Films of Mani Ratnam

[MADDY]

old interview of Maniratnam during Guru times......talks abt songs/music in his movies.......he clearly means Rahman is the best suit for his movies.........looking back at it, Mani moving to rahman choosing synth over acoustics has become a event in the world movies...

[AudazJay]

mounarAgam - nice film with some irritations here & there. The worst one being the picturization of 'pani vizhum iravu'

I'm not sure what came first nAyakan or MR. If nAyakan came later, then we can safely assume that Mani has improved by leaps and bounds by that time (on song picturizations).

He sure did improve a lot since his Mouna Ragam days. I don't know about his earlier films, but the first time I heard a similar range song and was left stunned soon after, was Rukumani, Rukumani.

I was 7 or 8 yrs old when the song was released...and i used to love hearing to it esp the part when d drum beats comes in.

More than anything, my neighbor had a teenage daughter by the same name and I used to sing this particular song to her. I never understood why she hated me doing it...until my dad told me that it was a first-night song. I never understood much Tamil back then, you see

Anyway, Rukumani remains as one of my favorite songs...and I love the picturisation, esp the scene where Arvind is pushed into the room and the camera focused on Madhu sleeping on the floor. The expression on Arvind's face was priceless

[AudazJay]

Divya - This character then became Mani's stock character. His leading ladies more often than not become some version of Divya - save for manisha's characters in Bombay and DilSe this statement still holds true.

I beg to differ. The uniqueness and complexity of Divya was not apparent in Mani's subsequent characters.

Madhubala had it in her in Roja but the rest of the heroines were more one dimensional.

I stand corrected here but i felt that in Mouna Ragam, MR has somewhat managed to grasp a woman's point of view on love and life. Nevertheless, this element was clearly missing in his subsequent films.

[AudazJay]

A strange comparison, but I'd say Delhi Ganesh is head and shoulders above Sivakumar and I'd say that with my eyes closed(:P). Delhi comes off authentic even when KB writes dramatic lines and blotchy subplots for him...

No comparison whatsoever. Delhi G is in a different universe

I didn't mean to compare. But I can't understand the higher status that Sivakumar gets. People claim he is a "dramatic actor" and all. And one invariably tends to bring a natural like Delhi G, because he is subdued at everything he does, especially the heavier dramatic roles! I hope the coming "character actors" look up to Delhi G, and not that caricaturer Sivakumar.

A cousin of mine once brought us a DVD (I can't remember the title though) whereby Sivakumar was the hero and kamal was the villain

I can't exactly remember the storyline, but i figured that it was about 3 sisters who rented a place in the hero's house and subsequently, all of them fell in love with him. (How ironic ) The movie ended with the girls' marriage to other men and Sivakumar was left to ponder on his life alone.

My cuz and I had a hearty laugh at Sivakumar's performance when all of a sudden my mom joined in and said that Sivakumar happened to be one of the best looking men in the tamil cinema back then! I nearly choked!

On the other hand, I'll definitely vouch on your statement about DG. He's totally remarkable! Loved him in Michael Madana Kamarajan and Nayagan

[P_R]

(I can't remember the title though)

sollathaan ninaikkiREn directed by K Balachander

[NOV]

when all of a sudden my mom joined in and said that Sivakumar happened to be one of the best looking men in the tamil cinema back then!

yes... in fact the only one. (leaving his acting aside.)

[kid-glove]

There is no poll in this thread.

Here's a suggestion:

The best choreographed/conceived meesick video in a Mani Ratnam film. I'll start with the obvious ones:
"Sundari kannal oru seidhi"
"Narumugaiye"
"Vidai Kodu engal Naadae"

[crajkumar_be]

Kood combinesan! and a tough poll too...

[kid-glove]

Two more:
"Iravu nilavu", (this song mostly due to Ilaiyan)
"Mandram vandha Thendralukku "

Very tough.

[P_R]

"Sundari kannal oru seidhi"

unseletted....maNdaiyin koNdaiyin

rAjA rAjAdhi rAjan indha
All songs in AN for that matter

Chinna chinna Aasai... trendsetter for eroini intros

more to come