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.