The Work of Mani Ratnam:

Content and Analysis

(Thesis)

Academic Year: 2010 — 2013

By

Yash Mishra

BSc Cinema

ASMS Roll No. 2010111

PTU Roll No. 1020914008

1
 The Work of Mani Ratnam

Content and Analysis

(Thesis)

( Written under the supervision of Mrs Surabhi Saxena Jha, HOD Cinema/ASMS)

Academic Year: 2010 — 2013

By

Yash Mishra

BSc Cinema

ASMS Roll No. 2010111

2
PTU Roll No. 1020914008

INDEX

 Certificate ------------------------------------------------------ 4

 Declaration -----------------------------------------------5

 Acknowledgement ----------------------------------------------------------6

 Abstract -------------------------------------------------------7

 Introduction-----------------------------------------8

 Urban Relationships: Mouna Raagam, Alaipayuthey and Anjali ---------------13

 Adapting Mythological texts: Thalapathy and Raavanan-----------------------20

 Terrorist Trilogy: Roja, Dil Se and Kannathil Mutthamitthal -------------------25

 The Political Scenario: Bombay, Iruvar and Aayutha Ezhuthu/ Yuva ----------31

 Showcasing the times through the protagonist’s eyes: Nayakan and Guru-------- 37

 Conclusion--------------------------------42

 Bibliography--------------------------------43

3
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that YASH MISHRA of Asian School of Media Studies 6th semester has

completed the dissertation entitled “THE WORK OF MANI RATNAM: CONTENT AND

ANALYSIS” under my supervision.

Dr. M.B Paliwal

4
 DECLARATION

I, hereby declare that this thesis paper is an original work by Me and whatever content has

been sourced from any kind of literary or audio visual medium has been mentioned in the

given work.

Yash Mishra

BSc Cinema (3rd Year)

5
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

A thesis is a group task, a team work. I would like to thank my teacher and guest faculty Dr.

M.B Paliwal for his guidance to complete the thesis. I also thank the Dean of the Cinema

Department of our institution, Mr.Ashok Tyagi, the Head of Department of the Cinema

department Mrs Surabhi Saxena Jha and my faculties Mr. VS Kannan and Mr. Vikas Singh

for their valuable time and corporation in the completion of this thesis.

My sincere thanks to everyone from the bottom of my heart who has prayed and blessed me

to complete this work in an informative and in a useful manner because as per an old saying

“Prays and blessing never go waste”, and I strongly believe in it.

6
 ABSTRACT
The Prime focus of this study is to analyze the techniques exploited by the famous Indian
film maker Mani Ratnam and the films made by him, that have showcased contemporary
issues along with catering entertainment to the masses both nationally and internationally.
Also known as the “Top Pop” Indian Auteur1 film maker, Mani Ratnam is one of those
Indian film makers who have not only popularized the contemporary cinema in the 1990’s,
but also have introduced new techniques in film making in terms of cinematography, editing
and aesthetical values, carrying the legacy of his formers like Satyajit Ray, Raj Kapoor and
Guru Dutt. The director has worked with many popular Indian actors like Rajinikanth, Kamal
Haasan, Mohanlal, Mammooty and Shah Rukh Khan. The research will include Marxist film
theory, screen and apparatus theory, including a critical examination of the research done in
the books Conversations of Mani Ratnam (Baradwaj Rangan 2012) and Contemporary
Action Indian Cinema (Gopalan 2000) and other theoretical frameworks discussed on Mani’s
works till date.

The research also analyses the director’s works like Nayakan (The Hero, 1987), Iruvar (The
Duo, 1997) and his Terrorism Trilogy2: Roja (Rose, 1992), Dil Se (From The Heart 1998)
and Kannathil Mutthamittal (A Peck on the Cheek, 2002), which have not only showcased
the political issues within the nation’s frontier’s, but have also gained critical acclaim
internationally. This will include a brief study of his career of 30 years spanning from his
debut film in Kannada3 Pallavi Anu Pallavi (Love Story) in 1983 to Kadal (The Sea) in
Tamil4 in 2013, I would like to argue that Mani Ratnam is not only an contemporary director
but also an auteur director, who has a signature style that has been able to introduce new
techniques in terms of film making and storytelling in India.

1
Auteur: A film maker whose individual style and complete control over all elements of production give a film its
personal and unique stamp. The term was introduced by famous French Film maker Francis Truffaut. (Wikitionary.com)

2
Trilogy: A set of three works of art that have that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three
individual works. (Wikipedia.com)

3
Kannada: The Local language spoken in the Karnataka province of India

4
Tamil: The Local language spoken in the Tamil province of India.

7
 INTRODUCTION

Indian Cinema and Auteur

In its 100 years span of bringing the entire nation into it’s single fold, with its updated

technology and techniques of storytelling that has also brought it to the international stage

stand , Indian Cinema has gifted some of the finest film makers who have been either diverse

in terms of their story themes or made similar kind of films or told different stories in their

particular style, leaving a ‘Signature” of their work in their films, where they have scripted

and directed their own films, with some of the elements that have been common in their

respective films. The third lot are called as the “Auteur”. The term was coined by famous

French film maker Francois Trauffaut in the 1950’s in the French Film Magazine “Cahiers

Du Cinema”. It is the French term for Author who leaves his signature in his literary works.

Now in the case of Indian Cinema, there have been many directors who have successfully

left their signature in their films, namely V. Shantaram, Satyajit Ray, Mani Kaul, Adoor

Gopalakrishnan etc. One of them is none other than Mani Ratnam, who is widely credited to

revolutionize the Tamil Cinema Industry.

During the 1980’s, when the Colour television and Video started to dominate the Indian

household, the Indian channel Doordarshan had started telecasting films on Television.

The Govt. backed Neo Wave cinema, where social issues and themes were showcased had

died because the film production costs had increased and apart from commercialization,

underworld film financing, political and economic turmoil. Still, the films continuted with

their production, with directors like Shekhar Kapoor, Subhash Ghai continuing the show

business. It was felt that films having contemporary themes should come up . It was started

with Mani Ratnam who made the 1987 classic “Nayakan” based on the Mumbai based South

Indian underworld don Vardarajan Mudaliar. Then the contemporary films came up with

Mani Ratnam and Ram Gopal Verma being the pioneers of the genre. Ratnam, has also made
8
films that dealt with urban life with new themes like “Unaroo” (Malayalam) that dealt with

Trade Unions in Kerala and the National Award winning Tamil film “Mouna Raagam” that

dealt with marriage problems in urban cities. Started off with the Kannada film “Pallavi Anu

Pallavi” in 1983, Ratnam gained acclaim with “Mouna Raagam” in 1986, He has also been

successful in the international level with having screenings, retrospectives and even top

honours. According to the TIME Entertainment website, he is considered as an Indian “Top

Pop” Auteur film maker.

He is credited to introduce great people like A R Rahman, Santosh Sivan , A. Sreekar Prasad

and Samir Chanda to the Indian film industry.

Background
In the book “Conversations with Mani Ratnam” (Baradwaj Rangan 2012) , the author, on

the basis of his conversations with the director tells us that how he developed the stories of

film and blended them with the contemporary issues that came into his mind. Scholars

argued that Ratnam's films were symptomatic of a number of economic and social

transformations initiated in the nation during the 1990s. His films were seen to consolidate

particular sections desires in a neo-liberalizing society by legitimating the breakdown of

Nehruvian welfarism and by aligning India's new economy of consumption with a

communal-national consensus, wherein Hindutva nationalism masqueraded as a form of

secularism (Niranjana; Chakravarty and Pandian; Barucha; Srinivas). In the book BFI

Classics: Bombay (Lalitha Gopalan 2004), the Author focused on the making of the 1994

classic and the film being one of the greatest films made in the Indian Film Industry.

9
Objective
My sole objective is to argue the fact that apart from being the pioneer of the Contemporary

genre of cinema, Mani Ratnam is also an Auteur director who has been able to left his own

signature in his films, like his formers V. Shantaram, Satyajit Ray etc. He is a film maker

who has a unique style of film making by blending contemporary issues with fictitous

characters and settings. He is one of the rare Indian film makers, who has deviced some new

film making techniques, apart from dominating the National Film Awards in the 80’s and the

90’s.

Structure
Chapter 1 would be discussed on the films that dealt on urban relationships. “Mouna

Raagam” which dealt with urban marriage issue, which will prove that how the director

showcased romance in the time where it was portrayed with the means of song and dance

sequences. “Anjali” will be showcasing the portrayal of disability in films in a more

magnified manner which has been a very rare of its kind during that time, along with the

utilization of special effects, which was very rare in Tamil cinema. “Alaipayuthey” which

showcased the urban marriage problems. It will emphasize on the story telling and song

picturization techniques used in the film.

Chapter 2 would be discussed on the films that were adapted by religious texts .“Thalapathy”

will be focussing on the way it used the Hindu epic Mahabharata as its story base, taking the

backdrop of urban gang violence, along with the song and dance sequence. In “Raavanan”,

the emphasis will on the film’s plot which is a modern take of the Hindu epic Ramayana on

the backdrop of the life accounts of the infamous dacoit Veerappan. Apart from that, the
10
emphasis will be on the characters and the technicalities of the film.

Chapter 3 will be emphasizing on the “Terrorist Trilogy” which includes the 1992 path

breaker film “Roja” which had the backdrop of Kashmir terrorism. The 1998 critically

acclaimed Hindi film “Dil Se” which emphasized on the terrorism in the North East India.

Then the 2002 Tamil film “Kannathil Mutthamittal” which dealt with the LTTE terrorism.

The chapter will showcase the themes and issues in these films, the narrative and techniques

used in the films, that make these films stand out as the best films on Indian terrorism till

date.

Chapter 4 would be emphasizing on the films showcasing the political scenario. “Bombay”

which showcased the 1992 riots caused by the Babri Masjid demolition. “Iruvar” that dealt

with the relationship between the Matinee Idol turned Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MG

Ramachandran and the writer, activist Politician M Karunanidhi on the backdrop of the

relationship between the Tamil Cinema and Dravidian politics. The chapter will emphasize

on the theme, characters, songs, Technicalities and the story telling techniques used in the

film. “ Aayutha Ezhuthu/ Yuva” which dealt with Youth Politics. The hyperlink narration,

characters and the technicalities would be under focus.

Chapter 5 deals with the films that showed the times through the eyes of the film’s

protagonists. “Nayakan” which was loosely based on the South Indian Bombay Underworld

Don Vardarajan Mudaliar, showcased the conditions of the South Indian community in

Mumbai and the Underworld scenario out there. “Guru” which loosely was based on the life

accounts of the founder of the Reliance Industries Dhirubhai Ambani, on the backdrop of the

Licence Raj. The chapter will be examining the narrative device and technicalities.

11
Research Methodology
Since my research will be conducted on the secondary data collected from the texts, facts,

documents, articles and books, I would be utilizing the “Qualitative quality” where I need to

collect the data ‘from the literary sources, which will be mostly available in the Seva Ram

Marwah Library of my institution and also in the internet, especially in the official site of the

film maker Madrastalkies.com: the site of his own production house. I would also be

interviewing some of my respected faculties of my institution who will provide me some

primary information about the director and his notable works, that will be playing a pivotal

role in making me proving my argument.

12
1. URBAN RELATIONSHIPS:
MOUNA RAAGAM, ANJALI AND ALAIPAYUTHEY

MOUNA RAAGAM (1983)

Plot

A woman named Divya is wrenched from a carefree existence when she is married off

to a man named Chandrakumar, an eminently decent man who is puzzled by his new

wife’s insistent aloofness. Her sullen conduct is due to a man called Manohar, a

free spirited fellow she had once loved and she has to decide between clinging

to a long dead past and capitulating to a most agreeable present.

Analysis

According to Mr VS Kannan, professor Film making, AAFT , ‘During the 80’s Tamil

Cinema already had established directors whose styles were having a cliché narrative

style after few years. For example, Bhagyaraja made films having good screenplays

but spicy songs and sequences, Balu Mahendra and Mahendran made films based on

ideologies and offbeat concepts. Some made films only on the countryside, some on

the urban side. So it was during this time, when Mani Ratnam came up with a film

which tried to balance both”.

During the time when every girl prayed and fasted for getting married and even

the films kept on portrayed it on screen, Ratnam came up with a female

character (played by Revathy) who doesn’t want to marry or settle in an arranged

marriage. Instead, she wanted to settle with her past. In the film, the director shows

the contemporary love story with this story where the character of Manohar (played

by Karthik) is a rebellious youngster who believes in revolution and falls for the

female character. The songs in the film, composed by celebrated Indian music director
13
 Illayraja, were more part of the narrative rather than being a device in the film for

expressing feelings. There are few important things to be noted in the film that were

considered as a “revolution” in the Tamil Cinema during that time. In the book

Conversations With Mani Ratnam (Baradwaj Rangan 2012), the writer brings out

some points which support the fact that the director brought out some new changes

in Tamil industry at that point of time with this particular film.

1. The character of Manohar asking the female character Divya for a cup of coffee.

2. The flashback part which showed the romance between the Manohar and Divya,

which was an important part of the film’s narrative. It made the character of Divya

rebellious in her arranged marriage.

3. The song’s showcased the situations rather than focusing on the expressing the

emotions.

4. The female character was shown of a rebellious nature and the film also focused

on her own self discovery , which was hardly shown in Satyajit Ray5’s films like

“Mahanagar”, “Charulata” and “Teen Kanya” and in the film’s made during the

Indian Neo Wave6 era.

5. The film focused on the issue of divorce in it’s second half where the female

character demands a divorce from her husband which was a very rare feat in an

5
Satyajit Ray: Indian Auteur film maker, known as one of the greatest auteur film makers of World Cinema .

6
Indian Neo Wave movement: A film making movement in the 1970’s where the National Film Development
Corporation (Made with the collaboration of Film Finance Corporation and Indian Government) started
producing films which mostly were art house films. The movement gave many great directors like Adoor
Gopalakrishnan, Mani Kaul, John Abraham, Shyam Benegal etc.

14
 Indian film, for which it was even given an Adult rating by the CBFC7.

ANJALI (1990)

Plot

While Chitra, believes that her daughter Anjali died at birth, her husband Shekhar

has been tending to the girl, who is developmentally challenged. Chitra stumbles

on the truth and brings the child home, but she is unprepared for the reaction of

other children; a boy and a girl and rejection from Anjali.

Analysis

After the successes of his previous films “Mouna Raagam” and “Nayakan” (later

to be discussed), director Mani Ratnam wanted a film that would be based on the

issue of child disability and the emotional trauma faced by a family, for which he

had visited many special schools in Chennai. It was there, where he got the

character sketch for Anjali’s character which was brilliantly portrayed by Baby

Shamili in the film. Apart from that, the film was made from a child’s point of

view where the main emphasis in the script and technicalities was based on a

child’s perspective, that also had some “adult stuff” too. The disability issue till

then had not been taken in full focus in Tamil films and children in Indian films

have always been an sympathy gaining element from the audience . The music

score, by Illayaraja, were composed taking a child’s thought process like what and

7
CBFC: Central Board of Film Certification. A film censoring organization controlled by the Central Government
of India.

15
 how he or she thinks when he/ she has the situation which has been given in the

film. The film also had some special effects sequences which marked the entry of

Special Effects and Matte work in Tamil Cinema.In the song “ Rathiri Nerathu”,

where the character of Shekhar narrates a book on Space to his family ,the song

had an ample utilization of the special effects and the matte work where the space

world, the aliens were created and the “electric effects” were made up. According

to the director, the song picturization was done keeping the new western trend

coming into Indian children during that time and how do they perceive it when

they listen to the term “Space World. The cycle sequence in the title song “Anjali

Anjali” created a buzz nationwide, where extensive lighting and matte work was

used. Apart from that, in the words of Mr. Kannan, the film had the following

striking features that made the film one of the best Tamil films of all time.

1. The film kept the disabled child in the second half to create a dramatic
purpose.

2. The film had celebrated actors Raghuvaran, who was a hit among youngsters

in the South during that time and the actress Revathy who was considered as

an “Goddess” by the women in the South. The curiosity was on the chemistry

between the two where the former and the latter played the role of husband

and wife in the film.

3. The music score by Illayaraja had already created a buzz across the South

4. The focus on children in a film and the issue of disability generated curiosity

among many people across the nation, when it was also released in dubbed

versions in Hindi and Telugu after its success in the Tamil circuit.

16
 5. The film is considered as the “beginning” film having a child’s perspective

and special effects and matte work.

6. The film had included romantic track which showed the romance between

two neighbours from the perspective of a child. The film also had some

comedy track to have more crowd from the rural section of the audience.

ALAIPAYUTHEY (2000)

PLOT

A youngster Karthik falls in love with a girl Shalini. When their parents don’t get

along, they get married in secret and retreat to their respective homes. But when

Shakti discovers that she may be asked to marry someone else, she comes out with

the truth and moves into a new house with Karthik, only to find that living with

someone is quite different from loving someone.

ANALYSIS

After the 1983 film “Mouna Raagam”, which explored arranged marriage in urban

cities, director Mani Ratnam came up with a film that explored love marriages and it’s

drawbacks in the urban cities, which is considered as the film ahead of it’s times.

The film’s theme explored the fact that with the new boom in the urbanisation in India,

what effect is it giving or will be giving in the relationship scenario. The film’s

characters according to Ratnam, had to be young and refreshing, like the youth oriented

Hindi films in the 1970’s “Bobby” and “Ekk Duje Ke Liye” had. The male lead, was

played by one of the most successful actors in Tamil cinema and the then new comer

R. Madhavan and the female lead was played the young actress Shalini. Like the film’s

17
 plot, the film’s actress actually got married with one of her co actors Ajith Kumar (a

successful Tamil actor) whom she dated for 3 years. The marriage came up as a

publicity stunt for the film’s promotion, though the film maker denied it. Apart from

that, the film’s music score by Academy Award Winner music composer A.R.

Rahman which consisted of urban tunes and the item song in the film “September

Madhyam” having the late famous Indian model Sophia Haque had became a rage

amongst the youngsters. The film maker here too uses the flashback as the narrative

device in the film like he used in the film “Mouna Raagam”. In the film, the flashback

highlights on the couple’s meeting , marriage and their last conflict along with the

current situation of the male protagonist looking for his lost wife in the film. The film

according to Ratnam , based on few ideas by celebrated Tamil writer and novelist

Sujatha Rangarajan, had the beginning from where blockbuster Hindi films like

“Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge” (Aditya Chopra/1995) and “Hum Aapke Hain

Kaun!” (Sooraj Barjatya/ 1994) ended.

In terms of Song Picturization, most of the songs here too tried to showcase the

situations between the characters. For example.

1. The beginning song “Endrundum Punnagai” is a refreshing song which is played in

the beginning in the film and it shows the male protagonist riding a bike with his

walkman on, who is happy and all set to take his wife back home.

2. The song ‘Evano Oruvan” showcases the desperation of the male protagonist wanting

to meet his lady love, the actress who is nursing in a cyclone prone area.

3. The song “Pachhai Nirame” was the first song in Tamil cinema, that showcased the

seven shades of Love on screen with seven different colour settings, including the

18
 costumes of the characters in the song.

The film was a huge hit among every centre. In the words of Mr. Kannan, “Urban

marriage problem (a new theme), music score, a dashing newcomer like

Madhavan,the chemistry, the item song (September Madhyam) and the marriage of

Shalini with Ajith in the same way in which her marriage with Madhavan in the film

was done, made ‘Alaipayuthey’ a superhit in entire South within few days of it’s

release’.

19
2. ADAPTING MYTHOLOGICAL EPICS: THALAPTHY
AND RAAVANAN

THALAPATHY (1989)

PLOT
Surya, the abandoned child of an unwed mother, finds a friend in Devarajan, a local

Gangster. Surya’s rise through Deva’s ranks endows him with power and privilege,

but he still yearns for love; from Subbulakshmi, but more importantly, from his

mother Kalyani, whose son Arjun, the district collector, is on a mission to rid the town

of gangs.

ANALYSIS
In the Tamil adaptation of the Hindu epic “Mahabharata”, written by Sage Vyasar,

the character of Karna has been portrayed as bigger than that of Lord Krishna’s,

unlike in the other versions where Karna has been portrayed as a “sidekick” character.

In 1970, A Tamil film starring one of the greatest actors of Tamil Industry, Sivaji

Ganeshan had come up that was based on the character of Karna. Ratnam was deeply

moved by this character, that he decided to give the character a heroic shade in the

lead in his film. Says Mr. Kannan, “It’s the Tamil Mahabharata and his surroundings

from where Ratnam sourced the idea of his film “Thalapathy” Given in the

contemporary context, based on the urban Tamil underworld scenario, following are

the characters of the film that matched to the characters of the mythological epic.

ACTOR CHARACTER IN FILM CHARACTERS IN EPIC

1. Rajinikanth Surya Karna

2. Mammooty Devarajan Yuddhishthira

20
 3. Arvind Swamy Arjun Arjuna

4. Amrish Puri Kalivardhan Dhritarashtra

5. Shobhana Subbhalakshami Draupadi

6. Srividya Kalyani Kunti

Following are the features of the film.

1. The film consists of some motif based shots that magnified the character of

Surya in the film. For example the Sun has been shown more in the scenes

showing the meeting of Surya and Kalyani and in the scenes that show the rise

of Surya .

2. The film also used the technique of musical montage, which shows the rise of the

friendship between Surya and Devarajan .

3. The first film is also considered as the first Tamil film to have some of it’s scenes

to be shot on a steadicam8 and having a 5. 1 digital sound surround system9. .

4. The music score in the film by Illayaraja did not only found public acclaim, but

the song “Rakkamma” found it’s mention in the 4th rank BBC’s list of Top 10

World Music list.

5. In the epic text, the character of Karna dies. But in the film, due to the huge fan

following of the actor Rajinikanth, Ratnam had to cut down the portion of his

8
Steadicam: is a brand of camera stabilizing mount for film cameras that mechanically isolates it from the
operator's movement. It allows for a smooth shot, even when moving quickly over an uneven surface
9
A sound system where the sound of a film travels through five different speakers placed in a single room or
theatre.

21
 death in the film and instead had to show him killing the villain and coming back

alive.

The song “Rakkamma” which finds its mention in the Top Ten songs of All Time by a

poll conducted by the famous international media house BBC (British Broadcasting

Corporation) features Rajinikanth shaking legs with an Indian model Sonu Walia. The

song, composed by Illayaraja and sung by S.P. Balasubrahamaniam and Swarnalatha

has been shot by celebrated Indian cinematographer Santosh Sivan, ASC, ISC and

edited by Suresh Urs. In the film, the song comes at the time when Rajinikanth’s

character of Surya is established with him beating and killing a baddie. The song, shows

the setting of the evening and the choreography has been done in an manner, that apart

from generating dancing moves from the audience, some sexuality is also generated.

The style factor of the protagonist, chemistry with the lead dancer, choreography and

even the music score with the beats, that has been copied by many Hindi film makers,

makes the song one of the classic songs of Tamil Cinema. Agrees Mr. Kannan, “ It was

not only the song itself, but a true blend of style, moves and chemistry that made the

“Rakkamma” a household affair in Tamil Nadu during that time”.

The song “Kattukuyilu” is known as one of the initial songs in Tamil Cinema which

had few scenes compressed within the song’s constraints i.e. montage10 which showed

the development of friendship between the characters of Surya and Deva in the film.

10
Montage: It’s a type of editing, in which few scenes shot in the different time and area are shown together
in a sequence, to show a symbolic meaning.

22
 RAAVANAN (2010)

PLOT
Veera kidnaps Ragini in order to avenge himself on her husband, the police officer Dev.

He plans to kill her, but is astound by her feistiness and fortitude, and he finds himself

increasingly drawn to her. She discovers too, that he’s not entirely the brute he appears,

but her husband, baying for blood doesn’t share her sympathies.

ANALYSIS
Like Mani Ratnam’s Thalapathy was based on the Tamil version of the epic

“Mahabharata”, where the character of Karna was put in more highlight than that of Lord

Krishna’s, the 2010 released “Raavanan” was based on the Tamil version of the Hindu epic

“Ramayana”, known as the “Kamba Ramayanam” where the character of Raavan has been

put in an positive light too. In his interview in the book “Conversations with Mani

Ratnam” (Baradwaj Rangan 2012), Ratnam says that apart from knowing the positive part

of the character of Raavan, it was also important to know what relationship was between

Raavan and his captive Sita, the wife of Lord Rama which he had abducted to avenge the

humiliation done to his sister Shoorpanakha, done by Rama’s brother Lakshman. Like the

characters of “Thalapathy”, here too the characters of “Raavanan” have been named

according to the character sketch in the epic Ramayana which have been given below.

ACTOR CHARACTER IN THE FILM CHARACTER IN EPIC

Vikram Kennedy Veeraiyya Raavan

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Ragini Sita

Prithviraj Sukumaran Dev Rama

Karthik Gnanaprakasam Hanuman

Priyamani Vennila Shoorpanakha

John Vijay Hemanth Lakshman

23
Prabhu Singarasan Indrajeet

There are few moments in the film, that don’t match to the original text, but have been

created in the film to magnify the characters and the story which have been given in the

following.

1. The character of Sakkarai actually resembles that of Vibheeshan’s who tries joining

with the police and making truce with them while talking in hiding. But he gets killed

by Dev in the film, just like Rama killed the character of Vaali in the original text in

hiding . Here in the film, the character of Dev had to shown more brutal as compared

to Veera at some cases in the film. He does the same with the husband of Veera’s

sister by pressing his sliced off arm, cut by Veera, whose character resembles that of

Jatayu’s.

2. In the original text, the character of Raavan has been portrayed having ten different

heads of destruction despite being a Mahapandit (great scholar) and a strict Lord

Shiva devotee, but in the Tamil adaptation and in the film, the character of Raavan,

has been shown a character with ten different heads having different characteristics: a

scholar, an intellectual, a priest, the court, the leader etc.

3. The name of the main protagonist (Veeraiyya) and his killing in the climax, has

been inspired by the infamous dacoit Veerappan’s story, who was the most dreaded

dacoit in the South India and got killed by the Special Police Task Force in 2004.

24
3. TERRORIST TRILOGY: ROJA, DIL SE AND
KANNATHIL MUTTHAMITTAL

ROJA (1992)

PLOT

A young girl from a Tamil Nadu village, Roja, finds herself unexpectedly married to

the ultra urban Rishi, a cryptologist. Just as they ease out their differences, he is

kidnapped, in Kashmir, by militants who demand, in exchange, the freedom of their

jailed colleague Wasim Khan. Roja, trapped between an unfamiliar and an unyielding

establishment may be Rishi’s only hope.

ANALYSIS

Produced by one of the leading film Tamil producers during the 70’s till the 90’s, K.

Balanchander, the film was a path breaking venture by Mani Ratnam which

showcased the Kashmir terrorism, the first film of its kind, which also showcased the

cultural divide between the North and the South of India. The film also introduced

new faces that later became household names: A R Rahman, Arvind Swamy and

Madhu, the former being an international music star in the current scenario. The

film’s script was based on inputs from Ratnam and the acclaimed Tamil novelist

Sujatha.

In his book “Making Meanings in Indian Cinema” (Ravi. S. Vasudevan 2003), the

writer tells about the film being a amalgamation of conflicts: which builds up the

story of the film. The conflicts are given in the following:

1. The conflict between the character of Rishi and the villagers on the issue of

25
 Marriage.

2. The conflict between the characters of Rishi and Roja after marriage, when

their misunderstandings come till the time when Roja realizes that Rishi

married her, instead of her sister who loved another person.

3. There are two types of conflicts going on a parallel track, after Rishi gets

kidnapped by the Kashmiri militants in Kashmir, his confrontation takes

place with the militants and on the other hand, it’s the Roja’s conflict with

the state and the army to get her husband traced and found, despite the

communication problem as Roja is an orthodox Tamil girl knowing only

Tamil language, unlike the rest of the people in the area, including in the

army.

According to his interview in the book Conversations with Mani Ratnam

(Baradwaj Rangan 2012), the film showcased the human relationships caught

between a war which also has been shown in rest of the two films in the trilogy i.e.

here, the just married couple whose misunderstandings had just come to an end now

has now been caught in an conflict, from which the film had come. The controversial

scene in the film where the character of Rishi tries to remove the fire off the Indian

flag which is being burnt by a terrorist, created an uproar nationwide, because the

scene showed the national flag being burnt, though it had an hero trying to save it.

According to the director, the film’s narration was weaved so as to show the

innocence of the protagonists in respect to the cold nature of the war, that also brings

out some humane characters and moments.

In the film’s beginning, we see the capture of the terrorist in Kashmir and then we are

taken into the countryside of the south, where after sometimes a marriage happens and

26
 then it also becomes a part of the Kashmir story, where the characters are initially

unaware of the Kashmir issue. Ratnam wanted to start the film like the film “Lawrence

of Arabia” (David Lean/ 1962) started where the protagonist dies in the beginning and

the rest of the film unfolds the story about him till his death.

For the music score, Ratnam wanted a fresh music score that should be not only close

to the soil, but also has a sense of freshness, for which K. Balachander introduced ‘

A.R. Rahman and rest they say, is history.

DIL SE (1998)

PLOT
Amar, a radio jockey, is smitten with Meghna, but she leaves and its only during a

second chance encounter that he realizes he may have feelings for her. She repeatedly

rebuffs his flirtatious advances, but arrives at his doorstep as he’s preparing to marry

Preeti. This time, Amar wont let her get away; not with his heart and not with her

nefarious plan.

ANALYSIS
During the time when India was celebrating the golden jubilee of it’s independence, in

general, there were few areas and issues, that were either untouched or not well looked

after. Mani Ratnam, after showcasing Kashmir terrorism in “Roja” and the 1992 riots in

“Bombay”, wanted to showcase the either side of the “proud moment” of India’s

independence, for which he selected the area of North Eastern India which has been an

ignored area to many extent during those days, which resulted into the formation of

various terrorists groups in many states of the region, for example ULFA (Assam),

National Socialist Council for Nagas (Nagaland), National Bodoland Liberation Front

(Assam) etc. To the successes of the dubbed versions of his films “Anjali”, “Roja” and

“Bombay” in the North, Mani Ratnam went forward to make a film in Hindi, Keeping this
27
 issue in the background, the director co scripted the film with Sujatha and the now famous

Hindi film maker Tigmanshu Dhulia and created a love triangle between the character of

Amar, who works for the All India Radio11, who is also the voice of the common man,

Meghna, a mysterious girl in his life, who is the victim of the consequences in the North

East India and undertakes a dangerous mission and Preeti, who is liberal, understanding

and supportive which is also a new face of the young India.

In his interview in the book Conversations with Mani Ratnam (Baradwaj Rangan 2012),

the film maker wanted to show the old Indian traditional romantic story of Laila and Majnu

on screen with a modern touch, with a love triangle. The dialogues written initially by

Sujatha and later translated by Tigmanshu Dhulia were “unconventional” somewhere. For

example, the character of Preeti asks Amar questions like “Are you virgin?” or “Are you

gay?”, even the dialogue exchanged between Amar and the terrorist leader and a minister,

brings out some hitting realities about the condition of the North Eastern region during

that time. The cinematography by Santosh Sivan, ASC12, ISC13 was well noted and made

the film one of the initial films that had POV14 Shots. The music score by A .R. Rahman

was more focussed into the showcasing the love and it’s shades in the film. Songs like

“Chaiyya Chaiyya”, “Dil Se Re” and “Jiya Jale” , which have a cult following

worldwide, showed the eroticism in their performances and the chemistry between the

characters in the midst of different situations. The song ‘Satrangi Re”, beautifully shot in

Ladakh, had the lead in seven different shades with different colour dresses, which

Ratnam repeated in the song “Pachai Nirame” in his next film “Alaipayuthey” (2000).

11
All India Radio: An Indian Government controlled Radio Organisation.
12
ASC: American Society of Cinematographers, a fellowship in the field of cinematography Worldwide
13
ISC: Indian Society of Cinematographers , a fellowship in the field of cinematography in India
14
POV: Point of view shot, a kind of shot where the camera either follows the person or takes the position of
the character and show him/ her moving.

28
 KANNATHIL MUTTHAMITTAL (2002)

PLOT
A celebrated writer Thiruchelvan reveals to his young daughter Amudha that she is adopted

and that her mother Shyama hailed from Sri Lanka. Devastated, Amudha begins to spurn

the mother who raised her and longs to see her mother who abandoned her. Tha family

arrives in strife torn Sri Lanka, where the child’s trauma is eclipsed by troubles of an

entirely different kind.

ANALYSIS
After exploring the troubles in the North (Roja), East (Dil Se), West (Bombay), Mani

Ratnam came up with the film that showcased the human relationships against the backdrop

of the LTTE terrorism, which is considered as the third film in the Terrorist trilogy.

(Bombay ended up as a political film). Like “Roja” and “Dil Se”, the film also had the duo of

Ratnam and Sujatha in the film’s scripting. The film, according to Ratnam was inspired by

an article in the TIME magazine which had the story of a girl from Philippines who was

brought up in USA and then the couple took the girl back to her birth mother to Philippines.

According to Mr. Kannan, the film also had the story of the film’s writer and novelist Sujatha

who had almost the same incident like what the main character of Thiruchelvan had in the

film. In the film the character of Thiruchelvan writes his novels and works using the name of

his wife “Indira”, which Sujatha also used to do using the name of his wife.

The film actually uses the character of Amudha’s perception in the beginning of the film after

the credits roll, as she is speaking to the camera and introduces everything about her family

and background and then the rest of the film’s story gets unfolded after this.

When the family gets to Sri Lanka to find Amudha’s biological , there is a scene where

29
the characters of Thiruchelvan and Herold Vickramsinghe are go to a forest to find about the

whereabouts of Amudha’s mother and the LTTE terrorists capture them, mistaking them for

being from the security forces. Thiruchelvan breaks into poetry on violence which is also

recited by one of the terrorists of the group, who later leave them and help them in finding

Amudha’s biological mother. The scene is considered as one of the greatest scenes in Tamil

cinema.

One of the songs in the film “Kannathil Mutthamittal” has two versions: the Mother’s

and the Father’s. According to the Ratnam in his interview in the book Conversations with

Mani Ratnam (Baradwaj Rangan 2012), in the female version, while there is a bit opposition

from the girl, the mother has still love for the girl after the girl knowing about her being

adopted, that’s why the song was shot in a barren landscape with an empty boat or a cloth

stand having colourful clothes in it. Whereas in the father version, the song comes after when

girl is terrified to find the LTTE terrorists of her own age and since the family is in Sri Lanka,

the setting of the song has been accordingly for eg. the Buddhist monks, the rains, the

landscapes, white clothes, etc.

30
4. THE POLITICAL SCENARIO: BOMBAY, IRUVAR AND
AYUTHA EZHUTHU/ YUVA

BOMBAY (1995)

PLOT
In the face of strident opposition, a young Hindu boy Shekhar marries Shaila Bano.

Both leave their village for Bombay (erstwhile Mumbai), in the hope of a happy

future in that most cosmopolitan cities. Unfortunately for them (and their twin

boys), Hindus and Muslims begin to lunge at each other’s throats. The city burns.

The children go missing. An arduous search ensues: for the boys and for peace.

ANALYSIS
One of the most controversial Indian films till date, which came in the wake of the

Hindu Muslim riots caused by the destruction of the Babri Masjid by Hindu radical

groups in 1992, the film showed the secular perspective of the riots initially which then

joins up with the political perspective of the riots. The first half of the film focuses on the

secularism i.e. the romance blossoming between a Hindu guy and Muslim girl and the

second half not only focuses on the riots and its political perspective but it’s effects on the

couple and their twin sons which were named as Kabeer and Kamal in the film. The film

was laden with few controversial scenes such as the destruction of the Babri Masjid as

well as few riots scenes. During the seminar on Censorship during the 100 Years of Indian

Cinema celebrations in New Delhi, noted cinema professor and CBFC member Ira

Bhaskar said, “ It was the time when the wounds of the riots which also caused the blasts

in Mumbai in 1993 had lessened and Mani Ratnam came up with a film which showed the

exact mood and environment during the riots. The censor board had not only given few

scenes that were supposed to be removed off, but few religious groups also demanded

31
 chopping of few scenes and portions, which was later ignored. The Babri Masjid scene was

replaced by the montage of newspapers, music score and then the inside shot of the Babri

Masjid’ dome’s getting demolished which was recreated and few riots scenes and even

dialogues which might have caused stir, also had removed.”

Shot in Kerala, Chennai and Mumbai, according to Ratnam in his interview in the book

Conversation With Mani Ratnam (Baradwaj Rangan 2012), the film’s songs like

“Kannalane” and “Uyire’ were shot in the Guru Dutt15 style and the lighting in the entire

film had been inspired by Satyajit Ray’s lighting techniques. There were many scenes in

the film which were considered as “revolutionary” which many, including the censor

board had questioned for eg. The court marriage of Shekhar and Shaila in Bombay which

is common in real life, but no one had seen in it in the celluloid. The film had two things

in it’s narrative: Agony and Hope where the couple ends up at the emotional note in the

Rural India and then on political note in the Urban India

The film’s release witnessed a short delay due to the film landing from Chennai to Mumbai

for censorship as the film was based on the Mumbai riots. It was because of the film’s

theme, which led to the film’s dubbing in Hindi which also turned out to be a Blockbuster

and winner of two Filmfare16 awards from the Hindi side too, apart from sweeping the

south side Filmfare Awards. The film’s music score by A. R. Rahman, was not only well

received and has a cult following , but has been extensively used in many films and ads and

the instrumental song “Bombay Theme” is known as one of the brilliant music pieces in

the world till date by TIME magazine.

15
Guru Dutt: An Indian Auteur Director in the 1950’s famous for directing Hindi films like “Pyaasa” and “Kaagaz
Ke Phhool” which also enjoy a cult following in the international stage
16
Filmfare Awards: Started off as Clare Awards in the 1950’s by the Indian Newspaper The Times Of India. These
awards are awarded for on and off screen excellence in Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada films.

32
IRUVAR (1997)

PLOT
Anandan, a struggling actor, teams up with Thamizhchelvan, a struggling writer. The duo

makes a splash in the movies, but success begins to fray away their friendship, especially

when they join politics and drift into opposite camps. They seek solace in their women, but

it’s these men, always, who are each other’s soul mates.

ANALYSIS
Known as one of the most controversial and underrated Indian films till date, which currently

enjoys a cult status among many Tamils and world cinema lovers worldwide, the film

actually depicted the relationship between the Cinema and Politics in Tamil Nadu through the

real life relationship between MG Ramachandran (MGR), the Tamil matinee idol who also

became the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu twice and M. Karunanidhi, the great Tamil writer

who was an extreme politician and also became the chief minister of Tamil Nadu and is still

so in the current scenario. According to Mr. Kannan, “The film ‘Iruvar’ was the moment to

moment depiction of the events that occurred between MGR and Karunanidhi, where the best

part lies in the masterly work of the director (Ratnam) who balanced the love and hate shades

in those depicted moments.” In the book Cinemas of India (Thoraval 2000), writer Yves

Thoraval writes that after India’s independence in 1947, there was a new political party by

the name of DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) in Tamil Nadu, which gave birth to new

writers, actors and orators, from which the medium of Cinema got connected. That’s why the

film has been named as “Iruvar”, which is known as the “Duo” in English. The statement also

was agreed in his interview by Mani Ratnam in the book Conversations With Mani Ratnam.

The director used some innovative techniques in the film, for example:

1. In the beginning, as the film progresses, the camerawork is quite fast and the editing

33
 is quick as the character of the film currently is younger and he is leading a fast paced

life. As his life progresses with great ups and downs, the camerawork and editing,

both slow down accordingly till the last scene where he dies and the character of

Thamizhchelvan is speaking to the camera where the camera movement is slow. The

same device was used in the director’s film “Guru” (2007)

2. Since the film has a character who is a superstar, the songs in the film have been

shown as a part of the narrative, which show them being played within the hero’s

films. Like the song “Narumagaaye” shows the blossoming relationship between the

characters of Anandan and Ramaani. The song “Kannai Kattikollathey” is a

propaganda song having Anandan and his actress Kalpana, that leads Anandan win

the upcoming elections beating his friend Thamizhchelvan. Since the character of

Thamizhachelvan is a writer, so there is no song for him in the film as he recites them

in his mind and in his dialogues in the film.

The film’s characters play roles of the real life characters which are given below:

ACTORS CHARACTERS REAL LIFE PEOPLE

Mohanlal Anandan MG Ramachandran

Prakashraj Thamizhachelvan M Karunanidhi

Aishwarya Rai Pushpa/ Kalpana Jayalalitha

Nassar Ayya Periyar

Like the Babri Demolition scene had to deleted from the film “Bombay” which had

the use of soundtrack, newspaper reports and the inner shot of the created dome of the

34
 mosque getting demolished, in “Iruvar’, director Mani Ratnam used the soundtrack in

the scenes where the dialogues weren’t fitting the bill after it went through the

censors. The film faced stronger criticism during it’s release for it’s depiction of the

political scenario of Tamil Nadu and the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, M.

Karunanidhi also removed the film’s screening from the entire state because of the

character of Thamizhchelvan in the film was shown “truly” like him who is not only a

womanizer, but also ends up as a heartbroken man in the film after the death of

Anandan.

AYUTHA EZHUTHU/ YUVA (2004)

PLOT
Inbasekhar/ Lallan is a goon hired to assassinate the local do gooder Michael and the attempt

on a bridge is witnessed by Arjun, who finds that his self centred plans of fleeing his

problematic country for the conveniences of America isn’t going to be easy as he had

imagined and that the first sign of a good citizen is the willingness to get your hands dirty.

ANALYSIS
One of the rare Indian films that used the Hyperlink17 Narration Device, the film’s source

idea came with the 2002 Tamil Nadu state elections where five IIT18 students, who stood got

defeated with a small margin and then there were the clashes in the Osmania University in

Hyderabad which were regarding college politics. It was from these two events where Mani

Ratnam came up with a script along with co writer Sujatha and created three different

17
Hyperlink Narration: The device was started by Indian Auteur director Satyajit Ray in the film
“Kanchenjungha” which the inter relationship between the characters and their stories in the film.

18
IIT: Indian Institute of Technology. A central government run premier engineering institution which has
branches throughout the country. Known as one of the best engineering institution based organisations in the
world.

35
characters which he showed in three different colour tones in the film, as given in the

following.

CHARACTER ACTOR(TAMIL) ACTOR (HINDI) COLOUR TONE

Inbasekhar/ Lallan R. Madhavan Abhishek Bachchan Red

MOTIF: He is ferocious, violent and the “medium” from which most politicians come.

CHARACTER ACTOR(TAMIL) ACTOR (HINDI) COLOUR TONE

Michael Suriya Sivakumar Ajay Devgan Green

MOTIF: He is the one who tends to be bring a revolution in the system.

CHARACTER ACTOR(TAMIL) ACTOR (HINDI) COLOUR TONE

Arjun Siddharth Vivek Oberoi Blue

MOTIF: He is a happy go lucky, yet a selfish common man.

CHARACTER ACTOR(TAMIL) ACTOR (HINDI) COLOUR TONE

MLA Janakraj Om Puri Grey

MOTIF: He is the one which most of the politicians are: corrupt.

The director used the narration technique which was used in the Japanese classic film

“Rashomon” (Akira Kurosawa/,1950) and in his own film “Roja” where the film initially

begins with the character of Inbasekhar/ Lallan shooting Michael as Arjun looks on and then

tries to save. Then the film focuses on the lives of these three men showing their environment

and their activities few moments back and then how did they get connected to the first scene

moment and then how their lives get mingled with each other and they change.

36
5. SHOWCASING THE TIMES THROUGH THE
PROTAGONISTS EYES: NAYAKAN & GURU.

NAYAKAN (1987)

PLOT
Sakthivelu is raised by a kindly Muslim in the slums of Dharavi in Bombay. He realizes soon,

that rather than pleading with those in positions of power, as the poor are wont to, he’d rather

be those men. His rise as a done, flouting black and white notions of morality, is followed by

his fall in the eyes of his very moral daughter Charu, who marries a police inspector to

absolve herself of her father’s sins.

ANALYSIS
In her book “Contemporary Indian Action Cinema” (Gopalan 2000), writer Rajshree Gopalan

writes that the film “Nayakan” was actually an simple narration laden underworld based film,

that has the main “device” called Revenge that makes the film’s journey move faster due to

following examples:

1. In the beginning, the Police hunt down the Child Velu’s father and kill him and during

his funreal, the child takes up the police’s bayonet and stabs the Inspector who killed

his father.

2. When Velu’s foster father gets killed by an inspector named Kelkar, Velu kills Kelkar

and in the ending of the film it’s Kelkar’s mentally challenged son, who kills Velu,

after knowing that he, who adopted him, had actually killed his real father.

3. Velu’s rise gets on the nerves of the political Reddy brothers who kill his wife,

37
 leading him to kill those brothers by his men one by one.

According to Mr. Kannan, “Nayakan” was a ‘well collaborated’ film with the screenplay

having the inputs of Ratnam, the legendary writers Ananthu and Sujatha and even the

protagonist of the film, Kamal Haassan, a great music score by maestro Illayraja, a great

lighting and cinematography work by PC Sriram, innovative editing by VT Vijayan, excellent

production designing by Thotta Tharani, great characters and direction work.

Now when we see about the story of the film, the film was based on the real life don

Varadaraajan Mudaliar who came as a porter from Tamil Nadu to Bombay and then he rose

up to became a don in the 50’s till the 70’s, who was treated as a “God” by the people. He

ruled the Dharavi, Mahim areas and even the strategic Harbour area in Bombay. It was this

“Godly” thing, that fascinated Ratnam to make a film on him, with Kamal Haasan as the

protagonist what actually was in his mind. According to him in the book Conversations with

Mani Ratnam (Baradwaj Rangan 2012), during his MBA course in Bombay, he was

fascinated with the way people treated Vardarajan and in the film, he is a hero who might be

a saviour or a do gooder for his community, but is also a villain as he indulges himself in

violence and smuggling, that makes him an “Anti Hero”. One more striking feature of the

film was that it sympathizes with the condition of the South Indians in Mumbai, who had a

tough time with the rise of the local political party Shiv Sena , founded by political supremo

Bal Thackrey, who were initially against the South Indian community residing in Mumbai

after independence. Along with that, even the police machinery used to take part with the

party members and create trouble for the South Indians. In the film, through the character of

Velu Naiker (called as Nayakan by the people), we see how the south Indians were treated in

Bombay and it also gives a small example how the underworld scenario came up in Bombay.

The film is considered as India’s answer to the American classic film “The Godfather”

38
(Francis Ford Coppola/ 1972), as it was based on the character: An Anti hero who was

considered as God by his community and the film had few innovative techniques which were

later used by Indian directors like Ramgopal Verma and Anurag Kashyap. For example:

1. The lighting and cinematography work by PC Sriram which was regarded as world

class.

2. The editing by VT Vijayan. The scene where Velu and his men kill Reddy brothers

was inspired by the scene of the film “The Godfather” where Michael’s men kill his

enemies as Michael does the baptisizing ceremony of his new born son. The scene

where Velu’s shown dead and we see a montage of the moments of his rise in

between, is known as as one of the best examples of Montage sequences in Indian

Cinema.

3. The music score by Illayaraja was a smashing hit even in the neighbouring states.

The plot, direction and the performances, especially Kamal Haasan’s, for whom

this was is first film where he had to undergo many make up sessions and get five

different looks for the film.

It was all these factors, that made “Nayakan” a smashing hit nationwide and made

Mani Ratnam a nationwide rage. The film finds it’s mention in the TIME Magazine’s List of

Top 100 Films of All Time, (2005) along with Satyajit Ray’s “Apu Trilogy” and Guru Dutt’s

“Kaagaz ke Phool” (Paper Flowers).

39
GURU (2007)

PLOT
Gurukant Desai returns from Turkey wish plans of operating his own business, with capital

raised from a hasty marriage to Sujata. Husband and wife leave for Bombay, where he finds

himself stymied by the establishment. He realizes that a few rules need to be broken, even if

that will invite the displeasure of his morally upright mentor, the newspaper publishing

baron, Manik Dasgupta.

ANALYSIS
In his interview in the book “Conversations with Mani Ratnam” (Baradwaj Rangan 2012),

the director said that it was the difference between the old India after independence and the

new India after the arrival of people like Ambani and it’s changes, fascinated him to make a

film like Guru. The film having a loose portrayal of Reliance Industries founder Dhirubhai

Ambani in the character of Abhishek Bachchan, showcased the License Raj during the 1970’s

and how this change benefitted many middle class Indians. The character of Manik Dasgupta,

played by Mithun Chakraborty, is the portrayal of Ramnath Goenka, the founder of the

Indian Express, who was well aware of the right and the wrong and the one who can never

compromise with his rules and R. Madhavan plays the role of Shyam Saxena, which is

inspired by Aroun Shourie, who was the torch bearer of Goenka in terms of journalism and

bringing the dark side of the prosperity given by the Ambanis (Shakti Industries in the film).

The film showcases the protagonist’s image within the likes of Gandhi and Nehru as the one

who saw the future and laid the foundation for a brighter New India.

The film’s structure had shades of the director’s previous films like “Nayakan”, “Roja” and

“Iruvar”, due to the reasons given below:

1. Nayakan: The protagonist comes to Bombay and he is also the Anti hero who is

40
 breaking the rules which is illegal, but still comes up with the benefits of the middle class

India. The film has a sepia tone to showcase the pre 70’s era.

2. Roja: The film starts off with the scene where an old aged Guru comes to the stage and

addresses and then the film starts off and comes the first scene comes at the ending of the

film.

3. Iruvar: Here too the same technique of the camera and editing were used where the

beginning scene is in Black and white tone and then, the camera and editing is fast in the

scenes where Guru is young and both come slowly as the film progresses. The film also

has two characters who, despite having differences within the journey of the film, have

huge respect for each other, exactly like what the director showcased between the

characters of Anandan and Thamizhachelvan in “Iruvar”. Even the music score by A.R.

Rahman of the period has been matched well, which somewhat matches well with the

music score of “Iruvar”.

41
CONCLUSION
At the conclusion, we can say Mani Ratnam was an innovator cum auteur director. If we say,

repeating few styles or elements, he has focussed on friendship between his characters in

films like “Unaroo” (Mohanlal and Ratheesh) “Nayakan” (Kamal Haasan and Janakraj),

“Thalapathy” (Rajinikanth and Mammooty), “Thiruda Thiruda”(Prashanth and Anand),

“Iruvar” (Mohanlal and Prakash Raj) and even in “Ayutha Ezhuthu/ Yuva”(Suriya and

Siddharth/ Ajay Devgan and Vivek Oberoi). He has used the device of vehicles and

especially trains to show speed and progress of the character in films like “Mouna Raagam”,

“Nayakan”, “Thalapathy”, “Bombay”, “Iruvar”, “Alaipayuthey”, “Kannathil Mutthamittal”

and even “Guru”. For song picturization, he included one popular song that had a Bombay

actress like Sonam Bajwa did in the song “Rakkamma” in “Thalapathy”, Anu Agarwaal did

in “Thiruda Thiruda” (1993), Malaika Arora Khan in “Chaiyya Chaiyya” in “Dil Se’, Sophia

Haque in ‘September Madhyam’. Apart from that, most of his films have been in the string of

socio political issues.

As we have discussed earlier, Mani Ratnam has done various innovations in various

aspects of film making, be it editing, production designing, cinematography, post production

and even the music score, which have led him to many international film festivals like

Cannes, Locarno, Venice, Toronto, Moscow, Pusan and Berlin. He also won the Jaeger-

Le Coultre Glory to the Filmmaker Award at the 67th Venice Film Festival in 2010.

42
BIBLOGRAPHY

Baradwaj Rangan. Conversations with Mani Ratnam. Edited by Baradwaj Rangan. Chennai, Tamil
Nadu: Penguin Viking, 2012. Articles: Mouna Raagam (pg no. 30), Nayakan (pg no. 43), Anjali (pg no.
80), Thalapathy (pg no. 103), Roja (pg no. 119),Bombay (pg no. 144), Iruvar(pg no.161), Alaipayuthey
(pg no. 195), Kannathil Mutthamittal (pg no.208), Aayutha Ezhuthu/ Yuva (pg no.229) , Guru (pg no.
246) and Raavanan (pg no. 267)

Gopalan, Rajshree. Contemporary Indian Action Cinema. London: Oxford, 2000. Article: Nayakan (pg
no. 108)

Ravi. S. Vasudevan. Making Meaning in Indian Cinema. New Delhi: Oxford , 2003. Article: Signs of
Ideological Refrom in two recent films (pg no. 243)

Thoraval, Yves. Cinemas Of India. Mumbai: Macmillan, 2000. Article: The Cinema and Politics of the
South (Pg No. 249)

FILMS MENTIONED
Mahangar (Satyajit Ray/ 1963)

Charulata (Satyajit Ray/ 1964)

Teen Kanya (Satyajit Ray/ 1961)

Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa/ 1950)

The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola/ 1972)

Bobby (Raj Kapoor/1973)

Ek Duuje Ke Liye (K. Balachander/1981)

Lawrence Of Arabia (David Lean/1962)

Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (Aditya Chopra/ 1995)

Hum Aapke Hain Koun! (Sooraj Barjatya/ 1994)

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