Mani- A true Jewel. Review on Five Best Films of Mani Ratnam

Well a top 5 list doesn?t do justice to Mani?s immense talent and range. He is one of the best movie makers in India and he is right up there with the best of the world. I wouldn?t want to call him as an ?Indian Spielberg? since I don?t understand why we need to benchmark ourselves with Hollywood for every thing. But Mani does have a Hollywoodish style of film making with his penchant for large canvases, and expansive spaces which he blends with a sensitivity and emotion not witnessed in Indian movies.

So here are my favorite movies of the master. Some of them might not be known to our North Indian members of Mouthshut, my humble request, if you love good movies, just watch them, they are worth it. I have left out some popular movies of Mani like Roja and Bombay as I wanted to accommodate 2 of his best works Iruvar and Kannathil Muttamil which didn?t get the recognition they deserved.

1. <B<MOUNARAGAM(1987)< b>

This was Mani?s earliest works, though not his first one. Sweet, sensitive and beautiful, this movie is an underrated gem. It?s the story of Divya(Revathy) who is torn between her husband(Mohan) and her dead lover(Karthik). Some of the scenes are really poignant and heart touching. Mani picks up a oft used storyline in Indian movies and invests it with a rare brilliance. Excellent camera by P.C.Sriram and haunting music by Illayaraja, along with some spendlid performances by Revathy, Mohan and Karhtik make it a must see.

1. Nayakan(1987)

One of the best gangster movies of all times. This movie is about the rise and death of the Mumbai based don Velu Nayakan(Kamal Hassan), which was loosely based on the life of the notorious Mumbai don, Varadarajan Mudaliar. 3 great talents- Kamalhassan the master performer, who brings alive Velu Nayakan, the maestro Ilayaraja and of course Mani himself, combine to create a classic. P.C.Sriram comes up with brilliant camera work as usual.

1. Anjali(1990)

Sensitive and poignant tale about a mentally retarded girl Anjali(Baby Shamil) the daughter of an engineer Shekar( Raghuvaran) and his wife Chitra(Revathy), this movie just moves you. The last climax scene when Anjali dies, and all the children pour out their grief,touches your heart straight. Lovely tunes by Ilayaraja and outstanding camera work by P.C.Sriram again. Watch out for a superb cameo by Prabhu also in this movie.

1. Iruvar(1997)

It was a pity that this movie flopped. Many in Bollywood know it only as the cinematic debut of Aishwarya Rai, but this movie is classic of it?s kind dealing with the Dravidian politics. This was Mani?s best attempt on politics, shorn of all frills and fancy. Mohanlal(as MGR) and PrakashRaj( as Karunanidhi) are just brilliant in this movie. Their friendship, their rivalry and their lives are depicted brilliantly by Mani in this underrated classic. And of course another great performance by that brilliant but underated actor Naser as Annadurai.

1. Kannathil Mutamil(2002)

Another beautiful movie, which didn?t deserve to flop at the box office. The title means a ?Tear on the cheek?. The story is about a girl(Amrutha) who is adopted by a couple ( Madhavan and Simran). Years later she comes to know her real mother(Nandita Das) is an LTTE terrorist and visits Sri Lanka to meet her. Simran usually associated with glamour roles puts in a superb performance in a completely deglamorized avatar, while Madhavan sheds his lover boy image to come up with a brilliant subtle performance. The battle scenes in Sri Lanka, are brilliantly shot in the movie. Prakash Raj again puts in a superb cameo as a Sri Lankan.

My other favorite Mani movies would be

Roja- Brilliant depiction of terrorism in Kashmir.

Dalapathy- Mamotty and Rajnikant take this movie to new heights.