Filmmaker Jagan Shakti finds himself in the midst of a meeting with his team of writers, when we reach we for this column. “I’m working on my next script which will be in Hindi,” says Jagan, who made his directorial debut with Mission Mangal , which was one of the highest grossing films last year. He picks a whole range of movies that he watched in his formative years.
thevar magan
Thevar Magan
I was literally sucked into cinema because of this Kamal Haasan classic. It had an overwhelming impact on me, so much so that I left my job to join a film school. With Kamal sir’s acting and Raaja sir’s music, I experienced a range of emotions when I watched it.
Bombay and Ramana
These are two different movies by two different filmmakers, but both taught me the importance of commercial cinema, particularly the art of telling a socially-relevant subject for a mainstream audience. I grew up admiring Mani sir and AR Rahman, and their body of work. Murugadoss sir, on the other hand, taught me everything from scratch.
Tom Hanks in the English film "Saving Private Ryan".
Saving Private Ryan
On a personal level, the lesson I learnt from Saving Private Ryan was about the futility of war, and how to show human values in a drama. Directed by Steven Spielberg, it also taught me how to penetrate into the audience’s soul.
Agneepath
Mukul Anand’s version of Agneepath is just magnificent and has brilliant screenplay. My experience of watching this movie and the struggle I went through to buy tickets prior to the release, are still etched in my memory. Bachchan sir was at his peak in Agneepath . In fact, I know the dialogues by heart. From watching Bachchan on screen to getting an appreciative message from him for Mission Mangal... it was worth the wait.
The big list
Five movies is too short; so I am sharing what came to mind. As a child, Thanga Pathakkam inspired me to become a police officer. I joined the gym after watching Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky. Mohanlal’s Thanmathra and Fahadh Faasil’s ThondimuthalamDriksakshiyum opened my eyes to subtlety. My list also includes RGV’s Satya , Woddy Allen’s Annie Hall and Arjun Reddy .
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