Ram Gopal Varma reveals he and Mani Ratnam don't love one another's movies: 'He didnt pay attention to 1 thought of mine'

Jun 27, 2025 11:28 AM IST

Ram Gopal Varma revealed he did not like Mani Ratnam’s Nayakan regardless of a very good efficiency by Kamal Haasan.

Filmmakers Ram Gopal Varma and Mani Ratnam are among the many most famous names in each South Indian and Bollywood cinema. In a latest interview with the MPower Podcast, RGV revealed that he and Mani don’t like one another’s movies and defined why a future collaboration between them is unlikely.

Ram Gopal Varma reveals why he and Mani Ratnam cannot collaborate.

Ram Gopal Varma says he’s not a fan of Nayakan

RGV revealed that he’s probably not a fan of Nayakan and mentioned, “Mani Ratnam doesn’t like my films, and I don’t like Mani’s films. That’s our relationship. Nayakan, for me, Kamal’s performance was fine and some moments were good too, but overall as a film, I didn’t like it. Not about Nayakan, Mani didn’t influence me. Who influenced me was K. Balachander. In fact, recently I was watching one Tamil/Telugu film of his and I was surprised to see how similar my cuts are. Obviously, because I learned from him. The editing part, dialogue is so similar to mine, which means it came from there.”

Ram Gopal Varma on collaboration with Mani Ratnam

Despite this, Mani and RGV collaborated on Gaayam and Thiruda Thiruda as co-writers, and Dil Se as co-producers. Talking concerning the collaborations, RGV mentioned, “We like each other as people. I think we both wanted to make our own films. He didn’t listen to one idea of mine, and I didn’t listen to one idea of his. So we made our own films. He has got his unique way and I have my own style. So I think two creatively strong-minded people collaborating, it can’t happen.”

Mani Ratnam and Ram Gopal Varma’s latest and upcoming movies

Mani not too long ago reunited with Kamal Haasan for the movie Thug Life. The movie, which additionally featured Trisha Krishnan, Ali Fazal, T.R. Silambarasan, Abhirami and extra, didn’t make a mark on the field workplace, gathering solely ₹97.25 crore worldwide. The filmmaker is but to announce his new venture.

Ram Gopal Varma, then again, will probably be directing a film titled Syndicate. Announcing the movie, the filmmaker claimed that it will be “the biggest film ever” and vowed that it will “wash away all my cinema sins.” Explaining the plot, he mentioned that Syndicate can be about “a terrifying organisation which threatens the very existence of India.”