Mani Ratnam, who has been making films for almost three decades, sais that every time he starts working on a new film, he has to struggle to find the right way to can the shots.

The self-effacing Ratnam, who is all set to release his multilingual flick "Raavan" on June 18, stated, "In every film, I go back to square one. When I did my first film, I didn't have formal training, I didn't work under any director. I really didn't know how to make a film. So I thought, if I make two-three films, I will become an expert and be able to walk through anything. But after 20-odd films, I still don't know how to shoot a film. I still struggle, but the most enjoyable part is not knowing and trying to find something," said the 54-year-old who started his career with Kannada film "Pallavi Anu Pallavi" starring Anil Kapoor in 1983.

His best work includes Tamil films like "Mouna Raagam" (1986), "Nayagan" (1987), "Anjali" (1990) and "Thalapathi" (1991); critically acclaimed Hindi flicks "Yuva" (2004) and "Guru" (2007) and his trilogy on terrorism - "Roja" (1992), "Bombay"(1995) and "Dil Se" (1998).

Even though the director earned rave reviews for his films, he never revisits his earlier work.

"I don't watch my old films like 'Roja', 'Dil Se' because I only see mistakes. I see five minutes of the film and I am scared I will start finding mistakes in them," he said.

For "Raavan", he has teamed up again with Abhishek after "Yuva" and "Guru" and said that the young actor is growing wonderfully.

"Every time I worked with him, he had drastically different characters and each time he delivered. He is tremendous to work with. Abhishek is growing with every film. He is growing by leaps and bounds," said the director who dared to give Abhsihek a negative role in "Yuva" that took the actor's career to new heights," Ratnam added.

He also said that Raavan has been shot concurrently in Tamil and Hindi at dangerous locations such as the Athirapally forests in Kerala, Ooty in Tamil Nadu, Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, Kolkata, and the Malshej Ghats in Maharashtra.

When asked which edition he enjoyed while filming, he answered, "It isn't easier to make it in Tamil. If it is in Tamil, I hold more reins in my hand. When I make a film in Hindi, I become a little more liberated. I trust the writer a little more. I trust the actor a little more. I make them a little more responsible." (With Inputs from Agencies)