Arunmozhi Varman, who would become the renowned emperor Rajaraja I (947–1014). In the film, Vandiyathevan sets out to cross the Chola land to deliver a message from the crown prince Aditha Karikalan. Meanwhile, Kundavai attempts to establish political peace as vassals and petty chieftains plot against the throne.
Eka Lakhani is an Indian fashion costume designer, who has worked in the Hindi, Tamil and Telugu film industries. After beginning her career as an intern on the sets of Raavan (2010), she has become director Mani Ratnam's costume designer for his films since 2013. She has also worked in projects by directors Rajkumar Hirani, Karan Johar and Gautham Menon.
Raaghavan, also credited as Master Raghavan, is an Indian child actor who works in Tamil and a Telugu language films. His first debut was sethupathi with Vijay sethupathi. He has received positive reviews for his performance.
Ponniyin Selvan: I is the soundtrack album for 2022 Indian Tamil-language epic period drama film of the same name directed by Mani Ratnam which features an ensemble cast of Vikram, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Sobhita Dhulipala, Prabhu, R. Sarathkumar, Vikram Prabhu, Jayaram, Prakash Raj, Rahman and R. Parthiban. The film’s soundtrack and score were composed by Ratnam's norm composer A. R. Rahman, marking the duo's 30th year collaborating.
Ponniyin Selvan: II is the soundtrack album for 2023 Indian Tamil-language epic period drama film of the same name directed by Mani Ratnam which features an ensemble cast of Vikram, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Sobhita Dhulipala, Prabhu, R. Sarathkumar, Vikram Prabhu, Jayaram, Prakash Raj, Rahman and R. Parthiban. The film’s soundtrack and score were composed by Ratnam's norm composer A. R. Rahman.
