On January 10, at CNN-News18's event, filmmaker Mani Ratnam won the award for Indian of the Year in the Entertainment category. On the professional front, he will be collaborating with actor Kamal Haasan, after more than three decades, for a film titled 'Thug Life.' At the event, he spoke up on how he feels about the reunion and why it look so long.
'Thug Life' will be their first collaboration in 35 years after they worked together on 'Nayakan' in 1987.
When asked upon why it took so long to team up with Kamal Haasan, Mani Ratnam shared, “I can’t say what took me so long. It is tough when you have an actor of that capability, who has done several things. So unless you have some solid things, do not go to him just because you have done it before. Hopefully, we would be able to bring some kind of a character back on screen.”
Elsewhere, the director also conveyed that big stars do not encounter ego issues. “I don’t think big stars have real egos when they are on a project. Really, it has never been difficult to work with the stars. If you are clear and know what you want, they are too happy to have somebody make the decisions. They trust you, you trust them. It becomes a mutual thing. You make it together. Sometimes, scripts demand new faces and that’s why you go for new faces. I do it only because it is right for my film not because I want to introduce somebody,” he added.
The acclaimed filmmaker was given the award by veteran screenwriter-lyricist Javed Akhtar at the star-studded event.
Last year, the Tamil director achieved success with the release of 'Ponniyin Selvan 2,' which starred Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Jayam Ravi. And for this year, the pre-production for Kamal Haasan-starrer 'Thug Life' has already commenced.
