Mani Ratnam asks stars to help industry survive by reducing cost; is he cutting down expenses on Ponniyin Selvan?

Mani Ratnam has spoken about the impact of Coronavirus outbreak on the business of film industry, which will have to undergo lots of changes to reduce the cost of filmmaking. He stressed on making the business profitable for all the stakeholders.

Speaking at the SICCI webinar on the topic, 'The future of movies and entertainment', Mani Ratnam said, "The fact that the immediate theatre release is going to get difficult, market is going to get eroded, means that I have to make sure the cost of my film is brought down. That it is manageable to make the filmmaking viable.

"Which means, people involved in it, especially big stars and technicians will have to understand and help in reducing the price, reducing the cost and work towards making sure the film industry remains afloat,"

Not just an Entertainment Industry
According to the 63-year old filmmaker of hit movies like Naayagan and Roja, film business is not just an entertainment industry as it gives dreams to people and bring smile on their faces. He also claimed that the film industry needs the support from the government.

Not just Mani Ratnam alone, a couple of producers have already have said that the stars need to take cut in their pays in such tough times as reducing the budget is the only way to make some profits during this tough times.

Mani Ratnam's Next
Mani Ratnam has been busy with his mega-budget movie Ponniyin Selvan. The shooting came to halt due to the lockdown. The team had completed two schedules and planned to commence the next in Puducherry.

Meanwhile, there are rumours that the shooting might not commence even the lockdown is lifted due to date and other issues. As a result, Mani Ratnam is planning to do a quickie with Arvind Swami in the lead.

However, Shiva Anand, executive producer, Madras Talkies, has said that the first part of Ponniyin Selvan next year although they do not have clarity on the date, yet. "He (Mani Ratnam) is hoping to get bulk dates from Vikram, Aishwarya, Karthi and the ensemble cast so that the film can be wrapped up in one go. If all goes well, they will begin the Puducherry leg with Vikram and Aishwarya. If they don't get the necessary permission for an outdoor shoot, they might change the venue to the AVM Studios in Chennai,"Mid-Day quoted him as saying.

It has to be seen whether the makers would bring down the cost as suggested by Mani Ratnam for Ponniyin Selvan.