Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2023: Mani Ratnam says “Shah Rukh Khan’s character in Dil Se was EVERYONE’s voice”; also confesses “Making Raavan as a bilingual film was a MISTAKE”

By Fenil Seta -

October 30, 2023 - 5:16 PM IST

The Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2023 is on and movie buffs are having a gala time, not just watching cinema from across the globe but also listening to some talented artists talking about their craft. One such masterclass that took place involved Imtiaz Ali interviewing Mani Ratnam. The acclaimed filmmaker spoke about his beginnings and opened up a little bit about his significant films.

Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2023: Mani Ratnam says “Shah Rukh Khan’s character in Dil Se was EVERYONE’s voice”; also confesses “Making Raavan as a bilingual film was a MISTAKE”

He said, “When I started, I had no idea how to shoot a film. I did my masters, and I also worked for a couple of years. I felt I had already spent a lot of time (learning). In those days, you could only become a director if you worked as an assistant director. That will take 7-8 years. I was not patient (to wait that long). Hence, I thought that I could write a script and then convince a director, work with him on that film, learn everything about filmmaking and then get on to try my own film.”

Mani raised laughs as he stated, “But when I finished writing the script, I thought that I’d direct it myself. I had no clue how to do it. I had never been to a dubbing theatre before. I had not worked on editing. In all my early films and even the films that I make today, I try to make a film without really knowing how to make one! The only thing I learned very fast is that you have to pretend on the sets that you know everything (laughs)! Don’t let anybody know (otherwise).”

Mani Ratnam worked with Shah Rukh Khan on the gripping thriller, Dil Se (1998). About this film, he said, “Dil Se was made around India’s 50 years of Independence. It was a reminder that not all corners of the country are liberated as one would like to believe. Shah Rukh Khan’s character was not just an All India Radio reporter, he was everyone’s voice.” Besides SRK, Dil Se also starred Manisha Koirala and Preity Zinta.

Mani Ratnam was honest enough to admit that making Raavan (2010) in two languages was not a good decision. He confessed, “Making Raavan as a bilingual film was a mistake. It was a burden because I was literally making two films at a time, and neither the Hindi nor the Tamil audience could completely relate to it. It was a case of neither here nor there.”

The Hindi version starred Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Vikram. The Tamil Version, Raavanan featured Vikram in place of Abhishek and Prithviraj in place of Vikram. Aishwarya played the same character in both versions.