Mani Ratnam, Movies & the Mania

Yesterday, I happened to be watching a Talk Show in which Mani Ratnam and AR Rahman were the guests. That screeching voice and the feeling of excitement when you see that legendary man talking, yes, TALKING!!!

 I never knew how Mani Ratnam looked until I was 14 even though I had watched all his movies by then. The craze for his films is inexpressible. Here was finally, this one guy who made sensible films. I’m sure everyone who loves Tamil Cinema starts off by appreciating Mani Ratnam’s films, my generation, at least. He truly taught me to differentiate between the good and the bad movies. And, of course, he gave another living legend in AR Rahman.

My list of the absolute must watch Mani Ratnam films. You would definitely not find better films than these in Tamil cinema.

Mouna Raagam(1986):

Every language has this one love story that they worship in each generation. Bobby, Ek dujhe keliye, DDLJ for the Hindi speaking audiences; for those who speak Tamil, it definitely has to start with Mouna Raagam. It wasn’t a boy meets girl, charms her, makes her fall in love with, then they live happily ever after run-of-the-mill story. It addressed the pressing issue of arranged marriage that was omnipresent in the country- Marrying a stranger and its consequences. Wonderful portrayal by Revathi of a strong, independent woman, who is capable of taking her own decisions in & out of marriage (#herchoice :P) 

Mani Ratnam’s heroes have always made women go weak in their knees and Karthik in this movie just takes your breath away and all this, in under 15 minutes of screen time. If there is one thing that is amazing about Mani Ratnam’s movies, it is the fact that the songs and their lyrics make absolute sense to the story of the film. The beautifully written, “Mandram vandha thendral”, the lilting agony in “Nilave va” are classics. A movie is a classic when its descendents can relate to it and three generations of women in my family love this film.

 Nayagan(1987):

This is probably the best Tamil movie ever made. Directors like Karthik Subburaj, Gautam Menon have all said that they wanted to become filmmakers after watching this film. This movie is Mani Ratnam’s take on The Godfather. It chronicles the life of Varadarajan Mudaliar, who ran away from Tamil Nadu to Bombay and then became a powerful mafia Don.
Kamal Haasan had stated that he only did the film because the dates were given to the producer for another film and that didn’t take off, so Mani Ratnam was brought on to make some random movie so that Kamal’s dates do not go to waste. What are the odds that the most significant jewel in the treasury was minted by chance? In the book, “Conversations with Mani Ratnam”, Ratnam states that Kamal Haasan, (who was considered a legend, even then) didn’t think much of him, but as the shooting progressed he managed to earn some respect. Kamal recalls an incident on the sets when they were shooting for the “Naan sirithal deepavali” song where he had to give Janagaraj a filthy look and then turn away. Mani Ratnam walked up to him and said, “I guess that look seemed like you abused him in English. Like the F word or something. I want that look to be rustic.” 

The next take was satisfactory and Kamal walked up to the director and said, “Avana Tamil ketta vaarthaila thititen”. Kamal lamented that even at the beginning of his career, Mani Ratnam showed signs of a legend in making.

The movie pays homage to The Godfather on more than one occasion. The murder-funeral scene, bullet through the eye scene, the father seeking revenge for his daughter scene are all inspired from The Godfather. And that confrontation scene between Kamal and his daughter is definitely the best scene written in all of Tamil cinema. I take a moment to applaud that genius writing.

After this movie, there was no looking back. Anyone thinking about a career in the movies should definitely check this one out for its wonderful screenwriting. I still remember that ‘Goosebumps galore’ feeling when I saw Nayagan for the first time. Move it to No. 1 on your list if you haven’t already seen it. Thotta Tharani was said to have created the set for the Dharavi slums and it is as real as it can ever be. PC Sreeram’s cinematography and that haunting “Thenpaandi Seemaiyile” will withstand the test of time.

Anjali(1990):

You know a movie is cool if it has around 100 kids running around screaming and dancing and singing during the summer vacations. These aren’t those annoying kids with teenage issues like in High School musical or any of those nutty Disney movies. These are kids-Naughty, bratty kids. Most of the kids in the movie are now actors, directors, singers, music directors etc. (Venkat Prabhu, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Karthik Raja, Premji, Tarun, Shamili, Vishnuvardhan to name a few).

It follows the life of a happy family of four moving into a new apartment. Alas, the Dad has a secret though. What happens to Disneyland when Mickey has cerebral palsy? Revathi stands out in this movie - at first, as the judgemental, jealous wife and then as a vulnerable, weakling who doesn’t know what to do. It is definitely the most heart breaking feeling for a Mom to be rejected by her child. This movie deals with DABDA through Revathi’s eyes. She goes from denial to anger to bargaining to depression to acceptance (in reverse) though. Watch it for Revathi and the music. They have a Star Wars and E.T. tribute in the movie too. Now, how cool is that!!!!

(The movie is said to be loosely inspired from E.T. where you replace the alien with the child. The irony here is that children with mental disability are in fact treated like aliens in our country.)

Thalapathi (1991):

Thalaivar padam pa!!! How can I not write about it! The directors’ fondness for Mahabharta and inspired from the epic tale, this movie also is of epic proportions. It focuses on the Karna - Duryodhana friendship and on Kunti’s love of Karna. It also indicates that Draupadi might indeed have been in love with Karna and not Arjun.

The cinematography takes the story forward. The protagonist is Surya and most of the lighting, borders on the red tinge to the hue effects. 

There is a scene where Jayashankar reveals an enormous secret to Rajinikanth (with the sun in the background) and the latter’s face and the sun seem to merge in and out. (The sun-Surya, get it????) Mammootty, as the grey shaded, Deva complements Rajinikanth’s loyal Surya. A tale of friendship till death do us apart!!! Watch it for the terrific performance by frankly everyone in the film - Rajini, Mammootty, Shobana, Srividya and Jayashankar. It also was the debut of Arvind Swamy who went on to become a heartthrob later.

Roja (1992):

From Kanyakumari to Kashmir, quite literally too. Have you heard of the tale of Sathyavan-Savithri! If you had a grandmother like mine, chances are that you would have! This woman said to the God of the Death, “Not today” (Game of thrones style :P) and brought her husband back from the dead.

This is how the movie goes. Scenic beauty of the south of India- the waterfalls, forests etc. – Seductive music – Kashmir -  Snowfall – More seductive music – the plot of the movie – sad music – terrorism – patriotic music. You get the gist. This movie uses music to tell us a story that only when terrorism hits your home, do you realize its impact. Courage can be found in the unlikeliest of places and Madhubala portrays that unlikely person. But Nasser is terrific as the only person in the film who uses his head more than his heart. It marked the debut of AR Rahman who went on to win the National Award for Best Music and Roja’s soundtrack made it to BBC’s Top Five on best movie soundtracks of all time. Watch it for the cinematography, music and the underdog tale of love, lust and patriotism.

Bombay (1995):

The second movie in Ratnam’s Terrorism Trilogy. This focuses on the communal violence that shook streets of Bombay where Hindus-Muslims rioted and went on to kill each other after the demolition of Babri Masjid. The foundation is laid strongly when the first half deals with a Hindu-Muslim love story and then the action shifts to the macrocosm of a city and thereby a nation.

Tolerance begins at home. There are poignant scenes in the movie wherein a Hindu runs into a burning house to save the Quran, when a transgender proves she is more human than anyone else. But my favourite would be the scene where the child sitting on his Grand Dad’s shoulders, returning from a temple, sees a bunch a Muslims in the distance, immediately, he wipes the vibhuti from his forehead and his grandfathers’. If that isn’t poignant, I dunno what is. Manisha Koirala puts in one of tamil cinema’s most poignant performances. As the vulnerable, scared, soft spoken woman filled with grief, she makes your heart melt.

Dil Se (1998):

Whoever said Indian movies have too many songs that hinder the progress of the story should watch it; this movie has great songs; both the versions, Tamil and Hindi. Lyrics that reach out to you. My personal favourite is Satrangi Re/Ennuyire. 

In retrospection, this song tells you the entire story in like 5 minutes. Boy meets a mysterious girl, falls in love and if I write anything more, it would only spoil the experience. Definitely, a must watch. I can literally hear Dil Se Re….. play in the background while I type this. This concluded his Roja-Bombay-Dil Se terrorism trilogy.

Iruvar (1997):

I can’t decide what my favourite Mani Ratnam movie is - Nayagan or Iruvar. I’m sure every fan of Mani Ratnam’s has the same dilemma. It is a magnificent tale of friendship, loyalty, greed, jealousy, backstabbing, popularity and politics. Sounds like the trailer for The Social Network, right? Here the friends do not fight over a website but over a state. Inspired by two real life politicians, chronicles their rise to power and the subsequent fall.

As one of my friends rightly put it, this movie was banned by the people concerned from the theatres because it made those two people look way cooler than they actually were. This movie is a record of the growth of decades of Tamil cinema as well as the political scenario. It marked the debut of Aishwarya Rai in movies. Mohanlal is pitch perfect as the Mallu-kalandha-Tamil speaking politician. Prakash Raj, as the poet who is both romantic and patriotic to equal extent before becoming green with envy and doing all he could to jeopardize the others’ career. I heard this role was first offered to Kamal Haasan. Prakash Raj’s performance was so moving that he ended up winning a National Award for the film, but I can’t help but imagine those recitals in Kamal Haasan’s baritone. The Prakash Raj-Tabu love story and that “Unnodu Naan…” recited by Aravind Swamy as well as the death monologue are all stand out pieces of Tamil poetry. Vairamuthu deserves all the applause for writing poems for the most famous Tamil Poet of the modern times.

If you like this movie, you should also read the following blog dedicated to the genius of Mani Ratnam. http://www.jamuura.com/blog/iruvar-mani-ratnam-directorial-masterpiece/

Alaipayuthey (2000):

Maddy, Maddy, Oh Oh Maddy!!! I was a child when this released but I still remember my cousin who was in college then, fangirl so much about this movie and go watch it FDFS. Everybody loves Karthik-Shakti. It is a take on what happens after love translates into marriage. Is it happily ever after, in reality? Do you not grow to despise the one you once loved? It answers all these questions peppered with trains, rains, beaches, Madhavan’s smile and some wonderful music. Everyone, (except perhaps my Mom) thought this movie was charming. This was probably the last great love story in Tamil.

You know a movie has inspired life so much when, during a discussion on movies in class, you have everyone in that group know someone who have had an Alaipayuthey style wedding. Inspiration indeed!

Kannathil Muthamittal (2002):

So many movies made on the India-Pakistan rivalry, communal violence, Gujarat riots; but no one ever talks about the Lankan Tamil issue, not even the Central government, until recently. Hitler killed the Jews, Palestinians are being killed, but I’m not sure how many Indians even know about their own countrymen being massacred in a neighbouring country.

The movie sets to capture the Lankan Tamil strife through the eyes of an 8 year old who goes searching for her biological mother only to find out that she never will be a mother to her. Portrayals are of the finest caliber here. Madhavan, Simran and Keerthana as the child all prove their mettle as actors. This child is not one of those cutesy over-the-top characters we are so often used to seeing in films. She brings in a déjà-vu feeling to everything she does. She is that annoying child next door.  Nandita Das in the climax outshines everybody, as the mother with conflicted interests. 
Scenes to watch out for:

The birthday-beach scene where they tell the child; Rameshwaram beach scene where Madhavan promises her; Nandita Das climax. And the beautiful “Oru Deivam thanda Poove” male version in Jayachandran’s voice. Every daughter gets a lump in her throat while listening to the song. It won 6 National awards.(Twas a record until Aadukalam tied with it a few years back) Also, the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film festival. Please go watch this nature vs nurture debate in the backdrop of a war.

Guru (2007):

Inspired by the real life story of one of India’s biggest business tycoons. This movie showed us that Abhishek Bachchan CAN act when he is working with an able director. This movie is here on this list because of the confidence bordering on arrogance of the protagonist. The court scene climax reminded me of Roark’s speech at the end of The Fountainhead. Watch it because it was the last memorable movie of Mani Ratnam’s.

I’m hoping OK Kanmani would change that. Mani Ratnam might get either fan-mail or brickbats today. But I hope and pray that it turns out to be a Mani Ratnam styled film unlike Kadal which was frankly appalling. Regardless of the verdict for OKK, I’m a Mani Ratnam fan. FOREVER AND ALWAYS.