- By Aarushi Raina
- Sun, 25 May 2025 04:11 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Veteran filmmaker Mani Ratnam has delivered cinematic pieces with thought-provoking narratives in his career spanning over 40 years. He has woven stories in different languages Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, and Malayalam. Recently, the director shared his views on why Tamil cinema has not reached the Rs 1000 crore mark at the box office. He revealed how earlier movies, were judged based on their quality rather than their commercial success. Now, however, everything revolves around box office collections."
Mani Ratnam, who is gearing up for his upcoming movie Thug Life, recently got candid about his film and Tamil cinema. In an interview with the YouTube channel Gobinath, he shared the current state of filmmaking in Indian cinema. The filmmaker said, "Why are we making films? Is it just because we want to make a high-yielding movie or a film that is authentic and, to an extent, a good film? Initially, it used to be whether a movie was good, bad, or just average, but now it goes too much into collections and all.”
He also addressed the issue of creative limits that might restrict artistic expression, expressing hope that Tamil cinema would never reach a scenario where artistic boundaries are compromised for commercial success and numbers in the future.
Talking about his upcoming movie Thug Life, Mani Ratnam is reuniting with Kamal Haasan after their previous successful ventures. They previously collaborated on the 1987 film Nayakan. The gangster action drama movie is co-written by Kamal Haasan and Mani Ratnam and is set to premiere in theatres on June 5. Thug Life is jointly backed by Raaj Kamal Films International, Madras Talkies, and Red Giant Movies. Besides Haasan, the film also stars Silambarasan, Trisha Krishnan, Abhirami, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Ashok Selvan, Joju George, Nassar, Ali Fazal, Pankaj Tripathi, Rohit Saraf and Baburaj in key roles. A R Rahman composed the music for the film.