Mani Ratnam remained tight-lipped about his much-hyped reunion with Kamal Haasan in KH234, however the legendary filmmaker did present some perception into what took him so lengthy to work with one in every of his favorite actors — and buddies — once more. Kamal Haasan not too long ago introduced Ratnam the Excellence in Cinema Award at the ongoing Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2023.
During a masterclass on the pageant, which was moderated by director Imtiaz Ali, Ratnam stated that earlier than approaching big stars like Kamal Haasan or Rajinikanth, he wants a script worthy of them starring in it.
“When you go to a big actor, you know that he’s a big actor, and that he has a huge following. I can’t take Roja to Rajinikanth and ask him to do the film. I mean, it just doesn’t help him or the film. You don’t have to cater to the star’s following fully, but you need to be aware of it. In fact, I’ve not been able to go to Mr Bachchan still, only because I don’t have a script that is right for him. I’d love to do it, but I’m not able to. So you go only when you really have something different for them and still be able to meet the expectations,” Ratnam stated.
Looking again at ‘Nayakan’ with Kamal Haasan
He additionally recalled working with Kamal Haasan 35 years ago in Nayakan. “He’s an actor who brings a lot to the table. When we did Nayakan, there were so many elements in the film that came from his thought process. There were many scenes he enriched with small gestures and suggestions. I quickly learnt during the rehearsals that I didn’t have to add any drama to the shots; all I had to do was set it up and follow him, and his energy and performance would add enough drama. I learned a lot from him, especially from his interactions with the supporting artistes, and his amazing ability to get people around him to act well and also make them do things that would enhance his own performance. It was a treat to watch.”
Mani Ratnam and Kamal Haasan
Ratnam, who added that he simply wrote a single draft for Nayakan, whereas KH234 has 25 to 30 iterations, additionally revealed a bit of recommendation that Kamal gave him early on in his profession. “He told me something significant; he said, ‘Don’t aim at the heart, aim at the gut until you make it’. He was telling me to make something that a lot of people could identify with, and not speak in a language they don’t understand.”
What Mani Ratnam has discovered from his failures:
My first movie was a failure. My second movie was a failure. My third movie did okay. My fourth movie did properly, however I hate that movie, as a result of it’s not my movie. I had nothing to do with it.
But all these experiences gave me readability to open my eyes. Even as I used to be making that fourth movie, I’m asking myself questions. Is this what I got here right here for? Is this what I would like to do?
So I realised that I’ll make compromises, however it’ll be my compromise, and not anyone else’s compromise. So I went again to a script that I’d been attempting to pitch for 4 years, and determined to take it on. So it’s okay to fail, as the most important factor failures train us is to have power. If you might have gone via a couple of, you’re prepared for something that occurs and you know the way to rise up.
On Ilaiyaraaja and A.R. Rahman
The masterclass additionally noticed Ratnam focus on the distinction between working with his two most well-liked composers, Ilaiyaraaja and AR Rahman. “Ilaiyaraaja is just… genius. I was so used to working with him and judging music with just his voice; he would compose songs by singing tunes alone with his harmonium. But the first time I worked with Rahman, he gave me a fully recorded piece; it was immaculate with bass and melody. It was incredible. However, I wasn’t sure whether I was getting seduced by the production or by the actual music! So I had to minus all this in my mind, and just imagine Rahman’s song with the harmonium and Ilaiyaraaja’s voice,” he laughed.
He added that each of them have fully reverse working kinds. “Rahman does it for the entire film, he does it for a mood. I don’t have to necessarily state the extensive situation, sometimes I don’t even tell him the story. He makes the music and gives it to me, but it’s not finished; after I shoot the film, he comes back and does the interludes. But with Ilaiyaraaja, you have to be ready and tell him how you want to shoot the video before composing. You better be there at the studio at seven o’clock in the morning with everything you have in mind, because he is so fast, that by afternoon the score and songs are done!”
The ace director, who credited his early influences reminiscent of Akira Kurosawa, Bimal Roy and Guru Dutt for fuelling his ardour, stated that he doesn’t do extra Hindi movies as he isn’t snug with the language totally: “I didn’t know Hindi back then, and I don’t know it now. . I have to ask for help, and trust the actors a lot more, ask them if they feel it’s right, and so on. I can only sense if everything is working, I don’t have a full grasp on the film. I will make Hindi films only if the subject calls for it; I feel much more in control and comfortable doing a Tamil film.”
Mani Ratnam on the units of ‘Ponniyin Selvan’
He even admitted that making Raavan/ Raavanan as a bilingual was a mistake. “I was making two films at the same time, and neither the Hindi nor the Tamil audience could relate to it.”
How he works with his actors:
I inform my actors how I would like them to carry out, but when they do one thing reverse, and if it really works, I’m tremendous with that. I all the time really feel that the artiste has to make investments themselves into the character, convey one thing to the desk and not attempt to please me alone. They mustn’t attempt to do precisely what I say. I don’t need obedience; I would like contribution and creativity.
Of course, there are occasions when opinions may differ, and then I inform them I’ll take the ultimate name. Even the massive actors, generally they are going to have completely different concepts. Shah Rukh will ask me if he can do that scene this manner or that approach, and I’ll say no, and he says, ‘Okay I’ll use it in my different movie!’ (laughs). Rajinkanth will provide one thing, and earlier than I can reply, he’ll go, ‘I know you won’t settle for this.’ So sure, all of them are supportive and perceive.
Operating on the cross-sections
Ratnam additionally recalled the taking pictures of his first movie, when he needed to depart the set and run away after the primary two days. “It was very disillusioning, because nothing was going like what I’d imagined. But Balu Mahendra, who was my DOP then — he’d already directed a film at that point — told me it’s natural to feel that way, and that I’d feel okay after a couple more days. I slowly realised that when we write, our mind has all these illusions and abstract forms of how the film will shape out; we have to completely leave that aside and reinvent the film when we go to set.”
“I’m aware of what the audience likes, but I should not cater to only that. I should feel that I am the audience, and stick to what I like and what I’m capable of. There is a cross section between what I like and what the larger audience likes, and I operate on the edges of that cross section,” he mused.
Ratnam even entertained a query on why he had by no means thought of coming into politics, after being such a visionary and influential voice. “Why? Bringing politics into film is good enough, that’s my share. If you go into it, you should be built for it and have real passion. Politics is much more serious than films.”
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