Conversations with Mani Ratnam

by Baradwaj Rangan

If I say something in a film, it doesn’t mean that that’s me. It just means that I have put myself in the character’s position and that the character is saying those things. That’s all. My stance could be entirely different. I could do a film about something that’s the exact opposite of what I believe in. That’s the most liberating thing about being a creator, whether you write or make films. You can be what you’re not.

I may not be a religious person at all, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t understand people who believe in religion.