There was a sudden panic among the myriad friends and well-wishers of the movie-making maverick Mani Ratnam when on Tuesday he was admitted into the Apollo hospital in Chennai.

Since Mani has a history of heart ailment, the worst was naturally ,or not so unnaturally , presumed.

However it seems the news from Chennai is heartening and very very encouraging.

So says the poetic genius Gulzar who , as luck would have it, was in Chennai working on a song for Mani Ratnam’s Raavan with Mani and composer A R Rahman when Mani’s health scare occurred.

Filmmaker Shaad Ali who is assisting Mani on Raavan, was also present at the recording on Tuesday in Chennai.

Mani was revved up ignited and energetic as Gulzar Saab and Rahman argued and collaborated over the perfect words for the tune.

Says Gulzar Saab, “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.”

However after a while fidgety and restless Mani sneaked out of the recording, left alone from the studio 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.

Normally no matter how private a person he would immediately ask someone to accompany him to a doctor if there was a health alarm

The super-reclusive Mani actually went all alone to Appolo.

Says Gulzar Saab, “Yes, Mani just left the venue of the recording and quietly got himself admitted into hospital. 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. 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 film’s next schedule of Raavan on 20 April might be delayed by a few days. But Mani, known to be a certifiable workaholic is expected to be back to the gruelling outdoor schedule in Kerala as soon as the doctors allow him to.

“He’s already talking about keeping his date with his next schedule. But that seems unlikely,” says a source from the Raavan crew. -Sampurn Media