Mani Ratnam is one of the ace filmmakers who is known across India. He launched A.R.Rahman, a leading filmmakers of India who went on to win The Academy Awards, as a music composer with the film Roja in 1992. From that film, the hit-combo has continued through the years as every film directed by Mani Ratnam will have music composed by A.R. Rahman, They have delivered many chart toppers and evergreen musical numbers in the 31 years in films like like Thruda Thiruda, Bombay, Iruvar, Alaipayuthey, Kannathil Muthamittal, Ayutha Ezhuthu, Guru, Raavanan, Kadal, O Kadhal Kanmani, etc, to the latest Ponniyin Selvan 1 and 2.
Ahead of the release of Ponniyin Selvan: 2, Director Mani Ratnam and music composer A.R. Rahman gave an exclusive interview with national award-winning critic Baradwaj Rangan, the editor-in-Chief of Galatta Plus. The interviewer said "you have done this 30 years together and you have done this 2-part film (Ponniyin Selvan) together, which seems like a bigger accomplishment?". The director answered that “30 years just went by I didn’t realise that 30 years happened but this was tougher, the two parts were tougher".
The Magnum Opus of the Blockbuster filmmakers Mani Ratnam was the two-part film, Ponniyin Selvan. The film was based on Tamil novels written by Kalki. The mammoth film is mounted on a huge budget and is bankrolled by Lyca Production and Madras Talkies. Ponniyin Selvan 1 was released in 2022 and became a massive hit across India and grossed over Rs.400 crores worldwide. The second part is set to be released on April 28. The hit combo of Mani Ratnam and music director Oscar Award-winning A.R. Rahman are back in the film. The film also has a huge star cast and a strong technical backing with set direction by Thotta Tharani, cinematography by Ravi Varman, and Sreekar Prasad as editor.