Mani Ratnam admitted to hospital in Chennai; Covid suspected

New Delhi: Celebrated filmmaker Mani Ratnam has been admitted to a Chennai hospital, reported news agency PTI. The 66-year-old filmmaker was admitted to the Chennai hospital reportedly over symptoms of fever.

More details about the veteran filmmaker's health are awaited. The PTI report quoted a source and also stated that the filmmaker is likely to be discharged on Tuesday. "Sources said the ace director was taken to the hospital with symptoms of fever today and he underwent a checkup. He had tested negative for COVID-19, and is likely to be discharged today, the source added," PTI stated.

On the professional front, Mani Ratnam awaits the release of the period drama Ponniyin Selvan, the teaser of which was released recently and has been creating headlines ever since. The film has been produced by Lyca Productions. The period drama is based on Kalki Krishnamurthy's popular historical novel Ponniyin Selvan (The Son Of Ponni).

The film's ensemble cast includes Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, the film also stars Vikram, Karthi, Trisha Krishnan, Prakash Raj, Jayaram, Jayam Ravi, and Aishwarya Lekshmi among others. The film is slated for a September 30 release this year.

Mani Ratnam is known for directing iconic films across several languages, including Nayakan, Thalapathi, Geethanjali, Bombay, Dil Se.. and Iiruvar. In recent years, he directed the 2007 film Guru and the 2010 film Raavan. He also backed the Netflix anthology titled Navarasa, which featured Suriya, Vijay Sethupathi, and Revathi among other big stars. He also runs a production company called Madras Talkies.