Mani again teamed up with Ram Gopal Varma to provide the screenplay for the latter 's Telugu film '' Gaayam '' , a socio-politico film loosely based on '' The Godfather '' . In 1995 , Mani returned to Tamil language drama through '' Bombay '' starring Arvind Swamy and Manisha Koirala , which told the story of a Hindu-Muslim couple in the midst of the 1993 religious Bombay riots and bombings . It was also the first Indian film to focus on marriage between Hindu and Muslim people . The film met with controversy and censorship upon release . It was subsequently dubbed into Hindi where it gained commercial success and appreciation by critics . It won a number of awards , such as Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration , Special Award from the Political Film Society , In the Spirit of Freedom Award at the Jerusalem International Film Festival and the Gala Award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival
bombings
1993 Bombay bombings
Mani Ratnam