I HAVE TO BALANCE IT ALL WITH A LOT OF GIVE AND TAKE

...STATES SUHASINI MANI RATNAM AS SHE SHARES THE SECRET OF HER HAPPY MARRIAGE AND A LOT MORE ON HER WORK AND OTHER PASSIONS IN A CANDID INTERVIEW WITH PROVOKE MAGAZINE

- Namita Gupta

Multiple award-winning star with her work spanning across several languages, Suhasini Mani Ratnam is a talented actor, director, producer, writer, wife and mother and is also a prominent spokesperson and part of many juries in institutions and organisations across the world. A gold medallist in cinematography, she is a true personification of women empowerment. As an actor, Suhasini made her debut with Nenjathai Killathe in 1980 and won Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actress. She then won the National Film Award for Best Actress for her performance in Sindhu Bhairavi in 1985.

As a director, she made her mark with the TV-series 'Penn', the infamous movie 'Indira', and very recently a short film 'Coffee, Anyone?' as part of an anthology, Putham Pudhu Kaalai for Amazon Prime in 2020. Along with her husband, Mani Ratnam, she has been involved in the running of their production company, Madras Talkies since 1997. She was also named the honorary council for Luxembourg Suhasini is a true artist by heart. As part of her charitable trust, NAAM, she worked in recreating the paintings of Raja Ravi Varma along with south Indian women actors, dancers to celebrate "the spirit of Indian womanhood". We dig deep into the enigmatic personality's life as it were, as she opens up to us in this freewheeling conversation.

1. Please tell us about your growing up days. Where did you study? Your time spent later at your college. What was your dream career in your childhood days?