With The Fungus Gone.

Today morning when I switched on the T.V for news and was generally channel swapping i came across the song ‘mottamadi mottamadi’ from anjali, a tamil movie.it was like being caught in a time warp reminding me of the days when i sang val jhodi val jhodi instead of well, luv jhodi.The movie according to me is the best from mani ratnam, unsurpassed by the brilliance of Roja or the slick flick ayutha ezhuthu or the poignant kannathil mutthamittal. More than a decade and half before Aamir could utter every child is special, MR gave us a masterpiece on child psychology and the world of special children. It beautifully explores the relationship between a child suffreing from mental retardation (role essayed brilliantly by then baby, sharmilee) and her mother, siblings and the society at large.It does not have a fairytale ending but speaks more of a stark biting  reality in the rosy world of children that includes imaginary ET inspired trips to the moon and back.

There is only one person who occasionally surpasses MR in the art of story telling and thats Kamal Hassan. Watch Nayagan when the two came together for the first and what possibly is the last time. Brilliantly narrated story of the rise and fall of a don- vellupillai .The movie is partly inspired by Godfather and the real story of the don of dharavi-varadharaja mudaliar, the man who ruled Mumbai’s murky underworld before Dawood stepped in. Company doesnt even come a close second.ManiRatnam succeeds because his films are so very rooted in local issues that it always seems uncannily that he tells you exactly what you want to listen and think is true.He perhaps  has understood his audience better than anyother filmmaker has in recent history. Here’s a pick of some of  Mani’s best.

Thalapathi: based on the mahabharath, it explores friendship and the relative perception of right and wrong. Mamooty, Rajnikanth and Shobhana with a young Arvind Swamy. It was the precursor to his successive  takes on underworld and the murky politics that comes with it.its special because,perhaps it was the last time audiences saw rajni the actor on screen.This is the movie that gave us Rakkamma kayathattu..

Mouna Ragam:Brilliant music and a poignant tale of love. Watch this, you will know where bhansali went wrong with Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.incidentally, Cheeni Kum’s music is borrowed  from the Illayaraja’s score for this movie.

AgniNatchathiram: fight between the sons of two wives of vijayakumar for pride, standing and identity. A heady combinantion of karthik and prabhu. The movie marks a turning point in the Indian Music industry.It was the last time Illayaraja held sway. The movie marked the split of Maniratnam-Illyaraja combination, forcing MR to bring in a young Rehman for roja, the rest as we say is history.

Iruvar:if you want to know what defines tamil nadu politics, watch this. the tale of MGR,Jayalalitha and Karunanidhi, played perfectly by Mohan Lal, well you are not dreaming-Aishwarya Rai(her debut) and Prakash Raj.It also features Revathi.Gouthami, Tabu and Madhubala.Aishwarya’s best performance till date. The only blemish being the ending. watch it you will understand.

AyuthaEzhuthu: redefined  cinematic narration and technical brilliance.Madhavan,Surya,Siddharth,MiraJasmine,Trisha and Esha Deol. Inba and Michael Vasanth, simply unforgettable. Yuva, its hindi version is almost a shame compared to this.

Tiruda Tiruda: not directed but roduced by RGV and MR together.A great entertainer with seemingly no logic. Yet memeorable for all the right reasons. Hira Rajagopal turned in a gem of a performance.

Mani Ratnam is arguably the best director in India today. He is also the director of Roja,  Bombay, Alaipayuthey, DilSe , Guru and Kannathil Muthamittal.He is the one who gave south indian cinema , a recognition and a standing. Today much of the film industry in south owes it to him be it for Rahman or international acclaim .He is astutely a tamilian first and then a director, the reason why his movies work  and can never be copied satisfactorily.It also the reason why he fails to recreate the magic in Hindi, Guru’s success not withstanding. He prefers not to be called an art director and cannot be more correct.His stories are not offbeat, the way they are told are.There are actors who would do anything to act in his movies and not without reason. Its simple, theres only one director when it comes to me and thats Mani Ratnam.