Mani Ratnam: It's only a matter of time until Tamil films garner national attention again

The maverick filmmaker's Ponniyin Selvan will release on September 30,

Mani Ratnam; a poster of Ponniyin Selvan

Legendary filmmaker Mani Ratnam, who has the magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan releasing in theatres on September 30, spoke in length about the rise in demand for pan-Indian films and dubbed movies attracting Tamil audience like never before at the launch of a software which claims to help filmmaking cost-effective.

The maverick director said that filmmakers across the world have been striving to make shooting and post-production cost-effective so as to help reduce the budget. He said, "Filmmaking is not completely an artistic process. It involves commerce, coordination and people management."

On dubbed versions of films like RRR, Pushpa and KGF: Chapter 2 attracting Tamil movie buffs, Mani pointed out that this isn't a new trend, and that such instances have happened in the past, too. He also added that he welcomes the current trend as more people turning out in huge numbers to watch movies irrespective of language is healthy for the film industry.

"The dubbed version of many Hollywood movies have set the cash registers ringing here. Why should we worry when the dubbed version of a Kannada movie is faring well in Tamil Nadu," he asked.

Mani added that Tamil movies have always been lauded for its screenplay and making, and that it's only a matter of time until Kollywood, too, comes up with films which garner attention across the nation.

"Audiences are more evolved now. They have to experience the huge amount spent for the film on screen. Tamil cinema has always been rich; we have brilliant filmmakers and many youngsters who are coming up with entertaining movies. I don't think Tamil cinema should be concerned about the rise in trend of other language films entertaining the audience here," he added.

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