Mani Ratnam is given credit by many people for changing the profile of Indian cinema.
In 1987, Mani directed Nayakan starring Kamal Haasan, and the film became a huge success and brought him recognition at the national level
 He was the director of the critically acclaimed, national award-winning movies Nayakan (1987) and Anjali (1990), both of which qualified as India's official entry for The Academy Awards

