Mani Ratnam

For the 1994 Tamil film, see Mani Rathnam (film). For the 2014 Malayalam film, see Money Ratnam.

In this Indian name, the name Gopalaratnam is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Subramaniam or his professional name Mani Ratnam.

Mani Ratnam
Ratnam in April 2015
Born	Gopalaratnam Subramaniam (1956-06-02) 2 June 1956 (age 68) Madurai, Madras State, India
Alma mater	Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies
Occupations	Film director Film producer Screenwriter
Years active	1983–present
Works	Full list
Spouse	Suhasini Charuhasan ​ (m. 1988)​
Children	1
Relatives	G. Venkateswaran (brother) Charuhasan (father-in-law)
Awards	Full list
Honours	Padma Shri (2002)

Gopalaratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. ^[1]

He has won seven National Film Awards, four Filmfare Awards, six Filmfare Awards South, ^[2] 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.

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 1983 Kannada 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 with Mouna Ragam (1986), established him as a leading filmmaker in Tamil cinema which won him his first Filmfare Best Director Award. He was the director of the critically acclaimed Nayakan (1987) and Anjali (1990), both of which qualified as India's official entry for The Academy Awards. He found success with the crime drama Thalapathi , romantic terrorism drama Roja (1992), Bombay (1995), Dil Se.. (1998), and his romantic trilogy of Mouna 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) and Ponniyin Selvan: II (2023), based on the Indian epic written by Kalki Krishnamurthy, were critical and commercial blockbusters with the former becoming the 25th highest-grossing film in India and 5th highest-grossing Tamil film.

Early life

Mani Ratnam was born on 2 June 1956 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu as the second child of a Tamil Brahmin 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 brother G. 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 in Madras (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 like Sivaji Ganesan and Nagesh; watching all their films. When he discovered the legendary director K. Balachander, he became his fan. Upon completing his schooling, he graduated with a degree in commerce from the Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College, affiliated to the Madras University. Later, he did his Master of Business Administration (MBA) in finance from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies in Mumbai. ^[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]

Personal life

Mani Ratnam and Suhasini

Ratnam married actress Suhasini on 26 August 1988. ^[13] The couple have a son. ^[14] The family resides in Alwarpet, 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 as Islamic extremists, in the wake of opposition to his film Bombay which portrayed the romance of a Hindu man with a Muslim woman. ^[17]

An FIR was filed on Mani Ratnam and 49 others in 2019 when they wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi listing statistics and expressing concern over the rise of communal violence against minorities including Muslims, Christians and Dalits since Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took power in 2014. ^{[18] [19]}

Film career

Beginnings: 1977–1983

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 director B. R. Panthulu, was in the process of making his first film. Mani Ratnam, Ravi Shankar and another friend Raman, son of filmmaker S. 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 the American Cinematographer magazine. The principal cast included Vishnuvardhan, Srinath, Ambareesh, Lakshmi, and Roja Ramani. When the filming was about to begin in Kolar, 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" at Bharathiraja's 16 Vayathinile (1977), K. Balachander's Apoorva Raagangal (1975), and Mahendran's Mullum Malarum (1978) and Uthiripookkal (1979). During this time, he befriended a group of people namely P. C. Sreeram, Santhana Bharathi, and P. 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 with P. 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]

Early years and struggle: 1983–1986

Mani Ratnam developed a script—originally written in English—into a film and named it Pallavi Anu Pallavi . His uncle Krishnamurthy agreed to produce the film but imposed a condition that it should be made under a limited budget in Kannada, to which he agreed. He persuaded Balu Mahendra to do the cinematography as he found the latter's work to be very impressive. ^[20] He managed to get other crew members B. Lenin (for Film editing), Thota Tharani (for art direction) and Ilaiyaraaja (for composer music), all leading craftsmen in their respective fields. For the male lead, he cast Anil Kapoor after watching his performance in the Telugu film Vamsa 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 the Best Screenplay Award from the Karnataka State Government for the year 1983. ^[21] After watching Pallavi Anu Pallavi, N. G. John offered him a chance to direct a film in Malayalam. Scripted by T. Damodaran and featuring Mohanlal as hero, Unaroo was about the corruption in labour unions of Kerala. ^[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 when G. Thyagarajan of Sathya Jyothi Films offered him a chance to direct Pagal Nilavu (1985). The film had Murali and Revathi 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 film Idaya Kovil , a romantic drama. He remodeled a ready made script on the lines of Charlie Chaplin's Limelight (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 only Pallavi Anupallavi feeling satisfactory; the other three completed with a lot of "compromises". ^[12]

Breakthrough: 1986–1991

In 1986, Mani directed the Tamil romantic drama Mouna Ragam , which starred Revathi and Mohan. The film was critically acclaimed for portraying urban Tamils 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 into Telugu under the same title and became a hit in Andhra Pradesh as well. ^[26] The film elevated Mani's status as a director, and won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Tamil at the 34th National Film Awards. He won his first Filmfare Award for directing the film. ^{[21] [27]}

In 1987, Mani directed Nayakan starring Kamal 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 don Varadarajan Mudaliar, ^{[24] [30]} and tells the story of an orphaned slum-dweller and his rise to top of the Bombay underworld hierarchy. ^[25] It was included in Time magazine's All-Time 100 Greatest Movies in 2005. ^[31] Satyajit Ray's The Apu Trilogy and Guru Dutt's Pyaasa are the only other Indian films that have appeared in the list. ^[32] Indian critics dubbed the film as India's answer to The Godfather. ^{[33] [34] [35]} Nayakan was both commercially successful and critically acclaimed winning three National Awards—Best Actor, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction—at the 35th National Film Awards. ^{[25] [28]} The film was India's official 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 directed Agni Natchathiram in 1988. ^[37] The film deals with the story of half-brothers played by Prabhu and Karthik ^[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 actor Nagarjuna and Mani Ratnam collaborated for a Telugu film and it remains the only Telugu film directed by Ratnam. ^[39] The film Geethanjali which had Nagarjuna and Girija 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 the National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment in 1990. In addition, it won the Best Director and Nandi Award for Best Story Writer for Mani. ^[40] Mani maintained a momentum of making emotional stories of under-served people through the film Anjali in 1990, which starred Baby Shamili as the central character. The film which also had Raghuvaran and Revathy, told the story of an autistic 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 the 63rd Academy Awards. ^{[41] [42]} Following Anjali's release, Mani later made another underworld-themed Tamil film, Thalapathi (1991), starring Rajinikanth and Mammootty. ^[43] The film was loosely based on Mahabharata, dealt with the friendship between Karna and Duryodhana 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 the Music Director and Best Director awards respectively at the 39th Filmfare Awards. ^[46]

National acclaim: 1992–1999

With Thalapathy , Mani ended his long-term association with music director Ilaiyaraaja, bringing in debutant music director A. R. Rahman to score his Tamil classic Roja (1992). The venture was successful, earning Mani various awards. Roja, a romantic film, was about terrorism in the Kashmir region. ^[8] Starring Arvind Swamy and Madhoo, it was nominated for the Golden St. George Award at the 18th 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 by Ram 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 the Toronto International Film Festival in 1994. ^[51]

Mani again teamed up with Ram Gopal Varma to provide the screenplay for the latter's Telugu film Gaayam , a socio-politico film loosely based on The Godfather . ^[52] In 1995, Mani returned to Tamil language drama through Bombay starring Arvind Swamy and Manisha Koirala, which told the story of a Hindu-Muslim couple in the midst of the 1993 religious Bombay riots and bombings. 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 as Nargis 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 the Jerusalem International Film Festival ^[55] and the Gala Award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. ^[56]

Mani produced his wife's directorial debut film, Indira , ^[57] and then directed the critically successful Iruvar with Mohanlal, Aishwarya Rai, Tabu and Prakash Raj in the lead. Iruvar was awarded the Best Film at the "Festival of the Auteur Films" at the FEST film festival held in Belgrade. ^[58] In 1998 came the third part of his "terrorism trilogy", named Dil Se.. and starring Shahrukh Khan and Manisha 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 next Filmfare 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 the Berlin International Film Festival. ^[66] The film over the years has achieved cult classic status. ^{[67] [68]}

In 2000, Mani directed the romantic drama Alaipayuthey that starred R. Madhavan and Shalini. 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 with Vasanth, he was instrumental in organizing Netru, Indru, Naalai , ^[72] a stage musical that marked the first theatre production, with numerous other artistes, to aid The Banyan, an organization that rehabilitates women and children with mental illness. ^{[73] [74]}

Kannathil Muthamittal and onwards: 2002–2010

Mani's next film, Kannathil Muthamittal , dealt with the story of a child of Sri Lankan Tamil parentage adopted by Indian parents, who wishes to meet her biological mother during the Sri Lankan Civil War. ^[75] The film was critically acclaimed and commercially successful, winning six National 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 the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. ^[77] In 2004, he made Aayutha 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 as Yuva , his second venture into Bollywood. Ajay Devgn, Abhishek Bachchan, and Vivek Oberoi replaced Surya Sivakumar, R. Madhavan, and Siddharth, respectively in the Hindi version. ^[78] Unlike Yuva, Aayutha Ezhuthu was appreciated by critics. Mani suffered his first heart attack while shooting Aayutha Ezhuthu. ^[59]

In 2007, Mani made Guru , a biographical film based on the life of Dhirubhai Ambani, a business magnate from India. ^[79] The film starred Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya 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 the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. ^{[82] [83]} In 2010, Mani worked on a bilingual film, titled Raavanan starting Vikram, Aishwarya Rai and Prithviraj Sukumaran in Tamil where in the film look was unveiled at 2010 Cannes Film Festival, as part of its marketing campaign. ^[84] and Raavan in Hindi. ^[85] The Tamil version was dubbed into Telugu and titled Villain. The film was released worldwide on 18 June 2010. ^[86]

The film is loosely based on the Hindu epic Ramayana; 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] The New 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]

Comeback: 2013–present

Mani Ratnam with AR Rahman & Vairamuthu at the Chekka Chivantha Vaanam Audio Launch

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 drama O Kadhal Kanmani starring Dulquer Salmaan and Nithya Menen as the lead pair, was released in April 2015. The cinematography and editing of the film was handled by P.C. Sreeram and A. Sreekar Prasad respectively, while music was scored by A. R. Rahman. The film depicted the life of a young couple in a live-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 was Kaatru Veliyidai , starring Karthi, Aditi Rao Hydari and RJ Balaji. ^[94] The film, set in 1999 during the Kargil 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.

After Kattru Veliyadai, Ratnam's next film was the crime thriller Chekka Chivantha Vaanam , starring Arvind Swami, Silambarasan, Arun Vijay and Vijay Sethupathi as the lead actors, while Jyothika, Aishwarya Rajesh, Aditi Rao Hydari and Dayana Erappa, Prakash Raj, Thiagarajan, and Mansoor 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 be Ponniyin Selvan: I , based on the Indian epic written by Kalki Krishnamurthy. The film has an ensemble cast consisting of Vikram, 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 and Subaskaran under their banners, Madras Talkies and Lyca Productions. The music was composed by A. R. Rahman, while Ravi Varman handled the cinematography of the film. A. Sreekar Prasad was the editor. ^{[95] [96]} Initially planned as one film, reminiscent of Mughal-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.

Craft, style, and technical collaborations

Mani Ratnam grew up watching the films of K. Balachander, Guru Dutt and Sivaji Ganesan. ^[99] He is greatly influenced by the film-making styles of Akira Kurosawa, Martin Scorsese, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Ingmar Bergman and Mahendran. ^{[99] [100]}

Unlike most of his contemporaries, Mani Ratnam did not assist anybody in film-making prior to entering the industry. ^[101] A majority of his films are characterized by a string of socio-political themes. ^[102] Because of his idea of combining art and commercial elements, most of his films garnered both critical acclaim and commercial success. ^[102] Nayakan, Bombay and Iruvar were inspired from real-life incidents, while Thalapathi and Raavan 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, and Ilaiyaraaja, leading craftsmen in their respective fields. ^[103] As his career progressed, he worked with his childhood friend P. C. Sreeram and continued his collaborations with him until Geethanjali. In 1991 for his film Thalapathi, he chose Santosh Sivan and Suresh Urs—both newcomers to the Tamil film industry—to do cinematography and editing respectively. ^{[104] [105]} Both would later become a part of his regular crew. ^[106] While working on Raavan, Santosh Sivan noted "any cameraman can hone his skills just working with Mani" and described Mani Ratnam's films as difficult to film. ^[106] From his debut project till Thalapathi, Ilaiyaraaja was his regular composer. ^[107] For his next film Roja (1992), he collaborated with debutant A. R. Rahman, who has been his regular composer for all his films till date. ^[107] Among cinematographers, he has also worked with Madhu Ambat, Rajiv Menon, Ravi K. Chandran, V. Manikandan and Ravi Varman while switching between Sreeram and Santosh Sivan otherwise. ^[108] Since Alaipayuthey, Sreekar Prasad has been his regular film editor. ^{[109] [110]}

Awards and honours

See also: List of awards and nominations received by Mani Ratnam

Mani is well recognized outside India with a retrospective of his films held at various film festivals around the world such as Toronto 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 as Venice Film Festival, Rotterdam Film Festival, Montreal World Film Festival and Palm Springs International Film Festival. ^[58]

The Government of India honoured Mani with Padma Shri in 2002. ^[111] He has won several National 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 the Golden Lotus Award for Best Popular Film at the 37th National Film Awards. Other films like Mouna Ragam , Anjali , and Kannathil Muthamittal have won the Best Regional Film awards at the National Film Awards. Two of his films, Roja and Bombay have won the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration. The former was also nominated for Best Film category at the 18th Moscow International Film Festival. ^[112] In 2010, Mani was honoured with Jaeger-Lecoultre Glory to the Filmmaker at the 67th Venice International Film Festival. ^{[24] [113]} In July 2015, he was honoured with the Sun Mark Lifetime Achievement Award at the Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival for his esteemed contribution to international cinema. ^[114] Around the same time, the Museum of the Moving Image, New York City, paid a special tribute to Mani. His films Roja, Bombay, and Dil Se were screened at the museum as a retrospective. ^[115]

Filmography

Main article: Mani Ratnam filmography

See also

• List of films directed by Mani Ratnam featuring A. R. Rahman
• List of awards and nominations received by Mani Ratnam

Notes

1. "Fantastic that films now recognised as Indian, not from north, or south: Mani Ratnam". The Indian Express. 27 April 2023. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
2. "Everyone loves the black lady". The Times of India . 12 August 2007. Archived from the original on 11 November 2015. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
3. "66 things you probably didn't know about the living legend Mani Ratnam". HT Media . Retrieved 7 June 2024.
4. "The timeless duo: Mani Ratnam and Ilaiyaraaja". The Week. Archived from the original on 22 June 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
5. Shetty, Kavitha (15 February 1994). "A shooting success". India Today . Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 28 December 2015.
6. Nynnat, Sophia (23 January 2021). "White and Brahmin-Aryan Supremacism: A Journey Across the Film World". Medium. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
7. N, Sathiya Moorthy. "Film producer GV commits suicide". Rediff. Archived from the original on 7 January 2017. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
8. "Mani mantra for B-school". The Telegraph. Calcutta, India. 10 September 2007. Archived from the original on 14 January 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
9. S, Shivakumar (10 May 2003). "The seamier side of film financing". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
10. "Film producer G. Srinivasan dead". The Hindu . 28 May 2007. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
11. Singh, Vidya (3 November 2011). "Maniratnam, the filmmaker". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2012.
12. Rangan 2014, chpt. Pallavi Anupallavi, Unaru, Pagal Nilavu, Idhayakoil.
13. "Suhasini wishes her husband Mani Ratnam on their wedding anniversary". The Times of India. 26 August 2018. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
14. "Mani Ratnam's son a hit at party meet". The Indian Express. Press Trust of India. 2 April 2008. Archived from the original on 10 November 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
15. Ramkumar, Krishna (19 September 2009). "Planet plush!". The Times of India. p. 37. Archived from the original on 26 November 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2012.
16. "Security cover for Mani Ratnam reviewed". The Hindu . Chennai, India. 18 January 2003. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
17. Shekhar, G.C. (10 July 1995). "Movie Director Injured By Bomb; Police Blame Muslim Extremists". Madras, India: Associated Press.
18. "Did Mani Ratnam Sign Letter Written to Modi Over Mob Lynching? Yes". The Quint. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
19. "'How is it sedition?': Stalin condemns FIR against Mani Ratnam, Revathi and others". The News Minute. 5 October 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
20. P. K, Ajith Kumar (27 August 2010). "A life in cinema". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
21. "Directorate of Film Festival" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 October 2014. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
22. Subramanian, Samanth (2 March 2005). "Mani on Mani". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
23. Srinivasan; Pavithra (9 September 2010). "Pagal Nilavu (1985)". Rediff. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
24. Bhaskaran, Gautaman (7 September 2010). "Venice honours Mani Ratnam". Hindustan Times . Archived from the original on 14 February 2011. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
25. Srinivasan, Pavithra (9 June 2010). "Nayagan (1987)". Chennai: Rediff. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
26. Hemanth (9 November 2010). "Evolution of Dubbed Films in Andhra Pradesh". South Scope . Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
27. Nagappan 2011, p. 172.
28. Chaudhuri 2005, p. 161.
29. "Nayagan/Dayavan". Rediff. 29 March 2011. Archived from the original on 18 May 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
30. Babu Jayakumar, G (7 October 2010). "Tragedy brings back memories of Nayagan". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 21 July 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
31. "Apu Trilogy, Pyasa, Nayakan in Time list of 100 great films". Outlook. 23 May 2005. Archived from the original on 24 July 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
32. Tourtellotte, Bob (24 May 2005). "Three Indian films make it to top 100 list". Sify . Los Angeles. Reuters. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
33. India Today 1994, p. 49.
34. Parameswaran, Prathibha (19 August 2009). "Sridevi calls me sir, says Kamal Hassan". CNN-IBN. Archived from the original on 24 August 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
35. Kamath, Sudhish (15 July 2005). "Nayagan, Sarkar stand on their own". The Hindu . Chennai. Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
36. Roy, Piyush (27 January 2008). "India's Oscar drill". The Indian Express. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
37. National Film Development Corporation of India 1988, p. 77.
38. K, Jeshi (18 June 2005). "When a maestro cranks the camera". The Hindu . Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
39. Jha, Subhash K. "Nagarjuna, Mahesh Babu to star in Mani Ratnam's next". Rediff. Archived from the original on 15 July 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
40. "37th National Film Awards" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 October 2013. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
41. "38th National Film Festival, 1991". Directorate of Film Festivals. p. 69. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
42. "38th National Film Festival" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. p. 79. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
43. "Rajinikanth's Thalapathi to be remade in Bollywood". Oneindia.in. 22 November 2011. Archived from the original on 15 May 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
44. "Rajni's Tamil Top 10". Rediff. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
45. S Thakkar, Mehul (11 November 2011). "Mani Ratnam reunites with Bharat Shah". The Times of India . Archived from the original on 21 May 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
46. "Won from the heart-39th Annual Filmfare Awards Nite-Winners". Filmfare . May 1993.
47. "18th Moscow International Film Festival (1993)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
48. Chaudhuri 2005, p. 162.
49. Sen, Raja (18 June 2010). "Raavan is unforgivably boring". Rediff. Archived from the original on 1 February 2015. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
50. Thoraval 2000, p. 339.
51. Nayar, Parvathi (25 June 2010). "Jewel of Indian cinema". AsiaOne . Archived from the original on 9 October 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
52. Sri (16 July 2009). "Retrospect: Gaayam (1993)". Telugucinema.com . Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
53. Chaudhuri 2005, p. 163.
54. "Previous Political Film Society Award Winners". Political Film Society. Archived from the original on 18 August 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
55. "13th JFF". Jerusalem Film Festival. Archived from the original on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
56. British Federation of Film Societies 1994, p. 15.
57. "A change of guard". Rediff. 3 November 1998. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
58. "The Director – Mani Ratnam" (PDF). berlinbabylon14. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 July 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
59. "Mani Ratnam admitted to hospital". The Indian Express . 15 April 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
60. Gopalan 2005, p. 9.
61. "Political Film Society – Previous Award Winners". Political Film Society. Archived from the original on 27 May 2012.
62. "Mani Ratnam's best in Bollywood". IBN Live. Archived from the original on 10 October 2013. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
63. Sattar, Miral (27 October 2010). "Five Essential Bollywood Movies to Netflix". Time . Archived from the original on 29 May 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
64. Nahta, Komal (21 September 2000). "Bollywood films strike gold!". Rediff. Archived from the original on 17 May 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
65. "Box Office 1998". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
66. "1999 Winners". Berlin International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 29 March 2014. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
67. "As 'Dil Se' Completes 20 Years, We Wonder Why Bollywood Stopped Making Great Movies Like These". 21 August 2018. Archived from the original on 8 October 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
68. "17 Bollywood Cult Classics You Won't Believe Were Actually Flops". 20 September 2014. Archived from the original on 21 May 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
69. "Film Review: Alaipayuthey". The Hindu . 21 April 2000. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
70. "Weaving emotions into celluloid". The Hindu . 21 April 2000. Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
71. "2000 Winners". Berlin International Film Festival. 2011. Archived from the original on 9 July 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
72. R. Kamath, Sudhish (15 June 2005). "Rahman musical extravaganza in the offing". The Hindu . Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
73. Kamath, Sudhish (4 August 2005). "The making of Planet Kollywood". The Hindu . Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 14 August 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2005.
74. "Banyan pulls out of Dial 100 Mental Health Helpline services". The Hindu . Chennai, India. 23 November 2008. Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
75. Tulika, Pearl (26 February 2012). "Delicate flower caught in a storm". Rediff. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
76. "The 20th JFF". Jerusalem Film Festival. Archived from the original on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
77. "IFFLA 2003 Film Schedule". Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
78. Kehr, Dave (21 May 2004). "Portraits From the Class Struggle in Modern India". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 22 May 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
79. Dasgupta, Priyanka (14 January 2007). "Spinning a yarn?". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
80. Devi. K, Sangeetha (6 October 2006). "This is as big as it gets". The Hindu . Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 10 November 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
81. SALAM, ZIYA US (28 December 2007). "Twinkle, twinkle, all stars!". The Hindu . Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 10 November 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
82. "Preview: Acceptance in Cannes bestows prestige and honour". Archived from the original on 30 September 2012.
83. "Cannes, India celebrate 60 years". Variety. Archived from the original on 12 August 2011.
84. "Cannes fete off to a start with 'Robin Hood'". The Hindu . Press Trust of India. 14 May 2010. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012. Retrieved 9 October 2013.
85. "Mani Ratnam to be honoured at Venice". The Indian Express . 18 May 2010. Archived from the original on 24 May 2010. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
86. Saltz, Rachael (18 June 2010). "An Indian Epic With Bollywood Glamour". The New York Times . Archived from the original on 24 June 2012. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
87. Sivaswamy, Saisuresh (18 June 2010). "Vikram's Raavanan is better, as is Prithviraj's Dev". Rediff. Archived from the original on 3 April 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
88. Rajeev Masand (19 June 2010). "Masand: 'Raavan' is a bore of a film". IBN Live. Archived from the original on 1 February 2015.
89. "Going Places". The Telegraph . 10 October 2010. Archived from the original on 19 June 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
90. "Mani Ratnam gets police protection". The Times of India . 28 February 2013. Archived from the original on 24 June 2013. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
91. "Dil Raju suggested 'Ok Bangaram' title to Mani Ratnam". The Indian Express. 23 March 2015. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
92. "Kanchana 2 and OK Kanmani are superhits". Sify . 21 April 2015. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
93. Upadhyaya, Prakash (20 April 2015). "'Ok Kanmani' Review Round-up: Dulquer Salmaan-Nithya Menen's Film Gets Positive Response". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2016.
94. "Mani Ratnam releases Kaatru Veliyidai poster, Karthi and Aditi Rao Hydari in lead". The Indian Express. 7 July 2016. Archived from the original on 7 July 2016. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
95. "Its official! Mani Ratnams next to star Jyothika, Simbu, Vijay Sethupathi, Fahadh Faasil". Archived from the original on 19 September 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
96. "Cast for Mani Ratnam's next announced". The News Minute. 16 September 2017. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
97. "Karthi confirms Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan is a two-part epic, part 1 will release in 2022". Indian Express . 20 July 2021. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
98. "Mani Ratnam's 'Ponniyin Selvan: Part One' to release on September 30, first looks out". The Hindu . 2 March 2022.
99. Padmanabhan; Gautam. "Straight From The Heart". Asian Age . Archived from the original on 5 April 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
100. "Cannes is not my goal". The Hindu . 12 April 2002. Archived from the original on 8 September 2003. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
101. Jayanthi, K. (15 October 1995). "What makes Mani?". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
102. "Tiburon International Film Festival – Mani Ratnam". Tiburon International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 26 November 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
103. Rangan 2014, chpt. Filmography and Awards.
104. Rangan 2014, chpt. Thalapathy.
105. S. R. Ashok Kumar (23 December 2011). "A different role". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 27 September 2021. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
106. "Santhosh Sivan on the sets of Raavan". Sify . Archived from the original on 23 September 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
107. "Ilayaraja, Mani Ratnam bury differences?". The Times of India . 5 April 2013. Archived from the original on 8 April 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
108. "Encountering transitions". The Hindu. 27 January 2013. Archived from the original on 3 April 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
109. "Sreekar Prasad on editing a bilingual". Rediff. 20 May 2004. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
110. Subhash K Jha (24 June 2010). "Let him say what he wants to!". Mid-Day . Archived from the original on 28 July 2010. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
111. "Padma Awards". Government of India . National Informatics Centre.
112. "Competition program: XVIII MIFF (1–12 july 1993)". 34th Moscow International Film Festival. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
113. "Venezia 67 Awards". Venice Film Festival. Archived from the original on 13 September 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
114. "London Indian Film Festival Awards". London Indian Film Festival. Archived from the original on 19 July 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
115. Dore, Shalini (11 June 2015). "Mani Ratnam Tribute Set at Museum of the Moving Image". Variety. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.

Bibliography

• Nagappan, Ramu (1 December 2011). Speaking Havoc: Social Suffering and South Asian Narratives. University of Washington Press. ISBN   978-0-295-80171-1. Archived from the original on 13 August 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
• Thoraval, Yves (1 February 2000). The cinemas of India. Macmillan India. ISBN   978-0-333-93410-4. Archived from the original on 31 December 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
• Film. British Federation of Film Societies. 1994. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
• National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC), Directorate of Film Festivals (1988). Indian cinema. Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
• Chaudhuri, Shohini (2005). "Cinema of South India and Sri Lanka". Contemporary world cinema: Europe, the Middle East, East Asia and South Asia. Edinburgh University Press. p. 199. ISBN   9780748617999.
• "1994 India". India Today . 21. Aroon Purie for Living Media India Ltd. 1994.
• "1988 India". India Today. 13. Living Media India Limited: 96. 1988. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
• Gopalan, Lalitha (2005). Bombay: BFI Film Classics. BFI Publishing. ISBN   978-0-85170-956-7.
• Rangan, Baradwaj (2014). Conversations with Mani Ratnam. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN   978-81-8475-690-6.
• Rangan, Baradwaj; Sachidanandam, Aravindh (2014). Maniratnam Padaippugal or Uraiyadal. Kizhakku Pathippagam. ISBN   9789351351573.

Further reading

• Bal, Mieke (2004). Narrative Theory: Critical Concepts in Literary and Cultural Studies. Taylor & Francis. p. 1680. ISBN   978-0-415-31661-3.
• Benjamin, S. (2006). A rose by any other name: exploring the politics of Mani Ratnam's Roja. Contemporary South Asia. pp. 423–435.
• Mallhi, Angie (2006). The Illusion of Secularism: Mani Ratnam's Bombay and the Consolidation of Hindu Hegemony. University of Victoria: CAPI Occasional Paper #31.Victoria: Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives.
• Terska Ciecko, Anne (2006). "National Cinema and State Authority". Contemporary Asian Cinema: Popular culture in a Global Frame . Berg: Berg Publishers. ISBN   978-1-84520-237-8.
• Gopalan, Lalitha (2005). Bombay: BFI Film Classics. London: BFI Publishing. ISBN   978-0-85170-956-7.
• Nagappan, Ramu (2005). "Momentary Pleasures of Reconciliation". Speaking Havoc: Social Suffering & South Asian Narratives . Washington: University of Washington Press. ISBN   978-0-295-98488-9.
• Velayutham, Selvaraj (2008). Tamil Cinema: The Cultural Politics of India's Other Film Industry. Routledge. ISBN   978-0-415-39680-6. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2016.

External links

• Media related to Mani Ratnam at Wikimedia Commons
• Mani Ratnam at IMDb