Today is the birthday of Mani Ratnam, the master filmmaker of Indian cinema. While a few sections of the media are reporting that his magnum opus ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ has been dropped due to heavy budget and Covid-19 impact, sources close to him however say the project is very much on.
Meawhile, celebrities and fans have been greeting him today on his special day. ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ is a historical drama film written and directed by Mani Ratnam and produced by Lyca Productions and Madras Talkies. It is an adaptation of Kalki Krishnamurthy’s historical period based fictional novel of the same name. This film is planned to be made into a two part movie.
The cast includes Vikram, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sobhita Dhulipala and
Vikram Prabhu among others, while musical score is by Oscar-Grammy winner A R Rahman.
Mani Ratham has so far won six National Film Awards, four Filmfare Awards, six Filmfare Awards South, and numerous awards at various film festivals across the world. In 2002, the government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri, acknowledging his contributions to film.
Despite being born into a film family, Mani Ratnam did not develop any interest in films when he was young. Upon completion of his post graduation in management, he started his career as a consultant. He entered the film industry through the 1983 Kannada film ‘Pallavi Anu Pallavi’.
The failure of his subsequent films would mean that he was left with fewer offers. However, his fifth directorial outing, ‘Mouna Ragam’ (1986), established him as a leading filmmaker in Tamil cinema.
**************
