Javed Akhtar feels Hindi film industry was convinced of its superiority; says Mani Ratnam made them feel like ‘illiterate children'

Javed Akhtar

, who recently attended an event to celebrate director Mani Ratnam's contributions to cinema, mentioned that for a long time, the Hindi film industry believed in its superiority. However, everything changed when

Mani Ratnam

began making movies, making others in the industry feel like "

illiterate children

."
During an event for News 18, Javed Akhtar expressed that people in the Bombay film industry were often complacent and very confident in their abilities.

However, everything changed when a director from Tamil Nadu arrived and presented work that was unlike anything they had seen before. Javed Akhtar mentioned that the director's work was groundbreaking and made the industry, which was once sure of its technical superiority, feel like they were unaware and inexperienced.

Javed

Akhtar mentioned that while success is common in the film industry, those who can sustain that success are the ones who have done something truly exceptional. He added that merely having a string of successful movies might not be enough, as many directors with numerous superhits are often forgotten. According to Javed Akhtar, in the film industry, it's the combination of success and exceptional work that truly sustains one's legacy, and he credited Mani Ratnam for embodying this.

Mani Ratnam reciprocated the compliments and urged Javed Akhtar to return to screenplay writing. Javed, along with

Salim Khan

, penned some of the most beloved Hindi films in the 1970s, including iconic movies like Sholay and Deewar.

Mani Ratnam acknowledged Javed Akhtar's contribution and suggested that having Javed back in the field of screenplay writing would be highly beneficial, especially in a time where the industry is often solely focused on numbers.

When questioned about his next film, Mani Ratnam jokingly remarked that he would consider making one when Javed Akhtar writes a screenplay for him. Currently, he is eagerly anticipating his upcoming project with

Kamal Haasan

.