Post-Guru Mani Ratnam talks to Subhash K Jha...

Do you think making bio-pics suits your creative purposes? You've done them repeatedly. Will you do more bio-pics if the opportunity arises?
When you take a project you do so because you see a film in it, and not because it fits in to a particular genre. Will I do more bio pics? I dont know.

If a character is exciting enough to hold your attention for over a year and the audiences attention for over two hours then maybe it has movie potential. Then it is upto you. if you can capture the esssence of the character on film or not.

Abhishek says he borrowed mannerisms from producer Vashu Bhagnani to play Gurukant. Are you aware of that?
The actor can borrow anything from anywhere as long as he or she brings a bit of himself or herself into the character. That is fine with me.

Your next Lajjo is about a much older man married to a young girl. Isn't Aamir too young for the role?
Who says it is a much older character with a younger woman?

Why the delay in Lajjo? People are speculating it may never happen.
It is postponed from winter 2006 to winter 2007 so that I can do some effective pre -production.

Are you satisfied with the way Guru was received by the audience?
You dont have a choice in the matter. You better learn to take it whichever way the audience react. Your job is to make it as well as you can then learn from their reaction how much you have gone out of the fairway.

There are many unexplained segments in Guru...for example, who was Aishwarya's lover and why was she eloping with him?
Why does everything have to be explained? People can have crushes before they get married. Aishwarya's character had such a crush. Why do you find it so difficult to accept? It's part of life and therefore part of cinema.

Vidya and Maddy's roles seem relatively nebulous. Did you deliberately choose to focus on only one character?
Maddy and Vidya's characters are according to me etched sharply. You are willing to accept smudgy characters if they twist and turn your plot but unwilling to accept defined roles seen through the life of a man.

The focus was always on one man. The film is named after him. It is through him that the others are seen. And we have been as honest to that narration as possible.

The climax compares Guru to Bapu. Why?
Guru says he is no Bapu. He is right, isn't he?

The reformist zeal as seen in Rang De Basanti and Lage Raho Munnabhai is subverted in Guru. Your film says it's okay to bend rules, that idealism isn't the order of the day. Isn't that too cynical a view for mass consumption?
Do you want all the films to uphold one particular ideology? Some films offer hope. Some are reflections on life. I like both kinds of cinema.

But when you reflect you should be willing to look at reality. Guru isn't cynical. It's a reflection on today's reality.

The twins in Guru are named Disha and Drishti. That's Amar Singh's twins' names. How did that happen?
I am stumped!