Mani Ratnam on casting Aishwarya Rai in his films, gives an update on Ponnyin Selvan 3: ‘Directors are very selfish’

When asked if Aishwarya is his lucky charm, he said, “Filmmakers are very selfish people. Absolutely heartless and selfish, the only thing they care for is the film. However much I love her, I ask her only if I think she is right for the role. Every time I have asked her is because I have believed that she was absolutely right for the role and she has been nice enough to say yes. So, she is not just a lucky charm for me, it is her talent and her personality that was right to portray this character.”

The filmmaker then discussed how Ponnyin Selvan films are quite different from the other films that he has helmed in his career as a film director as he made them in a “different fashion”.

The director said that while making period drama films, one needs to be “as close as possible to the subject”. He said, “Whatever film you make, you try to make it as well as you can. But when it is a period drama and when it is historical, you try to go as close as you can without fantasising about it and adding elements that are not real. You try to bring it as close to reality as possible. This film is treated in that fashion, and the objective while making it was simple: it should look like it is happening now, or it should look like we are there next to the characters. So, it was shot, it was put together, and it was performed casually, not like a historical drama.”

Most south Indian films are now being promoted as pan Indian films. However, when the filmmaker was asked if it is a fallacy to use the word “pan-India” because it takes away from the different sensibilities from different regions and also the beautiful cultural diversity in our nation, he responded, “I absolutely agree with you, I think we should take away the world pan-India, it’s always been India.”

The filmmaker was also asked if he plans to make Ponnyin Selvan III, to which he said, “There is an interest but I don’t know who will make it.”

Ponniyin Selvan II is scheduled to release in theatres on April 28.