The Veteran filmmaker Mani Ratnam turns 65 today, i.e. 2nd June. Mani Ratnam is considered as one of the most loved and famous filmmakers in the country who have directed movies in various languages. Many times, the filmmaker shoots his films simultaneously in different languages keeping the taste and impact intact.
Mani Ratnam is no doubt one of the finest directors in the film industry and he is loved by a strong fan following due to his realistic-yet-commercially-sound brand of storytelling. He has worked with the biggest names in the industry, from Rajinikanth to ShahRukh Khan and has proved his skills.
Brief about his career
First break for Mani sir was, ‘Mouna Ragam’ (1986), it tells the story of a woman (named Revathi) torn between an old flame who is shot in an unfortunate mishap moments before their court wedding and a husband she doesn’t love. After it was his recent ‘O Kadhal Kanmani’ (2015) that ignites the idea of ‘love’ for the new generation that prefers live-in over marriage.
Apart from being a successful filmmaker, Mani Ratnam is also the lead person behind creating a stage for artists who are indeed great stars now. He launched Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in movies with Iruvar while brought AR Rahman as a music composer in films with Roja.
Mani Ratnam is also a filmmaker who got actors namely Arvind Swamy and Preity Zinta in films. Even R. Madhavan got his breakthrough in Mani’s film and the actor has been growing since then.
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Some of the famous stars which were launched by Mani sir
1. A.R. Rahman- Music prodigy AR Rahman began his film career as a music director with Mani Ratnam directed movie ‘Roja’ released in 1992. Since then it was the lucky charm for the Mozart of Madras. Mani and Rahman have collaborated multiple times and it’s a beautiful essence every time.
2. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan- After the beauty was crowned Miss World in 1994, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan made her acting debut in 1997 with consecutively two films, first Tamil film ‘Iruvar’ which was directed by Mani Ratnam in which she played a double role. The same year, Aishwarya starred in ‘Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya’ opposite Bobby Deol.
3. Preity Zinta- Preity Zinta had debuted in year 1998. She made her debut with Mani Ratnam’s ‘Dil Se’ alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala. Soon after the release, Preity was casted in ‘Soldier’ opposite Bobby Deol and Telugu film ‘Premante Idera’.
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Some of the evergreen classical hits by Mani Sir
1. Iruvar (1997)- This is a Tamil classic which highlighted the link between politics and cinema in Tamil Nadu and garnered a fair deal of attention due to its striking similarity with real-life events. It had a stellar cast headlined by Mohanlal and Prakash Raj.
Lalettan’s Anandan was based on MGR, while the Singham baddie’s character was modelled on M Karunanidhi. It earned fame because the way the movie was scored and was characterized.
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2. Dil Se (1998)- Dil Se was the final part of the terrorism triology and it have had marked Mani Ratnam’s first collaboration with the Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan. The film revolves around the seven shades of love while striking upon the sensitive issue of ‘suicide bombing’. It emerged as a huge success even in the international market.
3. Bombay (1995)- Bombay was a tense yet enthralling drama that revolved around the impact of the Bombay riots on an inter-religious family. It received huge acclaim for its mature dealing of such a sensitive issue. The cast was lead and managed by Arvind Swami and Manisha Koirala.
This was a brief about the Veteran prodigy Mani Ratnam; we wish him a happy birthday!
