Express at IFFI | Mani Ratnam discusses his journey in cinema: ‘In many ways, I still feel like a beginner’

Ratnam emphasised the profound connection between cinema and literature, asserting that “the closer the graph between cinema and literature, the better Indian cinema will be.” He stressed that filmmakers must refine the delicate art of transforming written words into captivating visual narratives. This synergy, he believed, would elevate the quality of Indian cinema.

The conversation subsequently shifted to Ratnam’s recent blockbuster, Ponniyin Selvan 1 and 2, based on the eponymous novel by Kalki Krishnamurthy. When asked about potential apprehensions in adapting one of Tamil literature’s most beloved offerings for the screen, Ratnam confessed that he trusted Kalki’s vision implicitly. “This is a classic, everything calling to be made into a film – the characters, scale, intrigue, period, horses, adventure, and so on. I was not afraid. I was afraid of how I could do it,” he explained.

Ratnam acknowledged the immense pressure of adapting a novel that has been read by millions, each with their own unique vision of the characters and story. However, he drew inspiration from his own experiences as a passionate reader of the novel. “The only guiding factor was that I was also one of the passionate readers, and I will go with what I felt can be put on the screen,” he remarked.

Ratnam also praised Kalki’s writing style, which he believed lent itself perfectly to a long-format series. He noted that the author’s visual storytelling ability made the adaptation process smoother.

The conversation then veered towards Ratnam’s literary influences, and he cited the example of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” He observed how the novel improved with each adaptation, from stage to screen. “The brilliance of adaptation is finding a completely different language for it. If the movie had stuck to the first-person narration, it wouldn’t have been the same. They completely reinvented it,” he said.

Ratnam expressed his admiration for the art of adaptation, acknowledging the challenges of converting a sprawling novel into a cohesive film. He confessed that he had struggled with this process himself, emphasising the need for filmmakers to hone this skill.

In the Ponniyin Selvan films, Ratnam retained the cliffhanger that Kalki had left audiences with, addressing the mystery behind Adithya Karikalan’s death. When Menon asked him as to why he didn’t just show that Nandini, played by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, as his killer, the filmmaker explained that he saw no point in reinventing history, as the mystery surrounding the Chola king’s demise remains unsolved to this day. “Kalki covered it up 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.