MovieChat Forums > Raavan (2010) Discussion > Mani Sir needs to go back to his roots

Mani Sir needs to go back to his roots

posted 14 years ago by q_leo_rahman
1 reply | jump to latest

I think it’s admirable that Mani Ratnam is able to place political themes into his films and still make them great successes. Films like BOMBAY, DIL SE... and KANNATHIL MUTHAMITHAL are fine examples of political dramas, where the relationships are influenced by politics: a Hindu-Muslim couple in the midst of a riot, a suicide bomber and her lover, and the revolutionary who meets the daughter she gave up to adopt...

However, the political thing is starting to get old. And I think Mani Sir needs to go back to making social drama films. I still remember his early films MOUNA RAGAM, AGNI NAKSHATRAM and ANJALI; those were great films which focused on social themes rather than political ones. For the unknowing, MOUNA RAGAM explored the relationship of an arranged marriage, AGNI NAKSHATRAM showed the conflict between the children of a polygamous man, and ANJALI was all about a mentally handicapped child.

Such films are still relevant now, as we are still dealing with their social issues portrayed, and I think would be great if Mani went back to doing films like those again. He would be able to place more focus on the relationships/characters rather than on the politics that influence them, and after creating Larger-Than-Life characters (LTL is the Indian cinematic standard anyway) it would be better if he went back to intimate, realistic characters that everyone could relate to.

I'm hoping for Mani Ratnam's next film. But I also hope that it will be an intimate drama film, something on a smaller, more personal scale...

07/08/06... 786... the sentinel of Allah has arrived.

[–] uncle_g1234 14 years ago

Iruvar was on a political theme. I'm not sure that Mani's "roots" are one thing over others.

I realized something about him the other day. Or at least an idea occurred to me. He is Tamil. The Tamils are the subjugated minority in Sri Lanka. Mani does lots of movies about the social results of ethnic subjugation. Maybe his movies are sort of indirect ways to address a primary sympathy, that the Tamils are given human treatment by those who rule them. In my whole life, I've never seen anything that attempted to explore, in depth, the relationship between the ruling Sinhalese and the ruled Tamils. What is it like? Do Indians know any more about it than I know? They are near neighbors, but do the media in India trouble themselves to report in depth on what it is like to live as a Tamil under Sinhalese rule?