A Tribute To Mani Ratnam

Mani Ratnam and  I  started  on the wrong note. I had just seen  my friend Madhavan in Mani’s Alai Payuthe and  I asked  Maddy to introduce  me  to  Mani.Mani  responded with a terse,  “I am happy to  know you. But I don’t like a third party telling me to  connect with someone”

I am not too sure what  other way  there is  for  two people to be  introduced to one another except through a  third party. But I  humbly  owned up to my mistake and we have remained connected since then, Mani and I. Though of late, none of his films  have  matched the power and glory  of his earlier  works, I still think Mani Ratnam is  among the most influential  filmmakers  of modern  times.

As  Mani turns 65, Madhavan shares his thoughts with me:  “He’s always been all-inspiring and a kind of director that nobody can surpass. The reason being his mastered so many genres of films and story telling that it’s a bit incredible. How can a man have such in-depth knowledge about so many subjects and relationships. I have the most respect for him and have learnt  so very much from him.”

 He realized  he  was  losing his grip over the medium some time ago. In an interview  with me he said, “The struggle has increased because you don’t have excuses to fall back on. You can’t claim it is your first film and therefore errors and omissions are expected. You can’t hide behind your own cliches that you have exhausted by now. And world cinema is growing at such a speed that you’ve got to keep changing to stay within a reasonable distance. It is not so much the film or the logistics but your own creativity you battle against.”

Heart problems have plagued Mani Ratman  The concerns  about the  condition of Mani Ratnam’s heart  date back to 2009 ever since  he checked himself  into a hospital after a suspected heart attack.This was  while he was shooting for Raavan with two of his most favourite actors Aishwarya  and Abhishek Bachchan. Mani had felt uneasy. He  quietly finished  his work for the day and checked into the Apollo  hospital in Chennai all by himself.

Again in 2015 there was  a health scare when reports of  a heart attack  surfaced all over in print and on the net. These periodical  alarmist  reports  about Mani’s health really pisses him off.  In fact he has started seeing the humour of  it and  wanted to know after the latest health scare if every time he is going to be seen near a  hospital  people will presume he’s checking himself  in  for a heart attack. “That would amount to  more  attacks than the heart  can take,”  chuckled.

How does a taste of one’s mortality  affect art and life?

Mani  had  replied jocularly. “Well it is romantic idea to think that when you go into an ICU and come out come out with a changed perspective on everything. Not true. Though what it did for me was to make   Raavan meaner and fitter. What I did not do to myself I did to my script. Cut the flab and got it leaner.”

 Mani’s  favourite  Bollywood actors are  Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya.

 Speaking to  me  on Abhishek Mani had said, “With AB, I could do diverse films only because we were tackling very different characters each time. Lalan in Yuva was a far cry from Gurukanth in Guru  and Beera in Raavan was  way away from Gurukanth Desai. Which means the actor and I are back to square one. Square one is a good place at the start of the shoot.”

As  for Aishwarya, “ Ash was good right from her first film  with  me  Irruvar. She was doing a language she did not know, was doing two different characters and she was doing a film that was being shot in lengthy – and in a  slightly complicated style. It did not have any comfort of a launch film. She was pushed into the water. Like we have done with her several times in Raavan. And she had to shout in Tamil for help. Ash just swam. In Raavan, her character  Ragini was the key. She was  the  one who drives the film. She is the one who treads the path that is unwritten. Beera (Abhishek) and Dev (Vikram) are roles that are set – and the actors stand tall in them. Ash had to make Ragini her own. She had to find a Pitch, a Sur that would make you connect with her and the film. She really carries the audience perspective in the story telling.”

Mani’s  hunger  for  innovation  has not  ended.When I had questioned  the caliber  of  his More recent works he replied, “I think it is me.My narration went wrong. I failed to communicate lucidly, and failed to convey my story in an interesting and simple fashion.We put in a lot of hard work on a new film because we’re conscious of our audiences’ expectations.There is always room to try something new. Be it in content or form or  look. And when you try something new there is always a chance that that it may not connect fully with the audience. That is a risk that a filmmaker has to take.If you take the credit when it works, you have to take the blame when a film flops.”

  Mani’s other  favourite is music  composer A  R Rahman, Earlier it  was  the genius  Ilaiyaraja (with whom Mani shares  his birthday).   But after Roja  it has been Rahman  all the way.

Speaking  appreciatively  Mani  said,  “Working with AR is always special.He amazes me every time with not just his music, but the way he pushes himself to come up with a soundscape that is so unique to each film.”

Keep those masterclasses  in dramatic  storytelling coming.And when  do we see  you team  up with  Kamal Haasan  again after Naayakan ?