After more than four decades in the business of making films and countless milestones that changed the direction of Tamil cinema, ace filmmaker Mani Ratnam continues to wield his magic wand – his wit and magnetic way with words – And he addressed the hall full of fans. Mani Ratnam is curious to know everything. Friday evening became an evening of celebration at Goa’s Academy of Arts iruvar-The producer, as he candidly answered questions from filmmaker and Mani Ratnam fan, Gautham Vasudev Menon, on the art of turning literary masterpieces into engaging films at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI).

The evening began with Gautham reciting his version of a quote from Peter Weir’s ‘Dead Poets Society’: “We make films because we are members of the human race. And the human race is full of passion. Medicine, law, Business, engineering are great things necessary to sustain life. But films, beauty, romance, love, these are the things we live for.” When asked if he felt the same, he started making films. it’s been more than 40 years since Are, hero The producer said he still feels like a newbie.

Filmmaker Mani Ratnam talks about transphoRIncorporating literary masterpieces into engaging films. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

“When I did my first film, I thought I would learn everything and become a master. He is never there. It’s still the first film every time, and you go to a shoot, not knowing how to shoot, but wanting to do something and looking for it,” he said, adding that according to him, filmmaking means sharing something from within. Have to do. “It could be something that bothers you; Something that makes you happy; Everything you think is true of everyone.

Also read:Mani Ratnam on ‘KH234’, and why it took him 35 years to reunite with Kamal Haasan

The conversation then moved on to what was behind the making of the blockbuster Ponniyin Selvan The films are based on the novel of the same name by Kalki Krishnamurthy. When asked if he ever felt any fear or apprehension in translating one of the most popular offerings in Tamil literature, a book series read by millions, the filmmaker said he just had faith in Kalki. “It’s a classic thing that needs to be created in a film, be it characters, scale, intrigue, period, horses, thrills etc. I was not afraid. I was afraid how I would be able to do it. But, this story has been read by millions of people, each of whom has their own vision of how each character should be. So, I was batting not just with the books but also with the readers’ perceptions. But the only guiding factor was that I was also one of the avid readers, and I would go with whatever I felt could be put on screen,” he said, praising Kalki’s visual writing style, adding that he feels That it can be given a longer form. -Format Series.

Gautham Menon and Mani Ratnam at the event. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

As the conversation turned toward the filmmaker’s literary interests, he noted how ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ was adapted from the novel to the stage and then the screen. “The genius of adaptation is to find a completely different language for it. If the film had stuck to first-person narration, it wouldn’t have been the same. He completely redesigned it. It’s interesting to see how the rest of them are doing it. I had a lot of trouble turning a big piece into a film, so it’s an art that we have to learn a lot more about.

Answering Gautham’s question about how he decides which literary works could potentially make a compelling film Thalapathi-The producer advised filmmakers to follow their instincts. “The moment you choose something, it’s only when you realize that it is attractive to you. You are the best judge of what works for you.

In Ponniyin Selvan In the films, Mani Ratnam retained the cliffhanger that Kalki had left the audience by addressing the mystery behind Aditya Karikalan’s death. The filmmaker said he sees no point in reinventing history as the mystery behind the death of the Chola king is still unsolved. “Kalki hid it completely and let the readers imagine. In films you need to show something; There’s a two-dimensional image pretending to be three-dimensional,” he said, adding that it takes a lot of drama to answer unanswered questions to conclusively reveal a character, say, Nandini, as the killer. Will be required.

The discussion touched on the decisions behind shooting at real locations and how the filmmaker gets the tunes from his composers. Yet, the subject that really enthralled audiences was Mani Ratnam’s fascination with Indian mythology, which he popularly touched upon. Thalapathi And Ravanaan,

Also read: Gautham Menon Interview: How ‘Dhruv Nachtiram’ pushed him to the very edge, and why he’s stronger for it

“The best thing about our epics is that they have many fascinating characters like Karnan, and much can be made of them.” Recalling the time he spent at Kalakshetra, where he was introduced to theatre, art, dance and music, Mani Ratnam said that the aspect that fascinated him about all these was how they all combined the fascinating elements of mythology. He talked about interpretations, “in which they deal with characters who were portrayed as villains, and look at it from their point of view.

The session ended with an interesting QnA session with the audience, ranging from how he deals with last-minute issues that arise on a film set to how he works with his cinematographers, like the renowned Ravi Varman, who observes Were doing, included topics like. Discussion from the sidelines.