A regular at the IFFI, Goa, ace filmmaker Mani Ratnam said he makes commercial cinemas for the mass audience. "With a family background like mine, it is tougher to get into films because if you show your script around, people wonder why your family is not producing it. On the flip side, if you show it to your family, they are reluctant to invest the money," said Mani Ratnam in a lighter vein but still conveying his point.

Mani Ratnam, who finds making Tamil films easier, talks of his switch to Hindi films. "I like making cinema that is regionally routed. I never had an intention of making pan-Indian films. Roja was a small budget film which was dubbed into Hindi and so began the Rahman wave. When the story is outside Tamil, there is an imperative need to cater it to a particular audience. For example, I had to make an excuse as to why a Sardarji speaks Tamil."

With a reputation to uphold, Mani Ratnam said that being in the industry for two and a half decades has taught him many things. "Real life instances are more dramatic for me and something which you can relate with very easily. Mainstream cinema can be a lot more sensible and every director has a moral responsibility to it. Entertainment can be an ideal mix of intelligence and stupidity. I do commercial cinema for the simple reason that it  has a repeat audience," Mani Ratnam concluded.

Reported by Mr. K.Vasudevan from Goa

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