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In
a star crazy industry, Manirathnam is the
man who created a niche for himself by brining
a fresh approach to direction. He has the
distinction of working with senior actors
and yet his films are remembered as Mani
films. His greatest asset is the intimacy
he creates between the audience and the
film. His brand of filmmaking is widely
aped by others with limited success. His
films have finesse and quality. Be it in
Kollywood, Tollywood or Bollywood, his name
denotes class unmatched by any other. Top
stars vie to work with him. He made his
debut in Kannada but his widely acknowledged
first film is Pagal Nilavu in Tamil. He
has made films of different genres like
underworld action (Nayagan), marital discord
(Mouna Ragam), pathos (Thalapathi) and romance
(Alai Payudhe). Socially relevant themes
in Bombay and Uyire were neatly handled.
Hailing from a family with a long association
in cinema, Mani has had no mentor. He is
a self-taught director. |
| What
makes him click: He has an uncanny
knack of identifying an appealing theme.
He puts together a film, which exactly matches
the viewer’s perspective. His ability
to get the best work out of his creative
team makes him successful. He has been around
for nearly twenty years and yet escaped
being typecast. He mixes entertainment elements
only as much that the content is not diluted.
Talented technicians and excellent production
values are his hallmarks.
Movie on the anvil: Bilingual
Guru with Abhishek Bachchan, Aiswarya Rai,
Madhavan and Vidya Balan in the lead
You could rope him in:
Mani produces his own movies and directs
them. For outside production houses, it
is reported that he would command not less
than Rs. 6 crores. |
