Gopalaratnam Subramaniam, known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, film producer and screenwriter who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. He is one of India's most acclaimed and commercially successful filmmakers. 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.
Arvind Swamy is an Indian actor, director, model, entrepreneur and television presenter known for his work in Tamil cinema and a few Hindi, Telugu and Malayalam films. He was introduced as an actor by Mani Ratnam with the blockbuster film Thalapathi (1991) and subsequently starred in successful films such as Roja (1992), Bombay (1995), Minsara Kanavu (1997), Thani Oruvan (2015), and Chekka Chivantha Vaanam (2018). He made his debut as a director in the Netflix anthology series Navarasa (2021) in which his segment named Rowthiram .
Iruvar is a 1997 Indian Tamil-language epic political drama film co-written, produced and directed by Mani Ratnam. The film, inspired by the lives of M. Karunanidhi, M. G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa is set against the backdrop of cinema and politics in Tamil Nadu. It stars an ensemble cast including Mohanlal, Prakash Raj, Aishwarya Rai, Revathi, Gautami, Tabu and Nassar. Rai, who was crowned Miss World 1994, made her screen debut through the film, playing dual characters.
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.
Aayutha Ezhuthu is a 2004 Indian Tamil-language political action film written and directed by Mani Ratnam. It is loosely based on the life story of George Reddy, a scholar from Osmania University of Hyderabad. It stars Suriya, Madhavan, and Siddharth in the lead roles, with an ensemble supporting cast including Esha Deol, Meera Jasmine, Trisha, Sriman, and Janagaraj. Bharathiraja appears in another pivotal role. This is the Tamil debut of Bollywood actress Esha Deol and remains the only Tamil film she has ever acted in. The title of the movie was taken from the name of a Tamil letter, ஃ – three dots corresponding to the film's three different personalities from completely different strata of society.
Jyothika Saravanan is an Indian actress and film producer who predominantly appears in Tamil films in addition to Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi films. Jyothika has received several accolades including a National Film Award, four Filmfare Awards South, three Tamil Nadu State Film Awards and the Kalaimamani Award Jyothika is regarded as one of the most prolific actresses in Tamil cinema, and has been ranked among the best actresses of South India by the media.
Rajiv Menon is an Indian filmmaker who has worked as a director and cinematographer in several Indian regional film industries. After making his breakthrough as a film cinematographer with Mani Ratnam's drama Bombay (1994), Menon has continued to collaborate with Ratnam on other projects including Guru (2007) and Kadal (2013). He has also directed 2 critically acclaimed Tamil films, Minsara Kanavu (1997) and Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000), winning a Filmfare Award for the latter. After a sabbatical, Menon returned to directing with Sarvam Thaala Mayam.
Suhasini Maniratnam is an Indian actress, director, producer and writer in the Tamil film industry. She has worked as an actress in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada films. She made her cinematic debut with the 1980, Tamil film. Nenjathai Killathe. Suhasini then won National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in Sindhu Bhairavi (1985).
Dumm Dumm Dumm is a 2001 Indian Tamil-language romantic comedy film co-written and directed by Azhagam Perumal and produced by director Mani Ratnam under his home studio, Madras Talkies. It stars R. Madhavan and Jyothika, with Vivek, Manivannan and Murali portraying other pivotal roles. The film featured cinematography by Ramji, editing by Sreekar Prasad and music composed by Karthik Raja.
Azhagam Perumal is an Indian film director and actor.
Richa Ahuja is a former Indian actress. She has acted in Hindi, Tamil, English, and French films and plays.
Pa. Ranjith is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter who primarily works in Tamil cinema. He made his directorial debut with the 2012 romantic comedy Attakathi, before earning unanimously positive reviews for his second film, the political action-drama Madras (2014). He wrote and directed the action-drama films Kabali in 2016 and Kaala in 2018, both starring Rajinikanth.
O Kadhal Kanmani is the soundtrack album, composed by A. R. Rahman, to the 2015 Indian Tamil film of the same name written and directed by Mani Ratnam. The soundtrack album consists of nine tracks each in original Tamil and Telugu version of the albums with one track "Maula Wa Sallim" being common to both. Majority of the tracks for the original version were penned by Vairamuthu. The lyrics to the Telugu version were written by Sirivennela Sitaramasastri.The lyrics to its Hindi version songs in its Hindi remake OK Jaanu is by Gulzar The songs are fusion of contemporary music with carnatic music as well as pure classical Indian music based songs in the genres—carnatic and Hindustani. The original score was produced by ensemble Qutb-e-Kripa along with Rahman. The score utilises the songs and re-performed carnatic compositions of musicians Tyagaraja and Annamacharya.
Siva Ananth is an Indian film producer, writer, lyricist, director and actor who predominantly works in Tamil cinema.
O Kadhal Kanmani, also known as OK Kanmani, is a 2015 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film written, directed and produced by Mani Ratnam. The film stars Dulquer Salmaan and Nithya Menen, portraying a young couple in a live-in relationship in Mumbai. Prakash Raj and Leela Samson play supporting roles as an older couple in the film, portraying the younger couple's landlords. The film was said to be a "reflection of the modern mindset of urban India", dealing with issues such as marriage and traditional values. The film featured music composed by A. R. Rahman, cinematography by P. C. Sreeram and editing by Sreekar Prasad.
Lyca Productions is an Indian entertainment company, which was established by Subaskaran Allirajah in 2014. A subgroup of Lycamobile, the production studio has been involved in the production and distribution of Tamil films and Hindi films made in India. It has produced some of Tamil cinema's biggest budget films, such as 2.0 (2018), Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022) and Ponniyin Selvan: II (2023)
Mani Ratnam is an Indian filmmaker who works predominantly in Tamil cinema. Regarded as one of the greatest Indian filmmakers, he is credited with redefining the "range and depth of Tamil cinema". As of 2019, he has directed 28 films, and produced over 15 under his production company Madras Talkies.
Chekka Chivantha Vaanam is a 2018 Indian Tamil-language crime drama film directed by Mani Ratnam, co-written with Siva Ananth. Produced by Mani Ratnam under the banner Madras Talkies, along with Lyca Productions, the film features an ensemble cast including Vijay Sethupathi, Silambarasan, Aravind Swami, Arun Vijay, Jyothika, Thiagarajan, Prakash Raj, Jayasudha, Aditi Rao Hydari, Aishwarya Rajesh, Dayana Erappa, and Mansoor Ali Khan.
Chekka Chivantha Vaanam is the soundtrack album, composed by A. R. Rahman with song lyrics by Vairamuthu to the 2018 Tamil film of the same name. The film features an ensemble cast including Arvind Swami, Vijay Sethupathi, Jyothika, Silambarasan, Arun Vijay, Aishwarya Rajesh, Dayana Erappa and Aditi Rao Hydari in the lead roles.
Vaanam Kottattum is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Dhana, who co-wrote the film with Mani Ratnam. The film has an ensemble cast of R. Sarathkumar, Vikram Prabhu, Radhika Sarathkumar and Aishwarya Rajesh with an ensemble supporting cast. The film is produced by Mani Ratnam for Madras Talkies, with the latter also credited for co-writing the film's script. The film released on 7 February 2020.
