Pan-Indian film is a term that has come to be used often now in the Indian film industry, with Bãhubali and KGF franchises, and RRR attracting fans across the country. Though the Tamil film industry is churning out films that promise to cater to the sensibilities of pan-Indian audiences, there is a notion that Tamil cinema is not matching up to Telugu and Kannada cinema in this aspect.

Mani Ratnam, whose movies like Roja and Bombay have appealed to a pan-Indian audience, addressed this concern at an event recently, and said, “This is not something new. Since many films are coming out now and becoming a success in north India, too, we’re talking about it. Earlier, Chandralekha (S S Vasan’s 1948 film), which we made, became successful in north India. No one asked such questions then. Any growth is a positive element and no one can stop this. We’re watching Hollywood films being dubbed in Tamil; so, what’s wrong with watching a Kannada film? If you make good films, then it will become a success everywhere.”

So, if Chandralekha and Roja have done it before, pan-Indian cinema is not new. But why did it not become a trend then and why now? “Well, the first part of the question doesn’t matter anymore. Now, people are filmmakers are also adapting to it,” he answered.

The ace filmmaker further said, “The standard of Tamil cinema is very rich; there are a lot of brilliant filmmakers who are very good. Many young filmmakers are opening new doors for the industry.” 

Touching on the role of technology in cinema, Mani Ratnam, whose multilingual period film Ponniyin Selvan – I is in its post-production stage, said, “Any tool which will help us make better films is welcome. Cinema is an expensive art form, and it’s very important to keep the budget under control so we can make better films. It’s wonderful to see a flux of techies entering with innovative ideas to make better cinema.”