good Article .. but I feel that dalapathi is his best work ever. but hey its ur article ... if u say u like the third person from the right in the 52nd frame on the first reel of anjali is ur favorite character .. thats fine with me ...( in case u r guessingb who cud that be ! it is that character is the star wars craeture in the song
Ur Article looks good. But, As a Mani ratnam fan, I can say He is excelent in presenting his thoughts in the screen. I meant to say the lights, locations, Art etc., which is something beyond the story and the characters..
I liked all the movies of mani except Yuva, he is great but he too is inspired from Hollywood flicks and also his own movies, I also feel that most other directors are inspired from his movies and they made many hits
1)Anjali - ET
2)Nayakudu - Godfather, Once Apon a Time in America
Its indeed true that Mani Ratnam is one of the best directors India has ever seen.A special mention has to be made about his immense talent of portraying different locales with stunning photography.needless to say the hard work and understanding of his cinematographers and camera men. the cinematography of rajiv menon in 'bombay' was a true master piece.Terror strewn bombay hasnt been depicted in a better way before.The art direction and the lighting has added to the sombre feel of the movie.When today's movie indudtry is flooded with sex and sleaze as a crowd puller, a good deal of thought has to be given how to depict refined romance by the directors today.The romantic sequences between aravind swamy and manisha koirala is indeed soul stirring.The bed room scene shot with such minimal exposure is indeed creditable.The most noticeable factor about Mani Ratnam movies is the back ground score.Both maestroes,illayaraja and A R Rahman have given excellent compositions to add to the feel of his movies.Especially the BG score in Bombay was simply superb.The duo combination raises one's expectation like never before and has been successful in living upto it till date!
well ..i can say he is a good film maker .but he never ever made brave decisions in conclusion of the movie ..even if its roja or bombay ..even being the most famous director he should not fear to the political factors or else..i can say he should be some more bold to say things..In kanathil muthamittal he is not telling morethings abt ltte.. bocz he is feared of telling ..even why he should? i wanted him to make more contraversy movies..if he is not making who else will make?
heartfully me too a big fan of mani sir. as u said anjali , dalapathi , mouna ragam ,nayagan , geetanjali, k muththamittal..
This article is very well written. I have always appreciated Mani Ratnam's movies like none other. All of his movies convey a point. There are a few other points I would like to share. 1)Geetanjali is obviously one great movie that the writer forgot. 2) Regarding revealing the truth to the adopted child, that is the way it has to be done.This I know as a doctor. Every adopted child has to be told the truth by the parents themselves at the earliest possible before they get to know from others.And the earliest age when a child gets to understand things about life is at 8yrs. And thus maniratnam rightly depicted it in the movie. Many people in India are unaware of this fact and thus criticised that decision of madhavan. 3) The last dialogue in iruvar(Iddaru in telugu) sums up the whole movie in its essence - Mitrama, Maranama deeniki parishkarama ( friend, is death the only solution for this situation). Hats off Mani Ratnam.
RE:well written
by Guru prasath on Oct 18, 2005 07:31 PM
Do you mean to say that "Mouna raagam" is a remake of "Hum dil de chukke sanam"? Oh Man no way. Look at the dates of their release. MR is in 1986, HDDCS is in late 1990's.
This writer seems a complete Maniratnam fan. But a few corrections and observations...
"Agni Natchathiram" which the reviewer enacted on his terrace with his brother was released only in 1988. So the writer wouldn't have known in 1986 that Maniratnam was the director of the movie anyway - because it was never made.
In rating his best characters, I am not sure whom he calls Kamal's "foster" son. If he is mentioning "Nizhagal" Ravi, then he was not a foster son, but the real one. If he meant Tinnu Anand, who plays the retard, I doubt he was portrayed as a foster son.
Another tid bit. When somebody confronted Mani with the question about "Kannathil..." on why Madhavan's character confronts the daughter about her etymology and her actual identity, Mani had given a terse but characteristic answer. When he was discussing with some adoption centers during the scripting stage, they had said that they ask the adopted parents to confront the truth directly rather than going about it in a convoluted manner or hiding their real identity. So the answer is not because Madhavan is "different" (alone) but also because that is what adoption centers advise foster parents.
RE:Mani Matters
by Rathish on Aug 28, 2003 12:51 PM
Hi Bragadeesh, Thanks a lot for the corrections. It's heartening to find someone taking time to chip in with what he knows. But, there were a few points that I wanted to clarify.
1. Agni natchathram in 1988 you are right. It was in 1988. But Mouna ragam was made in 1986. And I had made mentioned the movie mouna ragam too along with agni natchatram. And that's why I settled on "not knowing it was mani rathnam since 1986".
2. foster son in Nayakan Foster son in the sense that he was tended by kamal hassan though tinnu anand was not a blood relation.
3. Reason behind Madhavan's answer. Oh thanks! The interpretation of the scene was my own. As usual, I am just amazed at how much research he does before a movie. But tell me something, do you have any links of interesting mani rathnam interviews. Do send them over.
Yes thats what I feel Mani Ratnam is. I just feel Ratish mirrored every thing I have always wanted to say about Mani Ratnam. Though I just can't pick favourites as I find each movie of his a classic I definitely agree with Ratish on everything else.
Even if I ever do something in cinema I would definitely like to start under the master himself. I have made several attempts but until now I have not yet received a response from his production office. I am positive that one day I will definitely work with him.
Kudos to Ratish for an amazing article. It was a very intersting insight into the mind of another Mani Ratnam fanatic.
I thought the article said Roja lacked Mani Ratnam's touch in characterization. (ironically, Madhoo appears in fav. character list). The film seems to be character driven(than plot driven) for more than half !!
