Sandwiched between his classics like Geethanjali (1989) starring Nagarjuna and the Rajinikanth-starrer Thalapathi (1991), Mani Ratnam helmed Anjali in 1990. Interestingly, Ratnam used a character in this film to take his ‘sweet revenge’ on Malayalam screenwriter Dennis Joseph who had ditched him halfway through the project. In an interview with Safari TV, Joseph, who passed away a few years ago, recalled his collaboration with Ratnam on Anjali and how he eventually had to leave the project midway. He said, “Mani Ratnam told me the story idea about this child with autism and how it affects her family. It was all there in his mind. He just had to write it down. I asked him why the screenwriter of a classic screenplay text like Nayakan needs someone like me to write his film. But he said something that surprised me, that after Sholay, my script for New Delhi is the screenplay he considers the best commercial script of Indian cinema at the time. I was so thrilled to hear that from the writer of Nayakan. So …