Story is bigger than stars: Mani Rathnam

A good story idea and its distinct depiction on screen are more important than filming technique, director Mani Rathnam said.

'��I believe that audience comes to watch a film for its story and not for its look on screen'��, Mani Rathnam said while taking part in the International Festival currently on at Goa.

'��It is more important for me to tell the story convincingly, backed by good performances from actors. A good story without the support of good acting will have no impact on people. However, story is bigger than stars'��, he said.

The director, who gave us films like 'Nayakan', 'Roja', 'Bombay', 'Dil Se, Dalapathi', 'Anjali', 'Yuva' and 'Guru', said, '��When one is writing he has to take inspiration from everyday incidents to get better story ideas. One must also read as much as possible to be able to give contemporary touch for audience to relate with the subject'��.

Mani Rathnam introduced A R Rahman in the film industry as a composer. All his films starting from Roja in 1992 have music compositions of Rahman and the director now shares a special bonding with him.

'��I have worked with two very classy composers - Ilayaraja and Rahman. Both are from two different schools of music composition. While Ilayaraja is more spontaneous in his response, Rahman takes time to think over tunes and story situation and labours over it'��, he said.

According to him, Rahman, if pushed a little, is willing to think laterally.