Raavan

Mani Ratnam's much anticipated multi lingual Raavan (a.k.a Raavanan in Tamil) is a commendable and bold cinematic effort to recreate the timeless epic of Ramayana which embodies universally appealing values of heroism, jealousy , mistrust , revenge and evil. Though evil here is more about revealing the antihero in Raavan and seeing those same traits ironically reversed in Ram at another point in time. Ram here is Dev (played by Vikram)a duty bound cop with a single mission to bring down his nemesis Beera (played by Abhishek) who is the protector of the downtrodden but one who does not let morals come in his way. A much wanted criminal in the eyes of the law. His philosophy is almost a Mahabharata borrowed one of "ends justify the means". What drives him to do that one thing that bring hims onto a vengeful collision path with Dev is unveiled slowly during the movie . It all starts off with the abduction by Beera of the character based on Sita , represented as Ragini (played by Aishwarya). Ragini is the wife of Dev and this begins the odyssey set against some of the most spectacular landscapes shot most brilliantly and expectedly by Santosh Sivan.

Set against lush forests, deep gorges, inundated streams and constant cleansing of the earth by the abundant rain, Ragini tied and gagged is dragged along by Beera, with Dev and his band of other cops in pursuit. Beera is an unusual specimen, intense , unpredictable, maniacal yet a character with whom one does start forming a bond of affection and empathy as we realise a certain lovable and humane side of his character. Abhishesh plays Beera industriously , trying to get under the skin of the character even though there are mannerisms which could have been handled more subtly but then that is the directors outlook. In all a performance worth acknowledging set against the often churned out mediocrity of Bollywood. One can't ever relegate Aishwarya to the background and not the least here because she is the focal point of the movie, the one who is subjected to a cruel fate. She does portray her character with intensity but what annoys is her voice and associated intonation and that creates a certain hamming like effect. No doubt sensing the potential of such a role, she does seem to have put in that little extra effort. Her beauty, with time has not waned and she is graceful and classic at most times. Dev played by Vikram is powerful for the action sequences and when he is angry but surely Mani Ratnam should not be compromising on the power of speech expecting delivery in Hindi from a chap who is not a natural Hindi speaker. Govinda plays the character based on Hanuman and is at best a very marginal role. Others including brothers of Beera and the aggrieved step sister of Beera player by Priyamani are all just about OK. Now the reason that I believe this is not a memorable movie is on account of the fact that Mani Ratnam has excessively depended on visuals and even facial expressions to attempt to create a unique experience but this comes at the expense of dialogues which lack the punch and often is mistimed. The narrative does not really dig deep into the characters and reveal their flaws and strengths. Abhishek has done what he could as his best but was he the best choice? Finally the climax and the last 30 mins of the movie is a lot more engaging and does eventually make you leave the movie hall with a fair amount of satisfaction but with a lingering doubt as to if this is indeed the best we can now expect from Mani Ratnam ? Once you have finished watching the movie in a movie hall (not on DVD), think of the opening sequence.

I was waiting for these three movies for more than one year. Kites was outside the boundary of discussion. For Rajneeti, so many scope was available for improvement, even in my perception there was no innovation or creativity in Rajneeti. After double disappointment my hope was very high with Raavan, which is bad, even in case of above average movie you'd feel that movie was not good or bad. But Raavan fulfill all of my hopes and I'm writing this review with a positive mood. Everything in movie is great i.e. acting, music, background score, cinematography everything but the best part of the movie is creativity and deep thinking in story. In the first part you'll enjoy the beautiful jungle scenes and rain but thinking and creativity comes in the second half of the movie, even in the end. If you have some deep knowledge of Ramayana then you'll enjoy this movie at its best. My recommendation is, just go to the movie. This is kind of movie which you can't miss. And don't forget to discuss the concept of movie with your friends. Rating 9/10

Raavan starts with a fascinating premise. After all, what can be worthier than watching a modern-day adaptation of the Ramayana made by Mani Ratnam himself? Upon release, the movie failed spectacularly, but I did not really care and still wanted to see it. And well, I was surely disappointed. Mani Ratnam is a very fine filmmaker, and his Dil Se is one of my favourite films. As expected, the film is a true visual treat - the cinematography is plain excellent and at times even manages to make up for many of the film's flaws. Some scenes are just a pleasure to watch, and the camera work is overall spectacular. But on the whole, as a film Raavan just really does not work, and what should and could have been gripping and captivating ends up being messy, uneven, uninteresting, and sadly, at times even boring. The problem is the script, and no matter how hard you try, at the end of the day the defining feature is always the content. Maybe the problem is with me, but I can assure that I tried to enjoy it, but couldn't. A.R. Rahman composes a nice soundtrack for the film, and it often fits the proceedings, but the background score is exaggerated. The many sadistic scenes in the movie fail to hold interest, although the action and the stunts are quite impressive. The final sequences get a bit better, but again, it's not enough.

Where acting goes, the movie is mostly a letdown. Abhishek Bachchan, in the title role, is miscast. He is never convincing enough, and looks rather artificial and unnatural while trying to portray a role that is quite demanding and ambiguous. Similarly, a beautiful Aishwarya Rai is, for the most part, painfully bad. She systematically overacts, screaming and shouting arduously even when it's completely unnecessary, and overall she just fails to portray her character's gradual growth and capture its feisty nature. It's quite saddening particularly in a year when she delivered a marvelous performance as the strong and strict Sofia in Guzaarish. One can easily imagine these two lead roles from Raavan handled with much more success by more capable actors, but in their favour it can be said that their chemistry is very good and it's evident that they feel comfortable working with each other. The ending and the climactic scene are quite a turning point, but they too are not sufficient to make the movie worth-watching. Raavan is certainly not an unwatchable movie experience as many have suggested, but it's just not good enough. The movie is clearly benefited from its cinematographic excellence which makes it quite a good watch at points, but this is not a good movie make, and all-in-all, Raavan is a disappointment.

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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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