Mani Ratnam

Mani Ratnam is an Indian filmmaker whose work has been central to the development of modern Tamil cinema. He made his directorial debut with the Kannada film *Pallavi Anu Pallavi* (1983) and later gained wide recognition through films including *Mouna Ragam*, *Nayakan*, *Roja*, *Bombay*, and *Dil Se..*. His films are noted for combining intimate human drama with political and social themes, often across Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada cinema.