Will Ilaiyaraaja, Mani Ratnam interact again?

For Kollywood buffs, June 2 is a red letter day, as two legends, Mani Ratnam and Ilaiyaraaja share their birthdays. The duo that has created milestones together, Kollywood feels, should interact again.Director CS Amudhan opines that filmmakers of his generation share a unique relationship with movies made by the winning combination. He says, “They have set the criteria for background music. If one were to list out the most productive background scores in Tamil cinema, one would say they're Mouna Ragam, followed by Nayagan and Thalapathi. These are still the benchmarks.”

Little wonder that the majority people in Kollywood say the duo must collaborate again. Director Venkat Prabhu, who nurtures the need to work along with his uncle Ilaiyaraaja, says, “I think all their fans wish to see that combination.”

Similar sentiments are echoed by Karthik Raja, the music maestro’s son too. “I wish they may come back together to provide us a few of those evergreen hits. My dad gets inspired by directors like Mani Ratnam. Few directors may be able to bring out the wonder in a composer’s work.”

Amudhan, commenting at the same, says, “Mani Ratnam’s vision always challenged Raja sir’s music. For this reason the Isaignani worked differently for Mani sir’s films. Take Anjali, which was so sooner than its time. We’ve not seen Raja sir return to these more or less tunes. Maybe he's still reserving them for Mani sir.”

The year 2012 will see a comeback of types for both these maestros. While Mani Ratnam can have his film Kadal starring Gautham Karthik and Samantha releasing this year, Ilaiyaraaja will see a couple of releases including Gautham Menon’s Neethaane En Ponvasantham.

Actress-producer Lakshmi Manchu, who can be seen in Kadal and in addition has Ilaiyaraaja composing for her film Maranthein Mannithen, says, “I am able to retire now, since I’ve worked with my two idols. It wasn’t my dad but Mani sir who inspired me to get into movies. As for Raja sir, my life wouldn’t be the similar without his music. They brought in cheer whenever I USED TO BE down.”