'Mani Ratnam went off to hospital quietly'

Mumbai, April 17 (IANS) Mani Ratnam first complained of uneasiness and then left the recording studio and checked himself quietly into the Apollo Hospital on his own, says Lyricist Gulzar.

'Mani complained of uneasiness. We presumed it to be nothing more than creative anxiety. We all get restless and nervous when we are working intensely an a project. We had no clue it was a health issue,' Gulzar told IANS here Friday.

'Yes, Mani just left the venue of the recording and quietly got himself admitted into hospital.'

The multilingual filmmaker was admitted to the hospital Wednesday following breathing difficulty and dizziness. Ratnam was in Chennai working on a song for his film 'Raavan' with Gulzar and composer A.R. Rahman when the health scare occurred.

Filmmaker Shaad Ali, who is assisting Ratnam on 'Raavan', was also present there.

The director was revved up as Gulzar and Rahman argued and collaborated over the perfect words for the tune. However, after a while a fidgety and restless Ratnam sneaked out of the recording, left the studio alone and checked himself quietly into the Apollo Hospital.

That, according to Mani's close friends, is the filmmaker's style. He never draws attention to himself.

There was a sudden panic among the friends and well-wishers of Ratnam since he has a history of heart ailment.

'Thankfully, it was nothing serious at all. Though I wasn't allowed to visit him in hospital Shaad did visit him on Wednesday. Mani was just fine, laughing, joking and talking nineteen to the dozen,' Gulzar said.

'We're all very much relieved and happy. And on to top it all, the song that we were recording when Mani had a health scare has turned out beautifully. It's a proud moment. To my relief I'm told Mani is well enough to be out of hospital very soon.'

Sources say the next schedule of 'Raavan', which is on April 20, might be delayed by a few days. Ratnam, known to be a workaholic, is expected to be back to the gruelling outdoor schedule in Kerala as soon as the doctors allow him to do so.

'He's already talking about keeping his date with his next schedule. But that seems unlikely,' said a source from the 'Raavan' crew.