| Mani Ratnam Quick Info | |
|---|---|
| Height | 5 ft 7 in |
| Weight | 75 kg |
| Date of Birth | June 2, 1956 |
| Zodiac Sign | Gemini |
| Spouse | Suhasini |
Mani Ratnam is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who revolutionized Tamil cinema, each of his movies having a distinct style with beautifully choreographed songs and marvelous background score, along with solid substance. Considered to be one of the most talented directors in India, he has been conferred with numerous awards like the Bollywood Filmfare Awards and the National Film Awards, multiple times, and has been honored with the Padma Shri in 2002 by the Government of India for his contributions to films.
Born Name
Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam
Nick Name
Mani
Sun Sign
Gemini
Born Place
Madurai, Chennai, India
Residence
Alwarpet, Chennai, India
Nationality
Education
He attended Vidya Mandir School in Chennai and Besant Theosophical High School in Kamachha, Varanasi and then went to Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda College, Madras University, graduating with a degree in commerce.
After that, he completed his Master of Business Administration (MBA) in finance from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Bombay, in 1977.
Occupation
Director, Producer, Screenwriter
Family
- Father – S. Gopala Ratnam (Veteran Film Distributor)
- Siblings – G. Venkateswaran (Older Brother) (Producer), G. Srinivasan (Younger Brother) (Producer)
- Others – “Venus” Krishnamurthy (Uncle) (Producer)
Build
Average
Height
5 ft 7 in or 170 cm
Weight
75 kg or 165.5 lbs
Girlfriend / Spouse
He has dated –
- Suhasini (1988-Present) – He tied the knot with actress Suhasini in 1988. They have a son named Nandhan (b. 1992).
Race / Ethnicity
Asian (Indian)
Hair Color
Black
However, his hair has turned salt and pepper due to his advancing age.
Eye Color
Dark Brown
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
- Cheerful smile
- Wears spectacles
Mani Ratnam Favorite Things
- Actors He Admired While Growing Up – Sivaji Ganesan, Nagesh, Guru Dutt
- Director He Admired While Growing Up – K. Balachander
- Influenced By The Film-Making Styles Of – Akira Kurosawa, Martin Scorsese, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Ingmar Bergman, J. Mahendran
Source – Wikipedia
Mani Ratnam Facts
- He was raised in a conventional, middle-class family where several activities were not allowed including watching a lot of cinema, despite his father being in film distribution.
- Mani has disclosed that he was enjoying his life as a well-paid management consultant after completing his MBA and entered into the world of films by accident. He used to enjoy watching movies and during the 70s, he became fed up with the Tamil films that had stagnated and felt even a person without much knowledge in the field would be able to make better films. When friend Ravi Shankar was making a Kannada movie in 1979, Ratnam assisted him in the script and the stint proved to be a turning point in his career as he felt an urge to direct films.
- He had collaborated with debutant A. R. Rahman for the soundtrack of his movie Roja (1992) and he continued to be the composer for many of his movies, all being noted for their outstanding songs and scores.
- His 1987 film Nayagan was among the only 3 Indian films to be featured in Time magazine’s “All-Time 100 Greatest Movies” list in 2005.
- Most of his films have been made within India in a time when it was a trend to run abroad at the drop of a hat.
- He has frequently picturized critical moments in rain or in a train.
- In real life, Ratnam is a very simple, down to earth person having no airs or attitude that would hint at his being such a towering personality in tinsel town.
- He has claimed that he is not a director who performs and shows, he instead prefers to discuss the role and the scene with his actors and leave it to them to bring life to it.
Featured Image by Santosh Kumar TK / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0
