Want to know about some of the best Mani Ratnam films before the release of director Ponniyin Selvan: Part 1. Check out this list of movies, currently streaming on Netflix. Ponniyin Selvan, which features music by AR Rahman, is set for a September 30 release.
Bombay (1995)
Mani Ratnam’s film Bombay was released in 1995 and is a heart-touching love story. It starts in the hinterlands of Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu and ends in Mumbai. Set against the backdrop of the bloody communal riots of the 1990s in Bombay, the film tells the story of how two lovers get married in an interfaith marriage and settle in Mumbai and how communal riots later affect their lives. AR Rahman’s music and songs are other highlights of this film.
Dil Se (1998)
The Shahrukh Khan-starrer was Mani Ratnam’s debut in Bollywood. Although the film did not churn out much money at the box office, Dil Se is considered an underrated classic. The film is a part of his terrorism trilogy with the other two being Roja and Bombay, which dealt with terrorism in Ishaan, a rarely talked about issue in India.
Starring actor Shah Rukh Khan, actress Manisha Koirala and Preity Zinta, the film depicted insurgency and ULFA-style terrorism in Assam.
Kannathil Muthamittal (2002)
Mani Ratnam and his fascination with terror-stricken places gained further drama in this film. Unfolding in Chennai, the film spreads to the jungles of violence-ridden Sri Lanka. The story is about a child of Sri Lankan Tamil parents but adopted by a couple in Chennai. The film won six National Film Awards.
Guru (2007)
Guru starring Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan showed the life and times of Dhirubhai Ambani, the father of the Reliance empire in the film. But there were also criticisms that Mani, with his characteristic shrewdness, aired some aspects of Ambani’s life.
OK Kanmani (2015)
Mani Ratnam is a cinematic genius, who successfully portrays the relationship between a woman and a man post-marriage. This is one of his fascinating subjects. The film deals with the live-in relationship of two young lovers. It also had good songs.
