His first Tamil film Pagal Nilavu (1985) was a commercial failure, but immediately followed Idaya Kovil (1985) found theatrical success.
[4] The following year, he made the romantic drama Mouna Ragam, which narrated the story of a young woman who is forced into an arranged marriage by her family.
[8] Mani Ratnam followed this with the tragic romance Geethanjali (1989), which marked his Telugu cinema debut; the tragedy Anjali (1990),[a] which narrated the story of an autistic child; and the crime drama Thalapathi (1991), loosely adapted from the Indian epic Mahabharata.
[13] Although controversial for its depiction of religious riots,[16] the film met with wide critical acclaim and became commercially successful in India.
[21] In 2002, Mani Ratnam directed the critically acclaimed drama Kannathil Muthamittal, which was set against the backdrop of the Sri Lankan Civil War.
[23][24] He returned to Bollywood after a six-year hiatus with the political drama Yuva (2004); the project was simultaneously filmed in Tamil as Aayutha Ezhuthu with a different cast.