'Whatever film you make, you try to make it as well as you can'

Mumbai: Filmmaker Mani Ratnam said the objective with historical films should be to stay honest about the events and yet make the story contemporary for the audience.

The critically acclaimed director, who is awaiting the release of ‘Ponniyin Selvan II’, said one cannot add elements to a period story that are not real.

“Whatever film you make, you try to make it as well as you can. But when it is a period drama and when it is historical, you try to go as close as you can fantasise about it and adding elements that are not real. You try to bring it as close to reality as possible. This film is treated in that fashion and the objective while making it was simple. It should look like it is happening now or it should look like we are there next to the characters. So, it was shot, put together and performed casually, not like a historical drama, so everything added to that,” the director told the reporters.

Ratnam also said that he doesn’t agree with the phrase ‘pan-India movie’, which gained popularity in the last few years owing to the success of movies such as SS Rajamouli’s ‘Baahubali’ franchise, ‘RRR’, Allu Arjun’s ‘Pushpa: The Rise’, ‘KGF’ starring Kannada star Yash and ‘Kantara’.

“I absolutely agree. We should take away the word pan-India as it has always been India,” the 66-year-old filmmaker said.

The director said he has always approached Aishwarya whenever he feels she is best suited to play a character in his movies.

“Filmmakers are very selfish people - absolutely heartless and selfish. The only thing they care about is the film. How much I love Aishwarya; I will ask her only if I think she is right for the role. Every time I have asked her, it is because I have believed that she is absolutely right for the role and she has been nice enough to say yes. So, she is not just a lucky charm for me. It was her talent and her personality that was right to portray this character,” he said.