While wishing Mani Ratnam on his birthday in 2023, Kamal Haasan wrote, “You have constantly pushed the boundaries of cinema unmindful of the scale of challenge by constantly learning.” He was not wrong. 

Since Mani debuted in 1983 with the Kannada film Pallavi Anu Pallavi with Anil Kapoor, he has always made films ahead of time or dealt with topics most filmmakers wouldn’t dare to touch. All while ensuring the films were visually stunning and had great music by Ilaiyaraaja, AR Rahman. Take a look at six films by Mani that pushed the boundaries of cinema.

Nayakan (1987)

Loosely based on the Bombay underworld don Varadarajan Mudaliar and the American film The Godfather, Nayakan made the world sit up and take notice of Mani’s talent. In the movie, Kamal plays Sakthivel Naicker, aka Velu, a man who takes revenge for his father’s murder and becomes a feared gangster. Not only was the film a far cry from the usual song-and-dance commercial cinema was offering, it refused to judge its main character morally, inspiring many filmmakers to follow suit.

Anjali (1990)

Anjali was so good that it was chosen as India’s official entry to the Oscars in 1991. While the film did not receive a nomination, the film remains a benchmark for films that deal with complex subjects respectfully and entertainingly. Shamili played the titular Anjali, a mentally challenged child who’s dying. Her parents (Raghuvaran, Revathi) grapple to give her the love she deserves before she dies while looking after their other children (Tarun, Shruti). Anjali did not just deal with a difficult topic, it also talked about acceptance and forgiveness.

Roja (1992)

Arvind Swamy and Madhoo headlined this romantic thriller that shows a newly married couple's honeymoon in Kashmir. But soon, the husband is kidnapped by militants during an undercover operation. The titular Roja, a young girl from a village, pleads with the military and politicians for help. The film delved into the topics of terrorism and separatistism. It was unique for a love story to also deal with the political atmosphere brewing in India back then.

Dil Se (1998)

Like Roja, which was set in Kashmir, and Bombay (1995), which was set in Mumbai during the riots, Dil Se is set against the backdrop of insurgency in Assam. Shah Rukh Khan played Amarkant Varma, a program executive for All India Radio, who falls for Moina, an extremist and member of the United Liberation Front of Assam. Not only did the film garner notice for its nonlinear storytelling, but it was also a poetic take on the seven shades of love (attraction, infatuation, love, reverence, worship, obsession, and death) while throwing light on the political scenario in India back then.

Kannathil Muthamittal (2002)

Kannathil Muthamittal is an underrated gem in Mani’s filmography. Based on the short story Amuthavum Avanum by Sujatha, the film sheds light on the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils during the Civil War. It also broke barriers by showing a single man, a writer called Thiruchelvan (Madhavan), known by his pen-name Indira, his wife’s (Simran) name, looking to adopt a child. Keerthana played Amudha, their adopted child, who takes them on a journey to find her biological mother (Nandita Das).

Raavanan (2010)

Raavanan (released in Hindi as Raavan with Abhishek Bachchan) is a retelling of the Ramayana. Veeraiya (Vikram) kidnaps Ragini Subramaniam (Aishwarya Rai), the wife of SP Dev Prakash Subramaniam (Prithviraj Sukumaran). While Veeraiya is hailed as a hero by the locals, the police treat him as a Naxalite. Priyamani plays Veeraiya’s sister, Vennila, who’s assaulted by the police, prompting the events of the film. The film, which was a beauty visually, dealt with the themes of Stockholm syndrome, apart from caste disparity.

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