Mani Ratnam Made Hindi Film Industry Feel Like 'Illiterate Children', Says Javed Akhtar

Javed Akhtar, the popular lyricist and scriptwriter, recently praised filmmaker Mani Ratnam for his contributions to the film industry. During an event for News18, Javed Akhtar said that while the Hindi film industry was feeling superior, Mani Ratnam began making movies and made them feel like “illiterate children”.

“We used to be completely convinced of our superiority. And then, a director came from Tamil Nadu, he slapped us hard on our face with the kind of work we had never seen,” said the veteran writer, as quoted by News18. Javed Akhtar described Mani Ratnam’s work as “unprecedented” and added that it is very hard in the film industry to sustain success like Mani Ratnam has done. “It won’t be politically right but I can give you names of ten directors who have made a number of superhits but nobody remembers them,” added Javed Akhtar. The writer also said that a person can only sustain his legacy in the industry if they can combine success and exceptional work.

Meanwhile, Mani Ratnam said that Indian cinema needs Javed Akhtar back as a screenwriter. During the event, Mani Ratnam also joked that he will do the next film when Javed Akhtar writes a screenplay for him. Notably, Javed Akhtar recently landed in a controversy after criticising Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal for its misogynistic content. The veteran writer said during an event that the commercial success of films with problematic scenes was a “dangerous” trend. The makers of the movie also reacted to this indirect statement. “Writer of your calibre cannot understand the betrayal of a lover (Between Zoya & Ranvijay) then all your art form is big FALSE,” wrote the official account of Animal on X on January 7.