What’s better than watching Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan? Listening to the legendary filmmaker

The International Film Festival of India is that magical place where you meet your heroes. Even before the legendary filmmaker Mani Ratnam showed up on stage, the energy in the packed auditorium was palpable. On Day 3 of IFFI, Ratnam was joined by Tamil filmmaker Gautham Vasudev Menon for a riveting session on Transforming Literary Masterpieces into Engaging Film!

The talking point was the epic historical drama Ponniyin Selvan (PS), based on the novel written by Kalki Krishnamurthy. Ratnam gave credit to Kalki for her nuanced writing which, he said, made his work relatively easier.

"Right from how Nandini looked, her hairstyle to place and time, the story has it all. It has the scale, it has the intrigue, it has a period, it has horses, it has adventure, it has characters which are brilliant. It was asking to be made into a film. I had to just focus on adapting it to new medium," he said.

But Ratnam did exercise creative liberty, both in terms of recreating the era and the story. "Change, if it comes organically. Now, there were no real forts where we could shoot PS in South India, so we headed North. We chose the Gwalior fort and with the help of technology we tried to match the look to the period. The fort is on a hill there, which does not match the description in the book. So, we used CGI to look authentic but didn’t achieve cent per cent result. The idea was to evoke the feeling, rather than copying the text!"

Right from the characters, look, costume, production design, each department is significant when it comes to the making a film. Ratnam elaborated, "It's all in a way part of cinematography. Nandini wearing a particular colour is not in isolation but matches with what others are wearing and the backdrop and that complements the whole palette."

Ratnam praised of his DOP Ravi Varman. "On a set, your DOP is your right hand. And I work closely with Ravi. He reads the entire script. So, he's not just working on a scene, but the whole film, and that's what makes all the difference."

The background score plays an important role in all Ratnam films. "It’s a pleasure watching AR Rahman when he composes music. Just to sit and watch how he makes scenes come alive through music is fascinating!"

Ratnam came across as just another man trying to do his job. But did the tag of a 'legend' ever get into his head? He said, "Starting a new project is a humbling and grounding factor. I still feel like a novice. Whatever good or bad happened with the previous film is negated the moment a new project starts," said the man who has made critically and commercially successful films as Nayakan, Anjali Thalapathi, Roja, Bombay, Dil Se, Mouna Ragam, Alai Payuthey and O Kadhal Kanmani.

Which one is closest to his heart?  He said, "One can never be satisfied with what one has done. Each film of mine could have been better."

During the session the topic of a collaboration between Ratnam and Gautham Vasudev Menon came up more than once. Ratnam said he would love to collaborate with Vasudev, but he possibly couldn't afford him.

Gautham invoked Dead Poet's Society and asked Ratnam — 'What will his verse be'? Ratnam’s answer simple, "I don't know!"