Today is the 61st birthday of director Mani Ratnam.

Mani Ratnam is unarguably the most admired directors alive in India. He has been a pride of Tamil cinema. His films have made huge impact among global audience. His films are considered as reference material to make quality cinema by many filmmakers of his peer and successive generations. He is a source of inspiration and admiration for every filmmaker and aspiring directors.

Fondly addressed as Mani sir, the docile filmmaker made his debut with the Kannada film Pallavi Anu Pallavi`. For his debut film released in 1983, he chose an unconventional subject of a younger man falling for a older women which was considered a taboo in those days. That was the announcement of the arrival of a marvelous filmmaker of our times.

Throughout the 1980s he kept delivering super hits and critically acclaimed films and the list includes Mouna Ragam` and Nayagan` his first and only film with Ulaganayagan Kamal Haasan which went on to win several National awards and was also included in the All Time Best 100 Films list by Time Magazine in 2005. In 1991 he teamed up with Superstar Rajinikanth to deliver Thalapathy` which is one of the most memorable film of the latter`s career and also one of the best Tamil films stressing the greatness of friendship.

In the 1990s Mani Ratnam started making films on a larger canvass and most of his films dealt with terrorism and other problems affecting the nation. Roja` was probably the first Indian film to shed light on the Kashmir border terrorism and the film went on to become a blockbuster. Bombay` dealt with the demolition of Babri Masjid and the communal riots caused by that black incident. Iruvar` was a fictional take on the lives of MGR and Karunanidhi, the two political icons of Tamil Nadu who emerged from the tinsel town. His debut Bollywood flick Dil se` was about the violence unleashed by radical groups and the security forces in the North eastern states of India. Kannathil Muthamittal` was the story of a kid who is in pursuit of her mom who has turned a rebel fighting for the Tamil cause in Sri Lankan Ethnic war.

In the new millennium Mani Ratnam making use of Pan-Indian appeal for his films started making bilinguals. Aaytha Ezhuthu`/ Yuva` stressed the need for students to enter politics and not just keep complaining about the corrupt system. Raavanan`/`Raavan` dealt with the growth of Naxalism and was also based on the epic Ramayana.

Mani Ratnam is hailed as the master of Romance. His portrayal of romance is loved by everyone. While all of his films have had romance, his first out and out romantic film was Alaiapayuthey` which was also the debut film of actor Madhavan released in 2000. The film which for the first time in Tamil cinema dealt with the problems arising between lovers after marriage turned out to be a blockbuster. His latest film O Kadhal Kanmani` which dealt with the ultra modern concept of live in` relationships proved that the master has not lost his class of portraying love in the most lovable way. The film was one of the biggest super hits of 2015. His next film with actor Karthi and Aditi Rao Hyadari in lead roles is also expected to fall under the romance genre and we can expect yet another refreshing romance saga from the veteran.

Mani Ratnam`s contribution to Tamil cinema goes beyond box office success and critical acclaims. He has changed the dialogue ridden pattern of filmmaking and made Tamil filmmakers understand that cinema is a visual medium and it is better to show more and talk less. The dialogues in his films would be precise and curt. It is a technician`s delight to work with Mani Ratnam. The cinematography and editing techniques used in Mani`s films have been useful for many other filmmakers.

In short Mani Ratnam is one of those filmmakers who have brought a lot of changes in Tamil cinema to make it closer to the world cinema.

IndiaGlitz wishes the legendary filmmaker a Happy Birthday and pray the god for his long life with good health and happiness.