Mani Ratnam’s filmography boasts of classics such as Roja (1992), Bombay (1995) and Dil Se… (1998) — all critically acclaimed and rooted in real life. While the world accords cult status to his movies, the filmmaker himself feels that he “would want to change” something in “all my films”, if given a chance today.

“When I’m making a project, or anyone for that matter, we go into details. You’re not objective then. You need a certain distance to be able to assess, and that comes only with time,” he expresses.

But given the political situation and the changing times, one wonders how easy or difficult it would be to make these films today. Ask Ratnam if he would take the chance and revisit his own body of work, and he says he doesn’t know if he can make a “blanket statement”.

He elaborates, “I think some films will have difficulty. You have to know that’s what it’s going to be. You have to work around it and still be honest to what you want to say. The only way I looked at it, is doing what I really believe in. If there’s nothing wrong in what you’re saying, you make it with conviction, and hope that will come through.”

On whether he feels that as a filmmaker he has the liberty to explore any subject he wants today, he says it was the same even when he started making films. “Even in those days, some subjects would be a bit of a problem. And people faced these problems before I started making films. Constraints are there. You try to take one step forward, keep trying, and not give up easily,” says Ratnam, 65, who’s currently busy with the Tamil film Ponniyin Selvan, starring Vikram and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

And while making films based on real life topics is difficult, he, in fact, shuts down people who feel masala films are easier to make, when compared to the trouble that real stories invite.

Explaining his point, he adds, “You need a certain amount of talent to do that (make masala films), and pull it off well. If you are comfortable and that’s the way you want to say it, that’s the reason why you make films. The reason is you want to tell stories and do it in a particular way. You try different themes within that, and get better each time. It’s a struggle, nothing is easy.”