Kamal Haasan's Nayakan to Rajinikanth’s Thalapathi: 10 Mani Ratnam films with Ilaiyaraaja’s musical score

Mani Ratnam and Ilaiyaraaja are not only two creative geniuses in the world of entertainment but are also two of the greatest collaborators in the history of Indian cinema. The duo, who share the same birthday, have delivered some of the most iconic films as director and composer.

Here are 10 films that had Mani Ratnam as the filmmaker and Ilaiyaraaja as the composer.

1. Pallavi Anu Pallavi 

• Cast: Anil Kapoor, Lakshmi, Kiran Vairale, Sundar Raj, Vikram Makandar
• Release date: January 7, 1983

Kannada romantic drama Pallavi Anu Pallavi marked Mani Ratnam’s debut as a director in Sandalwood, along with Anil Kapoor. With Ilaiyaraaja as the music composer, the film revolves around a romantic relationship between a young man and a slightly older woman.

2. Unaroo

• Cast: Mohanlal, Sukumaran, Ratheesh, Unni Mary, Sabitha Anand
• Release date: April 14, 1984

Malayalam political drama Unaroo marked another collaboration between Mani Ratnam and Ilaiyaraaja. The film’s story was about a group of workers who defy the union leaders to help a new factory get started. It gave an inside view of the problems that arose within the labor trade union parties in Kerala.

3. Geethanjali 

• Cast: Nagarjuna Akkineni, Girija, Vijayakumar, Vijayachander, Sumithra
• Release date: May 12, 1989

Telugu romantic drama Geethanjali was a commercial success back in the day, as it ran in theaters for over 100 days. It even won a National Film Award and six state Nandi Awards. Its story narrates the life of two terminally ill individuals who fall in love despite knowing that their days are numbered.

4. Pagal Nilavu

• Cast: Murali, Revathi, Sathyaraj, Goundamani, Sarath Babu, Radhika Sarathkumar
• Release date: June 28, 1985

Tamil gangster film Pagal Nilavu received wide acclaim for its musical score as composed by Ilaiyaraaja. The Mani Ratnam directorial navigated the life of a carefree youth who is torn between his love for the sister of a police officer and loyalty towards his mafia don. It was the Tamil debut for the filmmaker.

5. Idaya Kovil

• Cast: Mohan, Radha, Ambika, Goundamani, Thyagu, Ilavarasu
• Release date: September 14, 1985

Idaya Kovil’s songs and soundtrack went on to become iconic numbers in themselves, even though the film slightly underperformed at the box office. The movie talks about a one-sided love between Suresh, who falls for a spirited girl, Sudha. But she instead falls for a singer named Shankar.

6. Mouna Ragam

• Cast: Mohan, Revathi, Karthik, Sonia, Vani, VK Ramasamy
• Release date: August 15, 1986

Mouna Ragam is another Tamil romantic drama by Mani Ratnam, based on a short story by the filmmaker, for which he did not plan any cinematic venture until he finished writing. The movie narrates the story of a girl named Diya who holds on to her past with the memories of her dead lover, Manohar.

7. Nayakan 

• Cast: Kamal Haasan, Saranya, MV Vasudeva Rao, Janagaraj, Delhi Ganesh
• Release date: October 21, 1987

Epic crime drama Nayakan marked Mani Ratnam’s first-ever work with Kamal Haasan. Its plot was loosely based on the life of Bombay’s underworld don Varadarajan Mudaliar and is inspired by the American film The Godfather. The movie was a critical and commercial success back in the day.

8. Agni Natchathiram

• Cast: Prabhu, Karthik, Amala, Jayachitra, Nirosha, Tara
• Release date: April 15, 1988

A true-blue masala entertainer, Agni Natchathiram was intended to follow Mani Ratnam’s previous film, Mouna Ragam. With a musical score composed by Ilaiyaraaja, the film’s plot talked about two half-brothers who conflict over claiming the legitimate inheritance of their father.

9. Anjali

• Cast: Raghuvaran, Revathi, Prabhu, Janagaraj, Saranya, Nishanti
  Release date: July 12, 1990

The Tamil children’s drama film Anjali deals with the story of a dying and mentally disabled child against the painful and emotional trauma dealt by her family. The film was critically acclaimed and won three National Awards.

10. Thalapathi

• Cast: Rajinikanth, Mammootty, Arvind Swamy, Jaishankar, Amrish Puri
• Release date: November 5, 1991

Tamil gangster drama Thalapathi is said to be based on the friendship between the mythological characters of Duryodhana and Karna from the Mahabharata. This marked the last collaboration between Mani Ratnam and Ilaiyaraaja. The movie revolves around the friendship between a courageous slum dweller and a gangster.

 

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