A new film chronicles the life of acclaimed director Mani Ratnam, featuring a unique musical structure: the first half showcases the work of legendary composer Ilaiyaraaja, while the latter half features the compositions of A.R. Rahman.

Ilaiyaraaja and Ratnam’s collaboration across ten films fundamentally reshaped Tamil cinema, blending commercial and classical music in innovative ways. However, for his eleventh film, Roja (1992), Ratnam chose to work with a new composer, Dileep Shekhar, who later became known as A.R. Rahman. Since then, Ratnam and Rahman have collaborated on several acclaimed projects, including PS1 and PS2, continually evolving their creative partnership.




Ilaiyaraaja and A.R. Rahman are the only two music directors Ratnam has worked with throughout his career. Despite various speculations about their professional split, Ratnam himself has noted that their different compositional styles and pursuit of perfection naturally led to a transition in collaboration. It was simply the right moment for A.R. Rahman to step into the spotlight.

Source : 02India
Image Credit : Wikipedia, oisin lunny