Directing

Mani Ratnam

Born June 2, 1956 · Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India (age 70)

The man who revolutionized Tamil-language cinema, Mani Ratnam is the biggest director in South India and one of the most respected directors in all of India. Each of his films contains its own unique style, with beautifully photographed songs and unique back-lighting, and deal with a wide variety of topics, from the classic Indian love story to political thrillers.

Known For

Iruvar

MovieHistoryDrama

A fictionalized account of the lives of 1980s Tamil Nadu political icons M. G. Ramachandran and M. Karunanidhi, continuing the tryst between Tamil cinema and Dravidian politics.

Ok Jaanu

Ok Jaanu · 2017

MovieDramaRomance

Adi and Tara move to Bombay to pursue their dreams. A chance meeting sparks off a heady, no strings attached romance until their careers pull them apart. Will ambition prevail over matters of the heart?

Thug Life

Thug Life · 2025

MovieActionCrime

In a world ruled by crime and betrayal, mafia kingpin Sakthivel and his brother Manikkam rescue a young boy, Amaran, during a violent police shootout and raise him as their own. Years later, when an assassination attempt shakes Sakthivel's empire, suspicion turns inward. Consumed by vengeance, Sakthivel sets out to destroy the very family he once built.

Dayavan

Dayavan · 1988

MovieActionCrime

Shakti and Shankar are two childhood buddies who grow up on the wrong side of the tracks, in a shanty town. Shakti becomes a sort of 'godfather' for the locals under the name of Dayavan. He falls in love and gets married to a young prostitute. However, their happiness is short-lived, as the gangster lifestyle begins to take its toll.

Ponniyin Selvan: Part I

Ponniyin Selvan: Part I · 2022

Ponniyin Selvan: Part I

MovieActionAdventure

The Chola kingdom is under threat from forces both internal and external, and with crown prince Aaditha Karikalan, his younger brother Arunmozhi Varman and the emperor, Sundara Cholar separated by situations, it is up to a messenger to ensure the safety of the kingdom. Can he succeed in his mission, especially with Karikalan's former girlfriend, Nandhini, plotting to bring down the entire Chola empire?

Guru

MovieDramaRomance

A villager, Gurukant Desai, arrives in Bombay in 1958, and rises from its streets to become the biggest tycoon in India.

Dil Se..

Dil Se.. · 1998

MovieDramaRomance

Journalist Amar falls for a mysterious woman on an assignment, but she does not reciprocate his feelings. However, when Amar is about to get married, the woman shows up at his doorstep asking for help.

Alaipayuthey

Alaipayuthey · 2000

MovieRomanceDrama

Karthik and Shakthi marry against the wishes of their families and start their new life. However, they soon realize that marriage is not the bed of roses they had imagined it would be.

Filmography

Sort

Iruvar

MovieHistoryDrama

A fictionalized account of the lives of 1980s Tamil Nadu political icons M. G. Ramachandran and M. Karunanidhi, continuing the tryst between Tamil cinema and Dravidian politics.

Director

Ok Jaanu

Ok Jaanu · 2017

MovieDramaRomance

Adi and Tara move to Bombay to pursue their dreams. A chance meeting sparks off a heady, no strings attached romance until their careers pull them apart. Will ambition prevail over matters of the heart?

Story

Thug Life

Thug Life · 2025

MovieActionCrime

In a world ruled by crime and betrayal, mafia kingpin Sakthivel and his brother Manikkam rescue a young boy, Amaran, during a violent police shootout and raise him as their own. Years later, when an assassination attempt shakes Sakthivel's empire, suspicion turns inward. Consumed by vengeance, Sakthivel sets out to destroy the very family he once built.

Director

Dayavan

Dayavan · 1988

MovieActionCrime

Shakti and Shankar are two childhood buddies who grow up on the wrong side of the tracks, in a shanty town. Shakti becomes a sort of 'godfather' for the locals under the name of Dayavan. He falls in love and gets married to a young prostitute. However, their happiness is short-lived, as the gangster lifestyle begins to take its toll.

Writer

Ponniyin Selvan: Part I

Ponniyin Selvan: Part I · 2022

Ponniyin Selvan: Part I

MovieActionAdventure

The Chola kingdom is under threat from forces both internal and external, and with crown prince Aaditha Karikalan, his younger brother Arunmozhi Varman and the emperor, Sundara Cholar separated by situations, it is up to a messenger to ensure the safety of the kingdom. Can he succeed in his mission, especially with Karikalan's former girlfriend, Nandhini, plotting to bring down the entire Chola empire?

Director

Guru

MovieDramaRomance

A villager, Gurukant Desai, arrives in Bombay in 1958, and rises from its streets to become the biggest tycoon in India.

Director

Dil Se..

Dil Se.. · 1998

MovieDramaRomance

Journalist Amar falls for a mysterious woman on an assignment, but she does not reciprocate his feelings. However, when Amar is about to get married, the woman shows up at his doorstep asking for help.

Story

Alaipayuthey

Alaipayuthey · 2000

MovieRomanceDrama

Karthik and Shakthi marry against the wishes of their families and start their new life. However, they soon realize that marriage is not the bed of roses they had imagined it would be.

Director

Ponniyin Selvan: Part II

Ponniyin Selvan: Part II · 2023

Ponniyin Selvan: Part II

MovieActionAdventure

968 AD. The Pandyan assassins gather once again to destroy the Chola dynasty. Now the mighty Chola princes must fight the Pandyas, the Rashtrakutas and other Chola enemies who have joined forces. Also, at play are the rumours of Ponniyin Selvan’s death at sea, the powerful Pazhuvettarayar’s betrayal, and the tragic destiny of Aditha Karikalan, whose heart was long lost to the vengeful Nandini.

Screenplay

Roja

MovieDramaAction

Roja, a simple girl from a village in Tamil Nadu, makes desperate efforts to find her husband, Rishi, after he is kidnapped by militants during a secret undercover mission in Kashmir.

Director

Bombay

MovieDramaRomance

A Hindu man and a Muslim woman fall in love in a small village and move to Mumbai, where they have two children. However, growing religious tensions and erupting riots threaten to tear the family apart.

Director

Nayakan

Nayakan · 1987

MovieDramaCrime

Velu Naicker, who witnesses the brutal murder of his father, kills a corrupt policeman and escapes to Mumbai, only to become a gangster.

Director

O Kadhal Kanmani

O Kadhal Kanmani · 2015

O Kadhal Kanmani

MovieRomanceDrama

Aadi and Tara fall in love but both hate the idea of marriage and plan to separate when their lives take them to different countries. However, as they grow closer, their emotions are not easily managed.

Story

Saathiya

Saathiya · 2002

MovieRomanceDrama

A couple elopes to get married and set up home hoping that just love will do the trick - but that's just the beginning of their story.

Producer

Raavanan

Raavanan · 2010

MovieActionAdventure

After inspector Dev stirs the reign of Veeraiya, a tribal outlaw, the latter responds by kidnapping his wife, Ragini. While she tries to escape from him, Dev fights many resistances to find her.

Producer

Jigarthanda DoubleX

Jigarthanda DoubleX · 2023

Jigarthanda DoubleX

MovieActionDrama

A notorious gangster is incited to transform into a film hero and opts for a filmmaker and their project descends into a scenario they had never anticipated.

Thanks

Kaatru Veliyidai

Kaatru Veliyidai · 2017

Kaatru Veliyidai

MovieRomanceThriller

Romance is in the air as the lives of Fighter Pilot Varun & Medical Doctor Leela collide amidst the scenic beauty of Kashmir. While Leela yearns for Varun’s affection in the delicate of ways, Varun’s idea of love is all give-give, not give-take. Just as the avalanche of built-up emotions sets rolling, Varun becomes a PoW post the Kargil episode. Do their paths cross later?

Director

Putham Pudhu Kaalai

Putham Pudhu Kaalai · 2020

Putham Pudhu Kaalai

MovieDramaFamily

Putham Pudhu Kaalai brings together 5 of the most celebrated directors in Tamil cinema - Sudha Kongara, Gautham Menon, Suhasini Mani Ratman, Rajiv Menon, and Karthik Subbaraj to create Amazon Prime Video's first Indian anthology film.

Writer

Thalapathi

Thalapathi · 1991

MovieActionCrime

Surya, a courageous man who was raised in the slums, fights for the rights of the poor and befriends Deva, who hires him as his commander and changes his life completely.

Director

Yuva

MovieDramaCrime

An accident on a bridge ties together three young men from different social classes, sparking a course of events that will forever alter their lives.

Director

Kannathil Muthamittal

Kannathil Muthamittal · 2002

Kannathil Muthamittal

A little girl is told by her parents that she is adopted. Determined to find her birth mother, her family eventually agrees to take her to Sri Lanka, where they encounter the militant group known as the Tamil Tigers.

Producer

Raavan

MovieActionAdventure

A bandit leader kidnaps the wife of the policeman who killed his sister, but later falls in love with her.

Director

Inji Vellam

Inji Vellam · 2027

MovieRomanceDrama

Director

Agni Natchathiram

Agni Natchathiram · 1988

Agni Natchathiram

MovieActionCrime

Two step sons of an honest noble man choose different professions. One becomes a police office and the other turns into a goon. The rest of the film revolves around how the two confront each other.

Director

Navarasa

Navarasa · 2021

From amusement to awe, the nine human emotions of Indian aesthetic theory are explored in this anthology series.

Producer

Killer Soup

Killer Soup · 2024

SeriesComedyCrime

Swathi dreams of owning a restaurant. But when a murder derails her plan, she and her lover take an outrageous step — to replace him with her husband.

Thanks