Mani Ratnam (born 2 June 1956) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer who works mainly in Tamil cinema and has also made films in Hindi, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. His films, including Mouna Ragam, Nayakan, Roja, Bombay and Ponniyin Selvan, are admired for their visual style, music and treatment of political subjects through personal stories. He has won six National Film Awards and received the Padma Shri in 2002.
Quick Facts
| Birth name | Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam |
| Born | 2 June 1956, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India |
| Age | 70 |
| Occupation | Film director, screenwriter, producer |
| Education | Vivekananda College, Chennai; Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai (MBA) |
| Company | Madras Talkies |
| Years active | 1983–present |
| Spouse | Suhasini (m. 1988) |
| Children | 1 (Nandan) |
| Honours | Padma Shri (2002) |
Early Life
Ratnam was born into a film family: his father, S. Gopala Ratnam, was a distributor, and his brother G. Venkateswaran became a producer. He grew up in Madras, took a commerce degree and an MBA and worked briefly as a management consultant before turning to films without any formal training.
Career
His first film was the Kannada Pallavi Anu Pallavi (1983), with Anil Kapoor. Mouna Ragam (1986) was his breakthrough in Tamil. Nayakan (1987), with Kamal Haasan as a Bombay underworld don, was later named by Time magazine among the 100 best films ever made. Agni Natchathiram, the Telugu love story Geethanjali (1989), Anjali and Thalapathi (1991) with Rajinikanth followed, all with music by Ilaiyaraaja.
Roja (1992), set against the Kashmir insurgency, introduced the composer A. R. Rahman and was a national success in its dubbed Hindi version. Bombay (1995) dealt with the 1992–93 riots; shortly after its release, bombs were thrown at Ratnam’s house in Chennai and he was injured. Dil Se.. (1998), with Shah Rukh Khan, completed the group.
His later films include Alaipayuthey (2000), Kannathil Muthamittal (2002), Yuva (2004), Guru (2007), Raavan (2010) and O Kadhal Kanmani (2015). In 2022 and 2023 he released the two-part historical epic Ponniyin Selvan, based on Kalki’s classic Tamil novel about the Chola dynasty, one of the biggest Tamil hits ever. Thug Life (2025) reunited him with Kamal Haasan.
Personal Life
Ratnam married the actress Suhasini, a niece of Kamal Haasan, in 1988. They have a son, Nandan. He is known for avoiding publicity and rarely gives interviews.
Awards and Honours
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Mani Ratnam born?
Mani Ratnam was born on 2 June 1956 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India and is 70 years old.
What is Mani Ratnam’s occupation?
Occupation: Film director, screenwriter, producer.
What honours has Mani Ratnam received?
Padma Shri (2002).
Featured image: Mani Ratnam with his wife, the actress Suhasini, at the audio launch of Vaanam Kottattum, Chennai, January 2020. Photo by Sriram Narasimhan, Silverscreen Media, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
