Mari Selvaraj announces Manjanathi with Ilaiyaraaja, calls it symphony of my heart

Director Mari Selvaraj has announced Manjanathi, his first film with Ilaiyaraaja, with a video filmed at the composer's home. The film formalises a collaboration the director has long described as a personal dream.

In Short

• Mari Selvaraj announced his next film Manjanathi with Ilaiyaraaja as composer
• The announcement video showed Ilaiyaraaja composing live and highlighted their long-held dream
• Manjanathi is Mari Selvaraj’s sixth film and first with Ilaiyaraaja

Director Mari Selvaraj on Monday officially announced his next film, Manjanathi, which will mark his first collaboration with composer Ilaiyaraaja. The project is backed by Navvi Studios and Fortune Entertainment, while further details about the film’s cast, crew, plot, genre and release date are yet to be announced.

The announcement came through a video that showed Mari Selvaraj visiting Ilaiyaraaja’s residence, where the composer was seen creating a piece for the film live. The video also framed the collaboration as a long-held ambition for the director, while reports around the project remain unconfirmed, including speculation that Manjanathi.

The announcement video includes a glimpse from an older interview in which Mari Selvaraj spoke about what Ilaiyaraaja meant to him. He is heard saying, "For me, Ilaiyaraaja sir is much bigger. It is a dream. I have not even met Ilaiyaraaja sir yet. He is a kind of divinity intertwined with me since my childhood."

In the same interview, he said he had always dreamt of working with Ilaiyaraaja, but wanted to become more mature and wise before doing so.

He also said he needed a script worthy of Ilaiyaraaja’s music, and the glimpse suggests that script is Manjanathi. The video then shows Ilaiyaraaja composing and singing live for Mari Selvaraj. It ends with a short note from the director on what the collaboration means to him. He wrote, "I begin to sketch my life with Isaignani Ilaiyaraaja. The symphony of my heart."

Manjanathi is Mari Selvaraj’s sixth project after Pariyerum Perumal, Karnan, Maamannan, Vaazhai, on which he also served as producer, and Bison Kaalamaadan. With this film, he is working with Ilaiyaraaja for the first time.

Though there has been no confirmation from the makers, rumour mills suggest that Manjanathi is a sequel to Vaazhai and will revolve around Sivanainthan’s teens and youth. The makers have not yet announced any more details about the film’s extended cast and crew.

Meanwhile, Mari Selvaraj is also set to collaborate with Dhanush on a film previously titled D56. That project was to be backed by Vels Film International, with music by AR Rahman. However, with few updates on the film so far, reports suggest that Mari Selvaraj will complete Manjanathi before beginning that project.

Ilaiyaraaja, meanwhile, has had two releases so far this year: Mylanji and Antony. With Manjanathi, Mari Selvaraj has now formally begun a project he had long described as a dream collaboration.

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