Mani Ratnam reacts to Rajinikanth’s Manithan beating Kamal Haasan’s Nayakan at box office

Nayakan introduced the Tamil film audience to a kind of cinematic language, which was till then only familiar to those who followed world cinema. Mani encouraged by Kamal went on to make the kind of film that was dismissed by commercial film producers. The result was an art film, starring a mainstream superstar pretending to be in a mainstream blockbuster.

This October will mark 35 years of Nayakan. Since its release on October 21, 1987, Nayakan has remained one of the defining moments of Tamil cinema that has influenced generations of filmmakers.

Mani Ratnam recently took part in a celebration of Nayakan’s upcoming 35th anniversary. At the event, director Vetrimaaran asked the master filmmaker about his inspirations to make a film like Nayakan and his reaction to Superstar Rajinikanth’s Manithan, which was a run-off-the-mill, no-brainer commercial movie, earning more than Nayakan at the time.

“All of us when we are growing up, something triggers you onto the next stage. It’s nothing to do with that particular film. But, it’s you who is ready and looking for a reason to jump. It just becomes a catalyst. When somebody says Nayakan was the reason for them to become a filmmaker, I had a few. Similarly, the next generation will have Gautham’s, Vetri’s, Bala’s, and Selva’s films as the trigger point. It has more to do with the aspiring director finding the medium and language. It will happen again and again,” responded Mani Ratnam to the first part of Vetrimaaran’s question.

A still from Nayakan.

Mani Ratnam also addressed the concerns of highly artistic works finding not many takers at the box office.

“Nayakan was successful. I was very, very happy with the film. It did very well. I couldn’t have asked for more. Yes, Manithan did far better. It’s fine with me. I didn’t come into films, saying I will make something that’s most successful. That’s not why we are here. We wanted to do a kind of thing and we wanted to do it within the commercial framework. As long as it satisfies both, we are happy. There will be comic book films which will really do fantastic business. But, it is still important to have Gautham’s and Vetri’s film doing very well,” he added.

His conviction and artistic intentions have passed the test of time. Till today, Nayakan is celebrated as one of the masterpieces of Indian cinema. The film even found a place on Time Magazine’s All-Time 100 Movies List in the early 2000s. And it continues to be an influential work to date.

Mani Ratnam is now in the post-production phase of his most ambitious film yet, Ponniyin Selvan. The period drama based on the epic novel of the same name will release in two parts. The first part is due in cinemas in September this year.