In his illustrious career spanning two decades, filmmaker Mani Ratnam, who turns 60 on Tuesday, has not only touched and entertained thousands of people with his movies, he has also inspired a whole generation of directors, writers, editors, music composers and others in cinema. And he continues to do so.
For filmmaker R.S. Prasanna, Ratnam’s Iruvar, which was about the relationship between cinema and politics in Tamil Nadu, is his holy grail for filmmaking.
“I think the kind of filmmaking that was done in the movie was world-class, and it was a biopic that was very different from Nayagan in terms of the narrative style. In Iruvar, there was a lot of international influence in terms of shots and angles,” Prasanna said.
“It was one movie where everything came together so brilliantly. It’s such an underrated movie and sadly, it didn’t do well at the box office,” he said adding that it was Iruvar that brought him and his debut film’s cinematographer Krishnan Vasant together.
Ratnam’s tryst with filmmaking began with the 1983 project Pallavi AnuPallavi, and there has been no looking back ever since. He produces most of his films, and has surprisingly, not assisted anyone.
Actor Rahul Ravindran recalled a memorable experience with a Ratnam film.
“My earliest memory of falling in love with the medium and actually being conscious and aware that I was falling in love and fascinated with the movies, was when I watched Nayagan as a child,” Ravindran said.
“A part of me changed irrevocably the day I watched it. I didn’t realise what it was that fascinated me, but just remember experiencing a sense of heightened excitement... The realisation was more subliminal. Now I know that it was perhaps because the film was so searingly original in tone, so unique and new in execution compared to any film I had seen till that point,” he added.
It was that day, Ravindran said, the seeds were sown. He eventually quit a corporate job and moved to film to try his luck.
Sound designer Kunal Rajan said it was Ratnam’s Aayutha Ezhuthu, which had music by A.R. Rahman, that had a lasting impact on him.
“It was such a rich soundtrack with so many layers... it had a new sound and that got me inspired,” Rajan said.
For composer K, two Ratnam films that changed his perspective of music were Nayagan and Mounaragam.
“Nayagan had the most unbelievable music, especially its theme music, and it changed a whole lot of things for me. Even if I heard one line from the album, I could remember the whole scene with the music. Both Mounaragam and Nayagan have influenced my work,” K said.
He added that the theme music of his Tamil thriller Yuddham Sei had a tinge of Mounaragam.
Writer-filmmaker Nandhini says it’s tough to pick one favourite Ratnam film as all of them are like textbooks for different genres of filmmaking.
“For a commercial entertainer, I’d say Agni Natchathiram and Dhalapathy. As a romantic drama, Roja blew my mind. For crime or gangster movie, there’s Nayagan. And Iruvar for political drama, while Anjali for children and family audiences,” Nandhini said.
National Award-winning editor K.L. Praveen said it was Iruvar that showed him how a film could be cut in a lot of ways.
“I liked his work in collaboration with editor Sreekar Prasad. In Alaipayuthey, I loved the way the Kadhal Sadugudu song was shot in reverse. It was cut so well,” Praveen said.
“I haven’t watched his latest film O Kadhal Kanmani. But I loved the way its promos were cut with city lights in the backdrop. Although it’s an old style, but the way Mani sir presents it, it looks really good,” he said.
Cinematographer Murali says he learnt the art of wide angle shots from Iruvar.
“In this film, Mani sir uses the faces of his characters to express most of the story. He achieved that using close-ups captured through wide lens and everything was shot in 4:3 compositions. It was an experiment, but it worked so well,” said Murali, and added that Ratnam’s Mounaragam was one film that he felt was complete from all perspectives.
Filmmaker Mysskin admires Mani Ratnam film’s for his “aesthetic writing and visual skills”.
