7.8.08

Reliance with Mani Ratnam


News Reports are coming in that Anil Ambani headed Reliance Entertainment Ltd is planning to produce a movie with Mani Ratnam. To be produced at a staggering amount of 120 crores, it is the highest budgeted movie ever produced in India. A trilingual movie in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, it stars Abhishek Bachan in Hindi and Vikram in Tamil and Telugu. The female lead is going to be Aishwarya Rai in all the three languages. Abhishek Bachan is going to do a cameo in Tamil and Telugu versions while Vikram dons the same in Hindi. Many people opine that Mani Ratnam’s movies are based on Indian epics and innumerable stories present in them. Rumour is that this movie too is based on Ramayana.

Though Mani Ratnam has a good market in Andhra Pradesh, he hardly made an attempt to make a movie in Telugu after Nagarjuna starrer Gitanjali. When Telugu media grills him on the same question, he replies that he is not comfortable working in the language that he does not understand. I really have no clue as to what is the point in allowing dubbing his movies in Telugu when he is actually not comfortable in directing one? He is not interested in learning the language where his movies has a good market but allows his movies to get dubbed and released as he could not afford to leave that market. How comfortable he is in Hindi before he spent his student years in Mumbai where he probably might have learnt the language and started producing movies in Bollywood?

Another complain that is heard a lot is, he never casts actors from Tollywood. Besides Nagarjuna and Chandramohan, we have never seen anyone acting in his direction. This is not true completely. In the special issue of India Today on Chiranjeevi, it was reported that Mani Ratnam initially chose Chiranjeevi for the role of Mammutty. Chiranjeevi felt that it does not suit the larger than life image he has in Telugu and rejected the offer. Mahesh was offered one of the roles in Yuva, which he rejected for the same reason.

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