It's not always about the family, and Mani Ratnam is learning this the hard way. The South filmmaker has apparently been desperate to launch his young cousin-in-law Akshara Haasan in a film, but to no avail.

The 21-year-old daughter of South superstar Kamal Haasan and Sarika has politely turned down Mani's offer and has decided to learn filmmaking instead.

Says Kamal, "I don't know why Akshara turned down the offer. You can't question a 21- year-old. It's her decision.

I've never imposed my will on either of my two daughters. They're free to do what they wish to with their lives. Akshara, I suspect, will follow my route, starting from behind the camera and then making her way to the front of the camera."

Mani is married to Kamal's older brother Charu Haasan's daughter Suhasini. This refusal would have surely come as a blow to the maverick, given his last film Raavan starring Aishwariya and Abhishek Bachchan flopped.

The film he had in mind for Akshara's launch, according to sources, was not a typical love story for the youth market. To be fair, Akshara so far been learning the ropes of filmmaking with no apparent interest in facing the camera like her older sibling Shruti, who has been doing Tamil and Hindi films for a few years now.

Says a source, "Akshara seems content behind the camera despite getting a number of plum acting offers, but Mani is adamant. He's very keen to launch Akshara as a leading lady, and has made the offer many times."

For now, of course, Mani will have to cool his heels till the headstrong girl gives in to his demand. He will have a tough time convincing her though, given she doesn't want to work with her father's production house either.

"When Akshara decided she wanted to learn filmmaking, we decided she would not assist any of our home productions. There would've been too much pampering on the sets. She assisted Rahul Dholakia instead. Now she's free to move ahead in whatever direction she wants," says Kamal.