What ever one does, one must for ever strive for excellence in any task and should never be satisfied with the second best – JRD Tata
INTRODUCTION
It is always very tough to find the best out of the best. I had a tough time picking the 5 best from Manirathnam although he had made 18 films only. His crème de la crème is for yours to review. Manirathnam’s movies are something spectacular and perfected to the best possible cadre. He has not a single frame of movie in a foreign locale except for Kannathil Muthamittal that demanded the Serene Srilankan Locale as per story! He also made a successful movie, year after year. The movies are not just for viewing pleasure but for understanding the advancement of Indian Cinema as a whole.
He just enthralls you with his magic filmmaking. Mind you, he demands the best of class in all aspects of filming. Be it Music, Editing, Cinematography, Costume, Art Direction, Sound and what not. Every film of his just runs over the previous one in technical brilliance.
Without further adieu, here is my review.
Cinq “5” Dalapathi (a.k.a The Commander/General)
This is the movie I contemplated much against those I have mentioned in Special Mentions. Dalapathi is a class of its own. Released on Diwali of 1991, it is a chartbuster.
Mani Rathnam came up with a unique story of modern day ’’Karna’’ acted beautifully by the superstar(!!) Rajnikanth(His best acting so far, in my opinion). Duryodhan being enacted to the best by another great actor Mammooty(3 natinal awards, if that means anything). He introduced otherwise shy multi-millionaire businessman Arvind Swamy as Arjun in this movie. The cinematography, art-decoration, editing and music is just outstanding.
The way Mani handled this modern day Karna Episode of Mahabharath with breath-taking visuals and beautiful script supported by a very talented cast makes it a splendor to watch
Quatre “4” Agni Nakshatram (a.k.a Fire Star)
I think this is the biggest commercial hit from Mani Rathnam. For it’s time, the number of houseful shows this movie had makes it enviable to beat. This is another piece of sheer technical brilliance from Mani. P.C Sreeram’s camera is exceptional for its time(1988). Mani was riding the success of Nayagan that time and made this commercial blockbuster without any glitch.
This movie is a story about an enigmatic story surrounding a police officer’s “two” families, the turmoil the two son’s face due to the same, the enmity between the sons (the best roles of Prabhu & Karthik so far) etc. These sons come to the rescue of their dad, as per the need.
This movie is all about commercial cinema at its best. Ilayaraja’s tunes were catchy ones and were chartbusters for some time.
Trois “3” Nayagan (a.k.a The Hero)
This movie was based on a don from Mumbai that time. Loosely based on “The Godfather’ this movie is all about Mani & Kamal Hassan. When two stalwarts work together, you expect fireworks. This movie is exactly that. Mani’s wonderful direction, screenplay and story along with some beautiful cinematography and art direction, this movie is just a wonder. Kamal won a well deserving national award for his role. The scenes that haunt me still are.
Small Boy (who Kamal Adopts) : “Thatha.. Neenga Nallavara.. Kettavara…”
Kamal : “Theriyaathupa..”
Kamal had many mannerisms taken from the great classic “The Godfather”.
This movie is about a small boy from south TN who’s father, a labor leader, is killed in cold blood by a policeman. This boy kills the policeman and runs off to Mumbai. As time progresses, he becomes a smuggler and a mafia don (Velu Naicker). As time progresses, the movie is about the breakup and deaths in his family, and then till his assassinations at the hands of the lunatic son of another policeman who he killed in a fight
Deux “2” Roja (a.k.a Rose)
Roja is the movie that catapulted Mani as the No.1 director of India. This movie got him so many accolades that he deserved very well. This is the movie that made him sp famous that he had to think about making movies for national audience. Roja introduced a gem to Indian film industry called “AR Rahman” who has captivated and is still continuing to do, the hearts and minds of music listeners. Roja is a technical and visual splendor that will stand the test of time. The locales were simply breathtaking. The art decoration was exceptional (Do you expect snowy mountains inside a studio in Chennai to be filmed and mistaken for Kashmir?? :-) ). Everything about this movie is simply great.
This is a great love-story about a small time village girl who marries a cryptologist. After an initial misunderstanding between them, she falls in madly in love with her husband with whom she goes to Kashmir. There he is taken hostage and she fights bravely for his release. Based loosely on an IOC executive’s kidnapping around that time, this movie is all about patriotism, love and friendship. A must watch for every one.
Et le plus grand - Un “1” Mouna Ragam (a.k.a A Silent Symphony)
This is a rather unknown film to many. This blockbuster is the movie that made Mani a force to reckon with as a major director. Though he had couple of silver jubilees under his belt prior to this one, this movie made many people love this man. Just see the movie and you will understand the same.
This movie had excellent music, excellent locales, excellent cinematography( This is the first movie where I saw the beauty of New Delhi and Taj Mahal in the best angles one can imagine.). The winner of all was the exceptionally woven screenplay. It is just wonderful and makes me wonder how one can weave such a wonderful story with many monosyllabic dialogues.
This story is about a couple who marry against one’s wish. The girl is yet to recover from her lover’s untimely death and the guy is a gentleman who works in Delhi. Upon reaching Delhi, she quips with divorce, when asked what she would like for a gift. As they have to live together for a year before that, as per law, they decide to stay together. Within the year of platonic relationship, she madly falls in love with this guy.
The story is the king along with the dialogues and music. Mani has intricately woven all this into a classical “silent symphony”. Revathy & Mohan were simply superb.
This movie is one of my all-time favorites and will remain so.
Special Mentions :-
Anjali, Iruvar, IThayathai Thirudathe (Geetanjali), Bombay, Alai Payudhe, Pagal Nilavu
I hope you liked the review. Please chip in your comments
Kalil