During the interview, Gunasekaran questioned the influence of the Dravidian movement on Mani Ratnam by quoting the filmmaker’s comment from Baradwaj Rangan’s book Conversations with Mani Ratnam. This tendency to play to the hyper-nationalist tendencies of the right-wing forces continued in Mani Ratnam’s other films as well. In Bombay, Mani Ratnam presented the Hindu-Muslim binary through the eyes of the Hindu majority. Spokesperson for Akhand BharatThe politics of Mani Ratnam’s films invariably sum up the politics of Akhand Bharat. But unlike DW Griffith or Leni Riefenstahl, Mani Ratnam chooses a much subtler approach, peddling a softer form of Hindutva.

Source: Huffington Post August 15, 2020 19:07 UTC