PremiumMani Ratnam on Vetrimaaran, Mari Selvaraj’s films and social media: 5 revelations made by the Ponniyin Selvan director
Mani Ratnam recently reacted to the acclaimed movies helmed by directors Vetrimaaran, Mari Selvaraj, and others. The filmmaker also reacted to the toxicity on social media and obsession with box offic
Last Updated: 08.24 PM, Nov 19, 2023
Mani Ratnam is one of the very rare filmmakers, who have constantly reinvented themselves with the changing styles of filmmaking. The veteran director recently made headlines again, with the stunning title announcement teaser of his upcoming movie Thug Life, which stars Kamal Haasan in the lead role.
In a recent interview with Galatta Plus, Mani Ratnam reacted to the acclaimed works of new-age filmmakers like Vetrimaaran, Mari Selvaraj, and others. He also extensively spoke about social media toxicity, the making of Ponniyin Selvan, and much more. Have a look at the 5 revelations made by Mani Ratnam in the interview, below:
Mani Ratnam about his love for Vetrimaaran, Mari Selvaraj, and others’ movies
During his interview with the Galatta Plus YouTube, Mani Ratnam opened up about his admiration for new-age directors and their movies. The veteran filmmaker heaped praises on directors Vetrimaaran, Mari Selvaraj, Sudha Kongara, Madonne Ashwin, and P.S Vinothraj, who were also present at the Round Table 2023 with him.
Mani Ratnam stated that Mari Selvaraj’s films affected him on many levels, and added that he is very happy about how the Karnan director raises his voice through cinema. He further added that he enjoys the movies of Vetrimaaran, Pa Ranjith, and the others who were present at the Round Table. Mani Ratnam feels that Tamil cinema is lucky to have a bunch of supremely talented filmmakers, who brought their ideologies to mainstream cinema.
Mani Ratnam’s take on social media anonymity
Interestingly, Mani Ratnam, who has always stayed away from social media, opened up about his reasons behind the same. The Nayakan director feels that the anonymity factor has made social media platforms an extremely toxic place, where people spit venom. The filmmaker also expressed his displeasure over the fan wars on the internet and opined that it's getting to the level of roadside arguments, which is extremely unhealthy.
The making of Ponniyin Selvan
According to Mani Ratnam, the biggest challenge while making Ponniyin Selvan was the humongous scale it was being made. He was doubtful if he would be able to execute such a massive project. Mani Ratnam added that he wanted to keep it realistic as much as possible and to avoid all dated cliches of period films. However, the biggest problem for Mani Ratnam was convincing the audiences, who loved Kalki Krishnamurthy’s epic novel, with his own version.
Casting superstars
Mani Ratnam admitted that it is important to do justice to the onscreen image and stature of stars while casting them in films. The filmmaker pointed out how he can’t take a film like Roja to a superstar like Rajinikanth. He feels that it is very important to acknowledge what actors bring to the table, and what is expected from them. Even though Mani Ratnam feels it is unfair to ignore the audience's demands while casting an actor, he still believes in maintaining a balance with the original vision of the director.
Mani Ratnam on industry and audiences’ obsession over box office
The veteran director revealed that he is just disheartened about the excessive discussions among social media users and common audiences, about the box office collections. Mani Ratnam stated that it is disappointing how people chose to discuss the business of movies, instead of enjoying it without judgements.