IIS Univ.J.A. Vol.12 (3&4), 25-51 (2023) ISSN 2319-5339 (P), 2583-7591 (O) 25 Auteurship in Indian Cinema: A Study of Mani Ratnam Selected Films Bandana Pandey, Monika Gaur & Shweta Arya Abstract Mani Ratnam considerably has a wide range of work in his career span of over four decades. He has worked in five languages, including Hindi. In Indian cinema, his work is acclaimed critically, in the context of his mark, symbolism, narrative, themes, and other structures. Whereas, Auteurship is related to the individuality mark of a filmmaker in his oeuvre. The Au- teur theory of film criticism was propounded by film critic and theorist Andrew Sarris in the early 60s. This theory describes three premises that include Personal style, Interior meaning, and technical competence of a director. These dimensions can arguably assert the status of a director as an Auteur. In the study, the researchers attempt to explore Mani Ratnam’s work within these three premises of auteur theory. While employing the case study method and narrative analysis approach, researchers have found the various signs and symbols of Mani Ratnam under every prem- ise of the Auteur theory. Keywords: Auteur; Hindi; Hindi cinema; Narrative; Tamil cinema. Introduction Indian cinema has a glorious history of over 100 years. Every era of cine- ma has seen magnificent films from silent to talkies. Likewise, with every golden film, the audience has witnessed a filmmaker’s vision. In the mak- ing of every film, a director is considered to be the ‘captain of the ship’. A film is a director’s medium. It is a director who controls, shapes and or- chestrates the efforts of an army of artists and technicians. From camera- men to decorators, everyone works to fulfill the vision of a filmmaker.(BD Garga, 2005). Cinema has witnessed legendary filmmakers/directors who have created classics of all time in their respective eras and specializa- tions. Each director has his own style of visualization. Satyajit Ray, Adoor