Contents
Mani Ratnam
Directing Nayakan, Roja and Bombay, combining intimate relationships with wider social conflicts.
Nayakan · Roja
- Born
- Unknown
- Birthplace
- Madurai, India
More people
Mani Ratnam
Mani Ratnam is a Tamil filmmaker known for visual storytelling, music-led sequences and dramas that place personal choices against political change.
Early life
Film-connected family
His father distributed films, but Ratnam initially followed a different professional path.
Business education
Studied commerce and completed an MBA before becoming a management consultant.
Birth date
Born on 2 June; published sources differ between 1955 and 1956.
Career
- 1983
Directing debut
Made the Kannada film Pallavi Anu Pallavi.
- 1986–1987
Tamil breakthrough
Mouna Ragam and Nayakan established his reputation.
- 1990s
Wider audiences
Roja and Bombay reached viewers beyond their original Tamil releases.
- 2022–2023
Historical adaptation
Brought Ponniyin Selvan to the screen in two parts.
Selected work
Nayakan
A man's rise in Bombay's criminal world becomes a family tragedy.
Roja
A couple's relationship is disrupted by kidnapping in Kashmir.
Bombay
An interfaith family is caught in communal violence.
Beyond work
Creative partnership
Married actor and filmmaker Suhasini in 1988.
Recognition
Received the Padma Shri in 2002 for his contribution to cinema.
Sources & photo credit
Life, career and references ↗British Film Institute: Bombay ↗Interview and differing birth-year reporting ↗Photo: Sriram Narasimhan Silverscreen Media Inc. (https://silverscreen.in). CC BY-SA 3.0 · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
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