‘My’ refers to Mani Ratnam the Thalapathy, Shankar the Gentleman, and to all the directors who have made league of their own. This is in no way trying to find out who the better of the lot is. This is neither an analysis nor a comparison. It is the fact that everyone knows.

Let us start with Mani Ratnam who has slowly evolved in to a masterpiece himself. From a humble beginning as a director who didn’t apprentice under anyone to a director on par with international standards, Mani is one man, all budding directors look up to. It is an obvious scenario in filmdom that directors try something to compete with him. If directors are a battalion on one side, look at the army of actors, who are desperate to work with him, on the other.

Right from casting till the end product, Mani is a perfectionist. He chooses the right actors and technicians to pull off a product with his out-of-the-box movie making technique. He has made many movies with exemplary story lines. Recall a classic movie like ‘Mouna Ragam’ a keen observer would realize the beauty of the screen play and the characterization of each artist. If that was a little too matured to even think of, recollect ‘Anjali’, about a small girl and the family and society around her. It is a simple story but with a serious screenplay. ‘Agni Natchathram’, ‘Thalapathy’ and many other movies of his, only gets to show the power of the story and the strength of the characters in them.

Unlike commercial directors who believe in the fan following of a hero or the formula of commercial ingredients, Mani Ratnam has always focused on a strong story and gripping screenplay like senior directors K.Balachander and Bharathiraja. Though he may have been inspired from Hollywood movies, his film making technique is world class and a league of his own. ’Aayutha Ezhuthu’ is one such example.

Talking about his films one really can’t stop talking about Kamal Haasan’s ‘Nayagan’ or the beautiful love story ‘Idhayathai Thirudathey’ starring Nagarjuna. He is a seasoned film maker who can vary his scripts with conviction.

Don’t mistake Mani only for serious cinema. He is absolutely romantic at heart. His flirtatious or love scenes have always been made aesthetically.

Even the technicians who work with Mani are world class people. First in that list would be A R Rahman, who made his debut in Mani Ratnam’s ‘Roja’ and from thereon Rahman never looked back. He is a loyal Mani technician and has never said a ‘no’ to the master. Besides Rahman, blessed cinematographer P C Sriram and sometimes Rajeev Menon, Editor Sreekar Prasad, and many others have always been part of Mani’s team.

Now all the eyes are on ‘Raavan’, supposedly inspired from the holy epic of Ramayana. This is not the first time Mani has been inspired from a book. Even ‘Thalapathy’ was inspired from the friendship Duryodhanan and Karnan shared in Mahabaratha.

An avid Mani Ratnam fan will tell you proudly that Mani hasn’t shot any of his songs outside the country but for a movie like ‘Kannathil Muthamittal’ where the script demanded a place outside India. He may have a dream song but the lead pair won’t dance in a busy road in a foreign country. His movies do the talking – he makes meaningful cinema.

Mani is a director who believes in his efforts and the technicians who work with him. For instance, lighting in movies is a serious issue. Mani Ratnam has always opted for natural lighting wherever possible. Similarly you’ll reckon apart from editing effects you really can’t spot computer graphics in his movies.

‘Raavan’ is definitely a movie to watch out for. Because a highly explosive star cast and an even powerful story is in place. This article is only an attempt in recollecting the classics made by the master. What was read till now, is only a page in a never-ending film-encyclopedia. Hats off to Mani!

Come back to see another world class director.......