Mani Ratnam's office in Chennai is quieter than you might expect from a man whose films have roared across screens for four decades. There are film posters on the walls, but they are not his own — they are Kurosawa, Fellini, Satyajit Ray. Stacks of books line one corner. A half-drunk cup of filter coffee sits on the desk. The contrast between his restless, kinetic films and his composed, unhurried demeanour has always been one of the most fascinating things about him. He speaks softly, chooses his words with care, and has a habit of pausing mid-sentence — not because he has lost his train of thought, but because he is making sure the words are exactly right.
Anupama: Both parts of Ponniyin Selvan are out now, and the response has been extraordinary. When you look back at the entire journey, what do you feel?
Mani Ratnam: You never fully settle with a film. Even years later, you watch a scene and think, "I could have done that differently." But what has been genuinely gratifying about Ponniyin Selvan is the younger generation discovering the story. I grew up reading Kalki's novel — it shaped my imagination. And now, twenty-year-olds who had never heard of it are reading the book because they saw the film. That is the best thing a filmmaker can hope for — that the work sends people back to the source.
Anupama: You started your career shooting on celluloid. Today, everything is digital. Has the shift changed your process in any fundamental way?
Mani Ratnam: The camera is lighter. The crew can be smaller. You can see what you have shot immediately, which changes the rhythm on set. But the fundamental question has not changed — where do you put the camera, and why? That question is the same whether you are shooting on 35mm or on a digital sensor. The technology is a tool. The grammar of cinema — where to cut, what to show, what to withhold — that has nothing to do with the format. I still believe in the quality of light you get on celluloid. There is a warmth, a grain, a texture that digital has not fully replicated. But I am not a purist about it. If digital lets a young filmmaker in a village make a film with no budget, then it has done something beautiful.
The fundamental question has not changed — where do you put the camera, and why? That question is the same whether you are shooting on 35mm or on a digital sensor.
Anupama: Tamil cinema is in the middle of what many are calling a creative renaissance. Vetrimaaran, Pa Ranjith, Mari Selvaraj — a whole generation of filmmakers telling stories that were not being told before. What do you make of this moment?
Mani Ratnam: Wonderful. Truly wonderful. Every generation needs its own voice. When I started, I was reacting against certain things I saw in Tamil cinema at the time — a certain artificiality, a distance from how people actually spoke and lived. These filmmakers are doing the same thing, but from their own perspective, their own experiences. What I admire most about someone like Vetrimaaran or Pa Ranjith is their conviction. They are not making films to please anyone. They have something to say, and they say it without compromise. That takes courage, and the audience is responding to it. That tells you something important about where Tamil cinema is headed.
Anupama: And finally — what is next for you? What are you working on?
Mani Ratnam: [Smiles] Something very different. I have been working on it for a while now. It is a smaller film — not an epic, not a period piece. It is set in the present day, and it deals with relationships in a way I have not explored before. Beyond that, I do not want to say too much. Let the film speak for itself when it is ready.