Mani Ratnam’s three-minute technique

Lyricist Vairamuthu reveals ace filmmaker Maniratnam's secret of narrating a story.

March 10, 2015 02:41 pm | Updated November 16, 2021 05:11 pm IST - Chennai

Chennai:03/12/12: Film Director Mani Ratnam at the Book Launch of  Conversations with Mani Ratnam by Baradwaj Rangan held at Hotel Hilton on Monday.  Photo: R_Shivaji Rao

Chennai:03/12/12: Film Director Mani Ratnam at the Book Launch of Conversations with Mani Ratnam by Baradwaj Rangan held at Hotel Hilton on Monday. Photo: R_Shivaji Rao

“If you cannot tell a story within three minutes, it isn’t a story,” is what seems to be director Mani Ratnam’s mantra.

This has been revealed by lyricist Vairamuthu, who is working on the lyrics of the filmmaker’s upcoming O Kadhal Kanmani , in a video that has been uploaded online.

“Mani has never told me a story more than three minutes. Just like how his dialogues are short and to the point, so is his way of storytelling. However, once he completes it, I get full grasp of the tale he wants to convey.”

The film, which features Dulquer Salman and Nithya Menon in lead roles, is a romance.

“It’s about two characters and their love and mindset. Mani sketches the outline and I imagine the visuals. That is Mani Ratnam’s bani. It’s a beautiful love story, a genre that he has succeeded in before and will do so again, I’m sure, with O Kadhal Kanmani, ” Vairamuthu said.

The music of the film by A.R. Rahman is expected to be out later this month.

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