#Maniratnam unfailingly acknowledges and pays his humble hallelujah to films and directors that have inspired him. He wanted the song & #39;Nan Padum Mouna Ragam& #39; from & #39;Idhaya Koil& #39; to sound like and be shot in the style of & #39;Ye Mahalon& #39; in & #39;Pyaasa& #39;.The music was great but little else.
Everything fell in place in & #39;Mouna Ragam& #39;. It was a confluence of gifted technicians like Mani, #PCSriram and #Ilayaraja. This fleeting sequence was a tribute to the spirit of & #39;Singing In The Rain& #39;.
#Nayakan was not only a tribute to Coppola and #Godfather but Sergio Leone& #39;s & #39;Once Upon A Time In America& #39; and Yash Chopra& #39;s & #39;Deewar& #39;. Hiding stash in water with sacks of salt from & #39;Once Upon A Time& #39; and & #39;Avane Nirthasollu& #39; from & #39;Deewar.
Mani paid homage to #StevenSpielberg& #39;s & #39;ET& #39; and #GeorgeLucas #StarWars in a song sequence in & #39;Anjali& #39;.
I chanced upon a video tape of & #39;Ran& #39; 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. & #39;Sundari& #39; in Thalapathi was Mani& #39;s tribute to the master
The hospital scene in & #39;Alai Payudhey& #39; was inspired by a similar sequence in & #39;Sliding Doors& #39; a film Mani liked. The film saw a Tamil version in & #39;12B& #39;.
Mani was fascinated by films like & #39;Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels& #39;. He loved & #39;Amores Perros& #39; and adapted just the narrative style in & #39;Ayutha Yezhuthu& #39;.
There was a lot of & #39;New World& #39; in & #39;Chekka Chivantha Vaanam& #39;, the closest he came to blatant plagiarism. The onus in Mani& #39;s version was about the emotional bonding which struck a chord in this tale of orchestrated self destruction.
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