The Bygone Era where Mani Ratnam's Gangster Movies Dignified Women

 

One of the reasons I respect Mani Ratnam's filmmaking is how he portrays women in his films, even in gangster films. In the former decade, however, Mani steadily succumbed to gangster movies where he normalizes gangsters having mistresses.

I know that men will come and say that having affairs are a part of life for gangsters - Mani Ratnam is just showing "realism." But I grew up watching Nayagan and Thalapathy. In fact, I used Thalapathy for plenty of feministic referrals.

Mani Ratnam proved previously that gangsters needn't use women as side chicks and have wives who tolerate their cheating to prove their "Thug Life" status. And quite frankly, the honoring of women in Mani's Nayagan and Thalapathy is what elevated the films to a whole new level.

I do have a bone with the "item" songs in Nayagan and Thalapathy. Nonetheless, the movies hold women in a league where they needn't be a gangster's notoriety enhancers. They exist, as they are, women, their self respect unharmed by the male ego of hooliganism.

In Mani's Nayagan and Thalapathy, the uniting theme is dons helping the marginalized, the oppressed mired in poverty, wilful abuse, and powers that be who cause ordinary people misery. Yes, Velu, Deva, and Surya are men of violence and underhanded means, but never once do they wrong women and treat them like properties.

In fact, Thalapathy is deeply women-centric despite its male violence overtones.

I'll cite the examples in hopes you'll understand where Mani lost his touch and slid downhill. Meanwhile, I die on this hill.

1. A reference from a gangster on how to accept breakup and move on from it.

It's 2025 and men still harm/m*rder women who reject them or break up with them. In 1991, Mani showed men what real strength is. Surya is a criminal who doesn't hesitate to maim a policeman in public. Yet, he wishes the woman he loves well when she leaves him due to her own lack of strength of defying her father. He scolds her out of forlorn - and then he leaves her be. When he meets her after her marriage, he asks her if she's happy out of genuine adoration.

2. Can you imagine a gangster having empathy and regard for women's education?

In this age where men don't bother about a woman's consent, give r@pe threats, and demonize women's education, Mani showed an empathetic gangster who puts a girl's education first in 1987. While going to a brothel isn't an act of nobility, Velu is clearly a don who priorities the welfare of people, even if it's a s*x worker.

3. When a gangster is shown to have deep emotions, it hits different.

Remorse. Guilt. Yearning. Deep sorrow. The will to right their wrongs. All of these human emotions abound in the ruthless goons Velu, Deva, and Surya. The emotional intelligence intensity adds relatability and eclectic nuance to Mani's Nayagan and Thalapathy. Modern day manosphere should learn from these movies.

It's disappointing to see Mani Ratnam seemingly succumb to the alpha male trend in his recent gangster movies. 

Chekka Chivantha Vaanam and Thug Life is a glaring example of the glorification of the mythical alpha male concept. Yes, the male characters in CCV don't admit their mistakes, step on others to stay ahead, charm ladies for their egos, and are painfully unemotional. Of course, this would appeal to the recent phenomenon of the red pill. 

4. Gangsters are just as human as any of us.

While violence and abrasive confrontations are a part of a gangster's life, so is their human side. Mani captured those human side most masterfully in Nayagan and Thalapathy. The skill to infuse raw human emotions into gangster characters that Mani owned seemed to have frittered away with time and trend.

5. The depth of female characters in Thalapathy and Nayagan are a class apart.

Although Neela (Sarannya Ponvannan) dies in a shootout early in Nayagan, her character arc remains etched in the mind. In CCV, Jyothika and Simbu's wife characters' death barely made an impact. Even the elderly woman character who raises Surya in Thalapathy has more depth than Trisha's character and Aditi's character in Thug Life and CCV. I seriously think Mani compensated the lack of effective storytelling with male infidelity in CCV and Thug Life.

6. Women have agency and take standalone decisions. Even children's roles are significant and leave a lasting impression.

Charumathi decides to leave her father's bloody shadow and build her own legacy. Padma (Banupriya) expresses her intention to forsake the area due to men's misbehavior. Padma is also the reason why Surya and his long lost mom reunite. Even the children, Tamilazhagi, Surya (Velu's son) play weighty roles, resembling the children in Anjali. The scene where Velu's grandson asks if Velu is a good man or a bad man is iconic. This kind of agency and weight of character are missing in Mani's more recent movies. Women stay overshadowed by the men in their lives and child characters barely make an impact.

I am no filmmaker. The closest I got to this art was in school, a stage show with a social message - I directed and played a single mom with a son who is a rowdy. I die in my son's hands in the end. Guess who inspired me to write such a screenplay. 

Yep. I personally feel that a guru who showed how it's done is shooting himself in the foot again and again. Powerful men exploit helpless women is the message Mani Ratnam is siding himself with - that too at a time where misogyny in boys and young men is at its peak. It's not only disappointing but also dangerous.

Newcomers like Lokesh Kanagaraj and Karthik Subbaraj are killing it. Meanwhile the OG Mani is consistently falling short. 

Finally, I am still hopeful. I'm still waiting for Mani Ratnam to get his groove back.