It’s not every day that a filmmaker gets to be backed by someone whose work helped shape their own cinematic vision. For Sri Lankan director Prasanna Vithanage, working with Mani Ratnam on ‘Paradise’ was both a creative milestone and a personal moment of fulfilment.

In a conversation with Mathrubhumi English, Vithanage spoke about his long-standing connection with the legendary Tamil filmmaker and the experience of having Ratnam produce the film under his banner, Madras Talkies.

Vithanage has known Mani Ratnam for many years, even before they collaborated on ‘Paradise’ in 2023. Recalling the impact that Ratnam’s films have had on him, he said, “When I was a student in the 1980s, I watched ‘Mouna Ragam’, directed by Ratnam, and it left a profound impact on me. Later, from R Madhavan starrer ‘Alai Payuthey’ onwards, he began working with editor A. Sreekar Prasad, who, incidentally, has been my editor for the past 27 years.”

Although Vithanage and Ratnam collaborated for the first time on ‘Paradise’, the two directors have often attended each other’s film screenings.

“Except for my first film, every project of mine has gone through post-production in Chennai. After finishing a film, I would often invite Mani sir to a private screening, and he would always make the time to attend. I’ve also made it a point to attend his film screenings whenever I can. That mutual respect and connection grew over the years,” Vithanage said.

Interestingly, Vithanage also informed how ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ was previously meant to be shot in Sri Lanka. “When he (Ratnam) was planning ‘Ponniyin Selvan’, he had considered shooting parts of it in Sri Lanka, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that plan didn’t materialise.”

Ask him how he approached Ratnam for ‘Paradise’, and he says, “After completing ‘Paradise’, we held a screening in Chennai, and Mani sir was among the invitees. He watched the film and appreciated it. I took a leap of faith and asked if he would be willing to launch the film under his banner. To my joy, within 24 hours, I received a positive response. That was one of the happiest days of my life, not just because of the association but because his banner helped the film reach audiences in India.”

Not just that, Vithanage also claimed that “there was no financial transaction involved” in the ‘Paradise’ deal.

“He came on board simply because he believed in the film. That kind of support is rare and deeply meaningful,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, featuring Roshan Mathew and Darshana Rajendran in the leading roles, ‘Paradise’, the multilingual drama, recently premiered on the OTT platform MUBI.