Suhasini Mani Ratnam shares. difference in directors from her early years of her career and today
While talking about the difference she sees in her directors from the early years of her career to filmmakers of today’s time, Suhasini said, that her directors, enveloped the actors.
Veteran actor-director Suhasini Mani Ratnam, made her acting debut in 1981 with ‘Kotha Jeevithalu’, and has collaborated with some of the legends in Indian cinema including K.Balachander, Bharathiraja, and of course, her filmmaker-husband, Mani Ratnam.
In an exclusive interview she opened up of the industry today which doesn’t have legendary filmmakers and also highlighted how the directors today are succumbing to the pressure of box office numbers.
While talking about the difference she sees in her directors from the early years of her career to filmmakers of today’s time, according to Suhasini her directors, enveloped them. They literally held them together, protected them and took them
to the success of the character. But today, the directors are not like that. They feel that you come to do your part and they would utilize you as much as possible. But she was really surprised to get a note from Srikanth Mohan (‘Jai Mahendran’ director), saying, ‘Ma’am he is looking forward to working with her again on another project.’ It is usually not like that. Her earlier directors always wanted to continue. They were like, ‘You have done this role now, what next? We have to do something which is unique.’ That is the difference that she sees in her time’s directors and now.”
Today’s legendary directors as are all looking at pan-Indian cinema and box office collections. Whereas directors amidst her time, didn’t have to worry much about box office collection.
She further went on to add that earlier if the film was not doing well, it was not doing well. But today, they know everything from whether it has done well, how many zeroes are added or reduced. There is too much pressure on the directors. They deviate from art and are going to commerce. Her directors, Balachandra, Bharathiraja, Balu Mahendra, K Vishwanath, Mani Ratnam, and Padmarajan, didn’t have to look only at the box office numbers. That is the difference that she finds.. Today’s directors are too pressurized to deliver money.”
Suhasini reminisced how factors like empty seats in a theater weren’t a concern in the older times, but have become one now. “Today, somebody told her that she went to a theater to watch a big star’s film but there were only 15 or 20 of us. You wouldn’t notice that earlier. You would just see the film. But now they are counting the number of empty seats. So many people come up to us and say, ‘How many crores did ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ collect?’ Her husband asked her ‘Did you like the film?’ She said yes, and you know it’s a commercial hit so let’s leave it at that. Let’s not get into the numbers. It is not your or my area. I’m a creative person, I made a film, you saw it and you liked it. Why are you getting into the finances now?
There is an extra effort to bring in the numbers. I think it has become a fashion. Only if this goes away, the pressure on the youngsters will go away too,” she concluded.
News Edit KV Raman
