Panaji, Celebrated filmmaker Mani Ratnam, who adapted Kalki Krishnamurthy’s Tamil novel “Ponniyin Selvan” into a two-part film saga, says Indian cinema could benefit by translating great literary works for screen.
Ratnam said it doesn’t get better if a director is able to reinvent a work by a master writer like Kalki.
“The fantastic solution is to take literature and make it into films. Tamil is really rich in terms of the literature… Ideally, you’d like to write something that is far above what you do. It makes your job as a director easy… The closer the gap between literature and cinema, the better Indian cinema will be,” the filmmaker said at a session on the fourth day of the International Film Festival of India here on Friday.
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Ratnam, who was in conversation with filmmaker Gautham Vasudev Menon, said he’s currently reading Salman Rushdie’s novel “Victory City”, based on the early days of the Vijayanagar kingdom.
“It’s stunning, it’s like watching a film. The way he writes, the mixture between fiction, fact and history is so brilliant. It’s amazing,” he added.
Asked if there was any literary character which was close to his real self, Ratnam said, “No one can come anywhere near me. I meant no one could be as confused.”
Ratnam, a seven-time National Award-winning artist, said he has always taken inspiration from mythology, be it films “Thalapathi”, starring Rajinikanth, or “Ravanan” with Vikram.
“Mythology is relevant even today. We can interpret it today, we can relate to it in today’s day and time in our issues and problems that continues to fascinate me. If I can find a mirror image here, it pushes me to make it into a film,” he added.
Recalling his hostel days in Kala Kshetra, the filmmaker said every Friday students there had to attend the dance programme at the venue.
“There was always Kathakali which I could never figure out. All of them dealt with characters which were portrayed as villains normally.
“Whether it is Ravana or Karna, it was an interesting interpretation which has always been there in South Indian art form. Seeing it from a different perspective.”
Ratnam also reflected on the use of visual effects in cinema today, adding he shot “Ponniyin Selvan” on real locations because he wanted “dust, dirt and sweat” to be visible on people.
“Some people do it in VFX. If you’re happy with it, good luck to you. I feel VFX helps you when you can’t do it in real time. Not the other way around,” he added.
Asked if “Ponniyin Selvan” could have been a web series, the director said he always imagined it as a full-feature film. He shot the movie in one go but released it in two parts.
Ratnam said he wouldn’t probably venture into making a web series as it doesn’t feel “natural” to him.
“Long format storytelling is a completely different art… I’m still very happy struggling with 2.5 hours . If you give me 6-7 hours to make something, I’ll just get lost.”
The filmmaker, also known for movies such as “Roja”, “Bombay”, “Dil Se”, “Nayakan”, and “Kaatru Veliyidai”, said he wants his cinema to stand the test of time like Guru Dutt’s “Pyaasa”.
“Something that stays relevant for years to come. That’s what I strive for,” he added.
