Happy Birthday Mani Ratnam: 5 movies of 'Cinematic genius' you shouldn't miss before watching Ponniyin Selvan

Some directors elevate an entire film industry to another level and one such director is Mani Ratnam. The man requires no introduction and has been crafting marvellous movies for 3 decades now in Bollywood, Kollywood and Tollywood. The director, who is known as a 'Cinematic Genius', truly defines the tag like no one else. Be it romance or historical, Mani Ratnam's way of portraying every character and scene will only touch your heart. He is the master of every genre, romance, politics, historic or mythological. While his romantic movies have a distinct air to them, that screams this is a Mani Ratnam movie, his approach to bringing realistic characters and plot is magical. 

Coming from a family where films were considered taboo to becoming one of the top filmmakers, Mani Ratnam's story is worth nothing less than a movie. He made his debut as a director with the Kannada film Pallavi Anu Pallavi starring Anil Kapoor and Lakshmi. However, he rose to fame for his Terrorism trilogy consisting of Roja (1992), Bombay (1995), and Dil Se.. (1998). These films gave the audience so much to think about going back home and that was pretty rare back in the 90s. 

Well, today as Mani Ratnam turns 66 today, we bring to you the 5 best movies of the ace filmmaker that you need to watch before his forthcoming film Ponniyin Selvan.

Bombay

There are some movies in history that don't need any introduction and Mani Ratnam's Bombay is one such. A timeless classic that featured Arvind Swamy and Manisha Koirala. With this film, the director didn't just show romance in the nicest way but also focused on controversial subjects like the Bombay riots and Babri Masjid demolition that led to repulsion between Hindu and Muslim communities. Along with the storyline, AR Rahman's composed songs are still stuck in the hearts of music lovers. 

Roja

Mani Ratnam has some magic to start every movie with romance and end with hard-hitting reality. That's his specialty. While the first half was a romantic tale of a newly married couple, the climax is one the best as it turns out to be about Kashmir militants capturing an Indian officer. The 1992 romantic thriller became a huge hit at the theatres and indeed catapulted director Mani Ratnam to never-seen-before heights of success. Yet again, the AR Rahman's music with Mani Ratnam's direction was a magical combo.

Thalapathi

Mani Ratnam is a man with vision and this movie proofs so. Titled Thalapathi, he brought two superstars of South, Rajnikanth and Mammootty together and took the screen presence a notch higher with presice characters. The essence of the story was so strong that the film till date remains a classic to watch out for. It is said that Mani Ratnam got inspiration for the story from mythological tale Mahabharat and the characters written on the lines of the relationship between Duryodhan and Karna.

Mouna Ragam

Mouna Ragam, which starred Revathi and Mohar, earned Mani Ratnam a National Award for Best Film and Best Director. The film spoke about a woman's displeasure in the marriage and the husband's calm demeanor in dealing with the rejection. The treatment in which the two lead characters dealt with the story is commendable and to get such a unique concept in the 80s to the screen and earn acclaim was not just an everyday thing.

ALSO READ: Best Of Mani Ratnam: O Kandhal Kanmani to Mouna Ragam; 5 South films that show romance like no other

O Kadhal Kanmani

Mani Ratnam dealt with live-in relationships in O Kadhal Kanmani, a 2015 Tamil film, which starred Dulquer Salmaan and Nithya Menen. There must be no one like Mani Ratnam who can normalise any societal taboos so perfectly. The director showed the importance of living before marriage as a couple and it's a perfect 21st-century love story. 

Well, Mani Ratnam can't be defined in just these 5 movies as the list goes on, he is a man of art, who lives for cinema and every movie speaks volumes of it. The director's upcoming Ponniyin Selvan, which is his dream project brings a talented bunch of actors from the Indian film industry and we can't wait to see what magic he will show. 

However, we take a pause here and wish the doyen of Indian cinema Mani Ratnam a very happy birthday.