Raavan

Few months ago I read an interview of Naseerudin Shah in a daily. The interviewer asked him a question about today's state of Indian films. Naseer responded back quite disappointedly that with advancing technology and prolific role played by media, the producers-directors easily garnered the publicity hype and sell the well packaged material to the audience earning expected profit. Creativity only lies in making frames glamorous, stuffed it well with audience friendly emotional drama and promotes it well globally; yes we are good in wrapping but not in content.

Maniratnam's much hyped modern take on Ramayana reminds me Naseer's words. As an admirer of Maniratnam I was expecting from this film and he's the director who gave few brilliant films to Indian cinema like 'Nayakan', "Iruvar', 'Roja', 'Yuva'. Its noble intention to revisit our epic in modern context but when makers like him fails terribly with poor screenplay, shallow presentation, poor characterization and shoddy direction the epic becomes caricatured and loud product.

The first half of the film is so irritatingly direction less, monotonous and lifeless in everything (except Santosh Sivan's DOP) that I hate to see the second half in the interval. Mani shifted the gear in the second half and attempted honestly to make it gritty and reasonable one with few ingredients of action, twist and turn and wins the character and audience's sympathy for the antagonist. Looking at the performances both Aishwarya and Vikram seems so flat wearing typified expressions. Aishwarya has done nothing except shouting and frowning and she didn't look appealing too. Where's Mani's touch that directed her in 'Iruvar' and 'Guru'? Hope Vikram has done fairly well Tamil edition as antagonist but here he's less than average. Govinda and Ravikishan have stuffed more footage than entertaining the audience. Priyamani is quite impressive in her few minutes presence. It's only and only Abhishek who worked hard to uplift the film and seems impressive among all cast. Don't expect different expressions but watch his intensity and dedication to retain the character in couple of well acted scenes and I mean it that he's the sole reason to watch this film even though having many shortcomings. He saved the grace of Maniratnam as Maniratnam saved his in 'Yuva'.

Technically the film is rich with Santosh Sivan's camera-work as always filming some great landscape locations and Shyam Kaushal's brilliantly choreographed stunt on the bridge 2000 feet above (one of the best I've ever seen in Hindi cinema!) The opinion is mixed; the film entertains in bits and pieces but disappoints as a whole product.

Ratings-6/10

Mani Ratnam is the undisputed heir to the legacy laid by the great Indian auteurs like Guru Dutt, Satyajit Ray, Raj Kapoor and Shayam Benegal. If movies like Roja, Bombay, Yuva were the cornerstones of his career then Raavan would definitely be the crowning jewel. Despite being a rendition of the Ramayana, Raavan is avant garde on countless fronts. The cinematography of the movie is both detailed and picturesque, and enormously adds to its poignant beauty. Mani dauntlessly transforms the eternal saga of the Ramayana into a much profound tale which transcends the trite theme of virtue versus vice; a gigantic task which a lesser director could have easily botched. The tone of the movie is set right from the first scene and gets enhanced with subsequent scenes. The pristineness of the movie gives it an uncanny charm that makes the viewing experience, titillating and nigh ineffable. The picaresque theme of the movie may appear to be commonplace, but movie's exotic backdrop and meticulous execution make it augustly unique.

The first half of the movie is deliberately paced which gives it a poetic effect that is seldom associated with contemporary Indian movies. Rehman's plaintive score lulls the viewer into a state of trance which sustains beyond the length of the movie.

Abhishek Bachchan outdoes himself as an actor in the portrayal of glacial yet vulnerable, Beera, a part which required subtlety and brusqueness in equal parts. Mani Ratnam is known to get the best out of his actors, and even he would be proud of Bachchan's performance in Raavan. Incidentally, it was Mani Ratnam who helped Bachchan get rid of the ham status by trusting him with parts in Yuva and Guru. Aishwarya Rai gives a thorough performance doing full justice to her talent and pulchritude. During the course of the movie, one incredibly gets to see her in all the nine rasas (essential aspects or energies that define a set of emotions and moods). Govinda is invidiously under used in the movie and hence fails to leave an impact. The rest of the cast has given commendable performances with a special mention of Bhojpuri actor, Ravi Kishan.

Barring a few redundant scenes, Raavan is consummate in every sense of the word, and has enough to fascinate the masses, awe the critics, and teach the students of cinema. In fact, it will undoubtedly serve as a benchmark for the movies in years to come.

PS: Raavan is a must watch for those who love Hindi cinema and for those who want to acquaint themselves with it. 9/10

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If you are the one who is ready to pay your hard earned money just to watch great cinematography then this movie is for you, otherwise skip it.

performance wise, a lot was expected from Abhishek but he disappoints, all he did is trying to look like a Raakshas and quacks like a duck every now and then 'bak bak bak bak', Aishwarya, you cant blame her much, because she never was an actor, all she does in this movie is to scream loudly in her ugly voice, Vikram doesn't have much role in this movie, he is OK. and finally Priyamani, she had only few scenes and she is simply superb. oh no! i forgot to mention Govinda, Mani smartly chose Govinda for the Hanuman role, as Govinda's acting always reminded us the monkey antics This is the first ever Mani Ratnam movie which has really disappointed me.

all in all, wait for the DVD release

From the trailer and the general talk, you might have guessed the basic premise. Raavan (Abhishek Bacchhan) kidnaps Sita (Aish). Ram (Vikram), with the help of Hanuman (Govinda) tries to get Sita back and kill Raavan. Of course, the motivation for Raavan's abduction of Sita is the insult of Surpanaka (Priyamani). What if this basic premise constitutes the entire movie with nothing else? The movie is going to suck & that is what Raavan is. What makes the original Ramayan interesting is the many many interesting characters and subplots without which even it would be uninteresting. This is where Raavan fails.

The plot is as thin as a razor blade. Screenplay is one jumbled mess especially in the 1st half. Mani Ratnam is my most favourite Indian director & it is really really hard for me to digest that he had directed this mess.

Abhishek Bacchhan was absolutely irritating as Beera. Since his only good performances were in Yuva & Guru which were directed by Mani, I thought he will be good as Beera. But what an irritating interpretation of the role! Aish's only duty in the movie was to look beautiful and scream at regular intervals which she does greatly. Vikram has nothing much to do. His character was badly written. Priyamani is good in her brief appearance. Govinda and Ravi Kishan are the two bright spots as far as acting department is considered.

The locations and cinematography are breathtaking to say the least. Raavan is a heavy contender in the next award season as far as cinematography is considered. The same goes for music. Rahman gave a great music and background score. But since general public wouldn't be interested in only photography and music, I can see empty theaters and a doomed future for the movie. I will be happy if I'm wrong. I really can't believe Mani Ratnam has directed this entirely from his heart.

I've seen each one of Mani's movies of the last 25 years & without doubt Raavan is Mani Ratnam's most uninteresting movie. The first half is as dumb as you can get. The entire 1st half is like one long personal holiday photo-shoot of AbhiAsh with some exotic background views. The 2nd half is slightly better but on the whole, Raavan is a 140 minute advertisement for the beauty of Aish & India's forests.

I also wanted to see Villain (Raavan in Telugu) because of Vikram who plays Raavan in this version. But after this experience, I neither have the patience nor energy to do it. May be some time after the DVD comes out.

In fact, the making of this film is intriguing enough to compel me to want to watch both its Hindi version which I have done, and to compare it with the Tamil version Raavanan (with an almost similar casting) that is also simultaneously showing here (unfortunately without English subtitles). This Tamil version also got dubbed into Telugu and other regional languages for the Indian subcontinental market. With both versions being shot at the same time, what made it interesting in Ghajini-equivalent terms, is that the lead actress takes on the same role in both versions - Aishwarya Rai Bachchan plays Ragini in both, while Vikram takes on the superintendent of police Dev in the Hindi film, then reverses his alignment to take on the villain in the Tamil version.

The basis of the story follows the three lead characters in a battle between good and evil as represented by Lord Ram and Ravana respectively, where the latter kidnaps the former's wife Sita, and woos her while she awaits her husband's rescue. To say more will be to give away the pivotal surprise at the end of this film, which in my opinion, stuck mostly with the spirit of the tale, and how it panned out with a surprise. In Mani Ratnam's film, the lines of good and evil are blurred into shades of grey, as he boldly suggested that not all good are virtuous, and sometimes evil gets committed if violence, threats and killings are somehow justified, albeit in personal terms.

We're plunged straightaway into the cat-and-mouse chase in the opening scene of the film, where we see Beera (Abhishek Bachchan as the Ravana equivalent) and his gang of merry men inflicting maximum carnage on police officers, where on one hand he's being hunted by the law, and on the other, celebrated by the rural poor villages as a hero. He's basically your anti- establishment Robin Hood kinda guy, fighting the corrupt powers that be and ensuring that the needs of the lower caste get taken care of. He seems to be walking wounded, and it'll take up until the opening of the second half of the film to understand his violent motivations.

Meanwhile, we follow Vikram's Dev (as the Lord Ram equivalent) and his troops as they arm themselves to the teeth and cuts through the forested region in which Beera's gang is hiding. We see from flashbacks that he's quite the devoted husband, and having his wife kidnapped by his mortal foe just seethes enough rage in him to use all means necessary to reclaim his wife. That, or perhaps it's his ego under siege? It's this singular obsession that gets unfolded over time, that we also learn his true motivations, and the kind of officer of the law he is.

Then there's Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's Ragini as the Sita equivalent, but no she doesn't sing, but is a classical dancer, to allow for some picturization over the brilliant A.R. Rahman's songs. Ragini isn't as strong as she thought she was, but in her fearlessness comes unseen courage to stand up to Beera when held as a captive, and treading really close to exhibiting the Stockholm Syndrome. The best parts that Aish has in the film is when she's allowed to emote her feelings alone along beautiful landscapes, opening up her inner desires and hopes of escape from the clutches of evil.

It's been some time since the husband and wife team starred in the same film (the last being Sarkar Raj) so Raavana comes as a treat to fans as they go up against one another as foes, friends and with that tinge of a romantic possibility as well, alongside a backdrop of water, water everywhere, from rain to wild rivers, and under strong waterfalls. While Aishwarya's performance is very restrained as the regal Ragini, her best moments were in the rare dance sequences that provided an additional dimension to A.R. Rahman's score, which was yet another crowning glory for the film, and provided a lift when the narrative dips at times. Abhishek proved that he can play crazy, and does so with aplomb as the unpredictable, schizophrenic even, Beera.

You'll be asked to have patience during the first half of the film as you can teased with flashbacks while having to endure the setting of the stage with the establishing of key characters. The film (kept just slightly over 2 hours) springs to life immediate post- intermission as the basis for the feud gets explained, and here you're likely to feel swung over to Beera's side, and offer sympathies to just what he's doing for the community, and for himself and family. Vikram brings about that macho flair as the super-cop hell bent on eradicating his arch-enemy, and his moment of truth lies in the superbly executed scene opposite Aishwarya when he begins his interrogation. It's a short scene, but a dramatic breather after an all-out fight choreography on a suspension bridge reminiscence from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, though here with plenty of obvious wirework.

I don't understand how this film could have garnered broadly negative reviews. As a Bollywood film it's beautifully shot, with big name stars bringing to life characters that are remotely familiar to an epic, a director with a vision bold enough to challenge convention and ruffle a few feathers with his spin on an epic. At times it's poetic in nature thanks to its music, and engages you to throw moral judgement on the leading characters as they evolve. If I have time, I'll probably be sitting in the Tamil version just to see how Vikram does his Ravana.