Raavanan

Director – Mani Ratnam

Music – A R Rahman

Lyrics – Vairamuthu

Cast – Vikram, Aishwaraya Rai Bachchan, Priyamani, Prithviraj, Prabhu, Karthik

Raavan was one of the biggest flops of 2010 which turned Abhishek Bachchan’s career upside down. His father the senior Bachchan blamed the editorial faults for the failure of the film. As such seeing Raavanan at PIFF was taking a big risk. What made the jury select the Tamil version of the film for PIFF whose Hindi version was a big dud? This anxiety made me go opt for Raavanan over the other foreign films. 

The story is the same except for the cast. Veeraiya or Veera (Vikram) is a wanted Naxal taking shelter in the dense forests of the south. He is believed to have the capacity of ten people, thus having ten minds making him to be one step ahead of the law. Veera kidnaps Ragini (Aishwaraya) wife of Dev (Prithviraj) the newly appointed SP of the area. Ragini is not afraid of Veera. When she learns about Veera’s real intentions behind her kidnap she develops a soft corner for him, her loyalties rest with Dev. Veera’s younger brother is murdered in an attempt to negotiate surrender.  What happens next? See the film for the twist.

Vikram dominates the film with his superb portrayal of Veera. The film belongs to Vikram. His style, dialogues, costumes and attitude make you hate and love him at the same time. Aishwaraya and Prithviraj have done justice to their roles while Priyamani, Karthik and Prabhu provide useful support. Mani Ratnam creates magic in Tamil and you must see the film in order to understand his concept behind the film – Is there a Ram inside a Raavan? The dialogues create a bigger impact in Tamil as compared to Hindi. Suhasini Mani Ratnam has penned some fiery dialogues.

Cinematography by Santosh Sivan and V Manikandan is outstanding (Majority of the film was shot in the dense forests of Kerela and some portions in Malshej Ghat in Maharashtra). Editing is flawless. The only drawback is the poor animation used at the beginning of the film. Music by A R Rahman matches to the lyrics of Vairamuthu in such a way that the film creates an impact on your mind. It forces you to think. Who is right? Veera or Dev?

Adaptation of the Ramayana by Mani Ratnam in Raavanan is more logical and practical than the adaption of the Mahabharata by Prakash Jha in Raajneeti. The film belongs to Vikram and Mani Ratnam. I go with three and a half stars out of five for Raavanan. If you understand Tamil (even to a little extent) you’ll adore the film and if you don’t you’ll still return satisfied. Don’t miss it.