This is Part 19 of Legends of Indian Cinema, our 20-part series on the actors, filmmakers and musicians who shaped Indian films across languages. New here? Start with Part 1: Dadasaheb Phalke, or read the previous part, Part 18: A.R. Rahman.
Rain falling in slow motion, conversations in half-light, lovers caught in history's storms and songs that move the story forward: these are the signatures of Mani Ratnam. For more than 40 years, he has made films that are both popular and deeply personal, and he has influenced a generation of Indian directors.
Early life
- Born Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam on 2 June 1956 in Madurai, into a family of film producers. He grew up in Madras.
- He studied commerce and then earned an MBA from the Jamnalal Bajaj Institute in Bombay, and briefly worked as a management consultant.
- Writing a script with friends led him into filmmaking.
Early films
- His debut was the Kannada film Pallavi Anu Pallavi (1983), with music by Ilaiyaraaja.
- Mouna Ragam (1986), about a young woman coming to terms with an arranged marriage, was his breakthrough.
- Nayakan (1987), starring Kamal Haasan, is the story of a Bombay underworld don inspired by Varadarajan Mudaliar. TIME magazine later included it in its list of the 100 greatest films of all time.
- Agni Natchathiram (1988), Anjali (1990) and Thalapathi (1991), a modern retelling of the Mahabharata's Karna story starring Rajinikanth and Mammootty, followed.
The "terrorism trilogy" and beyond
- Roja (1992), Bombay (1995) and Dil Se (1998) dealt with conflict in Kashmir, the Bombay riots and the North-East. They introduced A.R. Rahman's music to the country.
- Iruvar (1997) explored the relationship between a film star and a writer-politician, inspired by MGR and Karunanidhi.
- Alaipayuthey (2000), Kannathil Muthamittal (2002), Guru (2007) and OK Kanmani (2015) were other major films.
Ponniyin Selvan and Thug Life
For decades, Tamil filmmakers had dreamed of filming Kalki Krishnamurthy's classic novel Ponniyin Selvan. Mani Ratnam made it in two parts, released in 2022 and 2023, with a huge cast. Both were major hits. In 2025, he reunited with Kamal Haasan for Thug Life, 38 years after Nayakan.
Collaborators and honours
- He has worked with cinematographers P.C. Sreeram, Santosh Sivan and Ravi K. Chandran, and with composers Ilaiyaraaja and A.R. Rahman.
- His company is Madras Talkies, and he is married to actress and director Suhasini Maniratnam.
- Padma Shri (2002) and several National Film Awards for his films.
Next in the series: Part 20: Shah Rukh Khan.
