Woman of Substance: Suhasini Maniratnam

Suhasini Maniratnam has always been in a league of her own, be it her on-screen portrayals or her work off it. Articulate, full of life and never at loss of words, she is a conversationalist’s delight. We catch up with the veteran actress as she fondly recalls her illustrious career, wearing multiple hats and more.

“It was when I was acting in a Telugu film called Swathi. When we were shooting the climax which was progressive, I realised that if I became a complete actor, it would be so easy to communicate to a larger group of people instead of just my friends, family or closer circle. It was in 1983 I think,” she begins.

As testimony to her conviction, Suhasini has played a gamut of roles across film industries, many of which brought her some of the most prestigious awards, including Sindhu Bhairavi that won her the National Award. But which are the films she considers as milestones and why?

“Nenjathai Killathe, my first film for the simplicity; Koodevide (Malayalam) for creating an avenue to be part of realistic yet commercial cinema;

Swathi (Telugu) for making me a commercially viable actor who could carry women-oriented themes on her shoulders; Bandhana for creating a perfect screen couple in me and Vishnuvardan in Kannada cinema; Sindhu

Bhairavi for the universal response to my genre of acting; Manathil Urudhi Vendum for portraying a character that became a role model to many simple south Indian women,” she notes.

The lessons learnt

Having worked for nearly four decades, there are certain aspects about her career that she enjoys the most. “I enjoy the discipline. I respect the obedience that comes as part and parcel of this job. I love the mentorship we get from every director in every film.

I have acted in over 375 films. Imagine the wealth of mentors and leaders I meet every day at work,” she adds.

However, is there any area she wished she had worked more on? “Personally, my forte is directing actors. I wish today’s filmmakers hire acting coaches to look after the actors. If that job title is created, I would grab it — Suhasini as acting coach for Alia Bhatt or Yash or Nivin Pauly or even Dhanush or Vikram. Also, I love humour. I missed on doing the roles Urvashi did or continues to do. I would have enjoyed playing comic roles,” she says.

Acting apart, Suhasini is also a producer and writer. Her work with her husband, ace filmmaker Mani Ratnam, has been widely applauded, among other collaborations. “I write for him.

We work very well together. But the work is all his. I can only work along with him, I don’t try to change his path of ideas or stream of thinking. We join hands for every film as he needs someone to have a fresh perspective to view the film after it is ready. So, I try to stay far so that I feel the magic when I see it with fresh eyes. 

We work so well together that we can complete each other’s sentences in conversations that are about cinema and otherwise,” she says with a smile.

Suhasini has also been witness to a changing Tamil film industry, that has made giant strides in terms of technology and the adulation it enjoys. Speaking about the current scene in Kollywood, she says, “There are young wonderful minds, of course, with lots of achievers as precedents.

They research and do their homework and make films with pride and not ego. Technologically, since I am a trained cinematographer, the shift from film to digital is a testing time for quality and brilliance. I feel the cinematographers are not totally free like they were while shooting on film since today’s medium has something that is not so real and less life in it. But we shall overcome.” While Suhasini continues to reinvent herself even today with character roles, most of her contemporaries have disappeared into oblivion. However, the case is different in Hollywood where actresses command lead roles even after 65. “The audience only can make the change, not the industry.

Vidya Balan and Kangana Ranaut are doing well because the audience wants to watch them, not because co-actors and writers want them more. But in TN, the Rajni, Vijay and Ajith-genre fans are eclipsing other kind of cinema.

Audience should not so vehemently choose only one genre of films because of peer pressure and mass hysteria,” says Suhasini who has Oh Antha Naatkal with James Vasanthan, where Radhikaa, Khushbu, Urvashi and she enact our best roles’ extensions, in the pipeline, apart from the Telugu film Yaana and Power Pandi in Kannada.

Suhasini has also been instrumental in keeping the stars from 80s, including Radha, Ambika, Radhikaa and others, together by organising regular gatherings.

“We are like family and we motivate each other every single day and share our joy and stress too. There is no hierarchy nor gender among us. We even want to retire and live all together in an actor’s village,” she says wishfully.

Her engagement with the public goes beyond cinema as she is actively involved in social work as well. How important is it for actors to be agents of social change? “Social work is voluntary and it cannot be forced either by others or by sheer virtue of your job that gives you greater reach. It must come from within. Lots of them genuinely want to but they disappear after some time and it’s not easy to have community skills. In my point of view, popular actors can be used as a tool to reach the message to larger audiences and bonus is that actors are usually more sensitive and sympathetic towards good causes.”

Last, but not the least, we saw both Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth, both of whom she’s closely associated with, announcing their political entry recently.

We also hear her son is interested in politics. “My son has asked me to stay away from politics as he has future plans. He is still studying. But without his permission, I would say I want Kamal and Rajini to be together,” she concludes.