#Maniratnam unfailingly acknowledges and pays his humble hallelujah to films and directors that have inspired him. He wanted the song 'Nan Padum Mouna Ragam' from 'Idhaya Koil' to sound like and be shot in the style of 'Ye Mahalon' in 'Pyaasa'.The music was great but little else.

Everything fell in place in 'Mouna Ragam'. It was a confluence of gifted technicians like Mani, #PCSriram and #Ilayaraja. This fleeting sequence was a tribute to the spirit of 'Singing In The Rain'.

#Nayakan was not only a tribute to Coppola and #Godfather but Sergio Leone's 'Once Upon A Time In America' and Yash Chopra's 'Deewar'. Hiding stash in water with sacks of salt from 'Once Upon A Time' and 'Avane Nirthasollu' from 'Deewar.

Mani paid homage to #StevenSpielberg's 'ET' and #GeorgeLucas #StarWars in a song sequence in 'Anjali'.

I chanced upon a video tape of 'Ran' in a library. The owner pleaded with me to buy it because nobody was borrowing. I told Mani who asked me to buy it. 200 bucks and a terrific print. Mani was disappointed it cost so less. 'Sundari' in Thalapathi was Mani's tribute to the master

The hospital scene in 'Alai Payudhey' was inspired by a similar sequence in 'Sliding Doors' a film Mani liked. The film saw a Tamil version in '12B'.

Mani was fascinated by films like 'Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'. He loved 'Amores Perros' and adapted just the narrative style in 'Ayutha Yezhuthu'.

There was a lot of 'New World' in 'Chekka Chivantha Vaanam', the closest he came to blatant plagiarism. The onus in Mani's version was about the emotional bonding which struck a chord in this tale of orchestrated self destruction.