MANI RATNAM

Renowned filmmaker Mani Ratnam is credited with raising the standard of filmmaking to new highs - both technically and conceptually.

Not many know that Mani Ratnam's first film was in Kannada (a language he was not familiar with) and his second was in Malayalam. It was only with his third film that he began communicating in the language where he made his name - Tamil.

Among his acclaimed films are the Mohan and Revathi starrer - Mouna Raagam, the Kamal Hasan starrer - Naayagan, the semi-biographical film inspired by Actor-Politician MGR - Iruvar and the quasi-political trilogy of Roja, Bombay and Dil Se (Hindi).

While his early work (typified by Mouna Ragam) spoke with simplicity, Mani Ratnam has, over the years, added cinematographic gloss and a larger canvas to his treatment of scripts.

Known in the Tamil film industry as the man with the Midas touch, Shankar is famous for his big budget films.

His first directorial venture Gentleman put him instantly in the big league. Kaadhalan was a box office hit that boasted never-before graphic effects. Indian in which Kamal Hasan played the lead role, set a new benchmark in terms of make-up (A make-up expert from Hollywood was flown in to transform Kamal Hasan, convincingly, into an old man).

The Miss World - Aishwarya Rai starrer Jeans was talked-of, especially for the song "Poovukkul Olindhirukkum…" which had, as its backdrop the Seven Wonders of the World. It was the first Tamil film in history to have one single song shot across the globe. His recent film Muthalvan deals with the subject of corrupt and power-hungry politicians.

Director C.V. Sridhar's maiden directorial venture Kalyana Parisu was also written by him. Starring Gemini Ganesh, Saroja Devi and Vijayakumari, this triangular love story turned a box office hit.

Sridhar started out as a scriptwriter and having established himself, turned to Direction and Kalyana Parisu happened. After a while he launched his own production house Chitralaya. Thein Nilavu, starring Gemini Ganesh and Vijayanthi Mala was the first from Chitralaya (shot in Kashmir).

Nenjil Or Aalayam, a triangular love story in which he introduced new faces like Devika and R. Muthuraman went on to become a smash hit. Sridhar completed the film, from script to the screen, within weeks - a feat unheard of in those days. The film established its leading players Devika, Muthuraman, Nagesh and Kalyan Kumar in the top league.

Kaadhalikka Neramillai, featuring Nagesh, T.S. Balaiah, Muthuraman, Rajasree and Kanchana was another success at the box office. Shot in the scenic Nilgiri Hills, this comedy film's music score was composed by the famous duo of the time, Viswanathan -Ramamurthy.

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