Raavanan

Mani Ratnam's Raavanan is a visual masterpiece, a great work of art and almost nothing beyond that. Till more than half of the film, it is about its marvelous cinematography, eye popping locations, excellent acting, technical perfection, polished and gritty narration and visualization and good editing.

The story of Raavanan runs parallel to epic Ramayana but as the film progresses there is a bold twist to the original story. We are directly introduced to the central story with a nicely edited prologue. Veeraiyya, a bandit and a 'protector' figure for the tribal, kidnaps Raagini (Aishwarya Rai) wife of Dev, a senior police officer, to settle some scores. We are shown the past of Veera through brief montages shown in between. The love between Dev and Raagini is shown hurriedly within the space of a love song. The non linear structure of the narration is notable. From then on it is a long journey through the forest. We have a jumping & drinking Hanuman, a Kumbhakarnan, Vibheeshanan and Shoorpanaka in the film. There not much happening in the first half. Its the second half of the film that strikes a chord on you emotionally. This is where that bold twist on Ramayana which was being build up all over first half happens. One wonders who is Ram and who is Raavanan.

After seeing Vikram act this role out, I am certain nobody could have done Veera any better(didn't see Raavan though). Aishwarya Rai looked enchanting, and has done justice to her half baked character Raagini. Prithviraj looked perfect for the role as a honest but ruthless cop. Acting was generally great. Cinematography was outstanding. The soundtracks sounded a bit weird in Tamil. I got used to the Hindi version (tracks were originally composed in Hindi, I think, as the Hindi songs were released a month before the Tamil). I loved them all especially folkish+electronic Ranjha Ranjha, Sufi-ish Behene De and a powerful but short Beera Beera. Some may say its not Rahman's best but I personally think its a very good album. Mani Ratnam, who was dubbed Steven Spielberg of India, has mainly focused on the style over subject. A little more hard work on the script was needed. It is made clear that Dev's hunt for Veera is not just about Raagini. What is it then? There wasn't a decent space to show Veera's love for Raagini, grow. There were a lot of things missing in the movie. But I was blown away by the visual artistry of the movie.

The much hyped Raavanan having released, I was one of the lucky few who got to watch it on the first day. The story in its most basic senses, is a modern adaptation of the Indian epic 'Ramayana'. But Mani Ratnam has brought to this movie a magical touch that would indeed change the trend of movies to come in Indian cinema.

The movie is a tale of revenge and vengeance that Veeraiya (Vikram) unleashes on the people responsible for the death of his sister. To teach them a lesson he ends up kidnapping Ragini (Aishwarya Rai) and lures the cops right into his trap. Even though Ragini was his captive her attitude and approach towards things only makes his feelings grow stronger for her everyday ! The movie focuses on Veeraiya and all the multiple voices and thoughts in his head that refer to "Raavanan" from Ramayana. But only as the movie progresses do we find out his real character and the reason for such a transformation.

The beauty of this film and the most appealing factor is the cinematography adapted. The camera work was so brilliant that it would make anyone stare in amazement at how beautiful they have shown each and every thing on screen. Not once was there a dull moment as the positioning and timing of every scene was in sync with every other aspect. A R Rahman has given life to the movie with the background music and songs he has to offer. The songs were timed so perfectly that not once would you feel that there was no necessity of a song being shown there. Watch out for the cinematography in "Usure pogudhey". And the bgm for each sequence being unique made you literally connect with the things happening on-screen !

On a further note another technical point of excellence seen in this movie is the make-up and costumes used. Be it the black soot or sandhanam smothered all over Vikram's face or the many scratches and bleeding cuts on Aishwarya, the make-up department has done its best to make the movie look as realistic as possible !

When it came to acting, needless to say the director Mr. Mani Ratnam brought out the best in each and every person cast in the movie. 'Veeraiya' would have been a disaster if it was portrayed by anyone else. Vikram outdid himself by giving his best performance till date. His aggressiveness and crazy mannered body language showed us that he was living in the character the whole time ! Aishwarya Rai Bachchan on her comeback to Tamil cinema after more than a decade has also pushed her acting skills to the limit. It is impossible to stop staring at her immense beauty and now, after her portrayal of the modern 'Sita' you just can't help but be in awe at how much she has to offer.

Raavanan, according to me is one of the finest movies made in Indian cinema. And i urge all you people out there to go watch it as soon as you can !

I watched this movie again after 10 years and my viewing has been better now . This film underplayed many things and definitely it's not a love film ..different way of storytelling and movie is worth for Chiyan alone ...Though I'm a thalapathy Vijay fan Chiyaan impresses me all the time

We know Mani Rathnam can handle epics quite easily and can twist it quite interestingly. Dalapathy starring Rajnikanth and Mamootty is the finest example. That is what I expected when I went to watch Raavanan. But watching the movie, I realized the story was never the center of attraction neither the direction of the maestro. What moved the movie along was the cinematography. Santosh Sivan and Manikandan have so effectively captured the beauty of the southern forests in the most mesmerizing manner.

Coming back to the story, we find nothing new added to the epic except for the fact that the good has now turned evil and vice-versa. At the end of the movie, after witnessing the glorious work of the cinematographer, especially the climax scenes, we sense something missing altogether and the truth beckons on us that there is no credible storyline to the whole affair.

SP Dev (Prithviraj) is on the look out for Veera (Vikram), a notorious tribal lord, a Robin Hood for many. He rules with his own laws and methods and this angers the police but are unable to do anything to capture him. To assist him there is Singarasu (Prabhu) and Chakkarai (Munna), his brothers. But soon something happens (revealed only in the second half) that makes Veera so revengeful that he kidnaps Dev's wife, Ragini (Aishwarya Rai). The rest of the story revolves around the Dev trying to rescue his wife with the help of Gnanapraksham (Karthick), a forest guard. The story moves on when the monstrous Veera starts a liking for Ragini.

There was a time when I watched Nayakan, Iruvar, Roja, Dalapathy all with great enthusiasm and what I received from these movies were really great satisfaction as a movie buff. But watching this film with the same enthusiasm I felt robbed off all my money I wasted on the tickets. This is not a bad film but it is clearly not what I expected from a Mani Rathnam film. His direction has not proved anything with this movie. The old Mani Rathnam had style and substance in his direction but now what remains is just the style. Style alone cannot pace a thriller forward. The new Mani Rathnam has not provided anything interesting in this movie. It seems like the crux of the whole movie lies on the camera work.

The acting of Vikram and Aishwarya Rai has to be applauded. They have given one of their finest performances. Vikram is like a vengeful monster who has kidnapped wife of the God-like figure on earth to settle a personal score. His performance is one of the highlights of the movie and which makes it watchable. It is a wonder we see such talent and beauty together and that is Aishwarya Rai; though her beauty is not of any relevance in the "plot" she has scored with a good performance. Prithiviraj as the tough cop has really matured into a fine actor. He has given a nice performance along with the other big names. Prabhu and Karthick have utilized their time on screen portraying their characters with ease and subtlety. Priyamani with her small cameo has given a memorable performance.

But all this taken, at the end, we find the story to be clichéd and hope that the screenplay would have been better. The screenplay and dialogues penned by Suhasini Mani Rathnam does not show any ease or effectiveness probably because the story line is weak. By the interval time we feel exhausted at all that has happened but still we realize nothing has moved along. Second half proves better because of the short stint of Priyamani on screen and the final 15 minutes of the movie. And those 15 minutes is the only part in the whole movie that show "some" shades of Mani Rathnam direction. The characterization is so weak we never get time to realize the good has turned evil and vice versa or is it because it was so obvious from all the promos.

A note on the music - AR Rahman is not at his best...but cannot say it was bad. It's okay and goes with the film smoothly.

The plus point of the movie is cinematography, acting and the last 15 minutes….

The movie deteriorates because of the absence of a fine story line and a poor screenplay which I believe are the most important materials in a film.

It is not one of the best Mani Rathnam films and it cannot be called a thriller as there is no remarkable storyline to boast off and excite us. Watch the movie to see some good acting. But mainly, watch the movie to witness the amazing locales where the movie was shot through the eyes of Santosh Sivan and Manikandan, especially the last cliffhanging fight between good and evil.

~ dillitalkies.blogspot.com ~

What I can say about the movie.....

WOW, only Mani can make like this. I watched both version, simply superb, I love the tamil version. The music, picturization, editing, direction overall...speaks the Director new imagination. Oh yeah, the powerful star casts. Mind blowing performances.

Did anyone feel "The Raavan" from Mani's view? WOW...... only Mani can touch that .... The modern RAM and RAAVAN...

I watched both version...GO AND WATCH THE MOVIE IN BIG SCREENS..FEEL THE NEW KIND OF CINEMA

I have read so many bad reviews for this movie....come on ppl ...

i don't understand y people make a mindset with full of expectation for this movie. and y ppl comparing with his previous movies? Yes, it is maniratnum's movie. Forgot abt his previous movies. if the director make movies with mindset compare his previous work, i think mani's last movie is Roja.

I really like the way he took challenges to giv new kind of cinema....

make us to feel his new touch...his imagination, his technical skills,...

Overall ,Raavan and Raavan is must watch movie ..feel the director new imagination, wonderful direction, strong powerful performance from main leads.

I never thing so, any other director have this kind imagination, or make movies like this nowadays.