The misnomer - Raavan

Manirathnam movies generally have a charm about them. First there is huge talk and hype about what the magician is going to bring out this time. Then there is the anticipation for over a good two years while he toils away with his actors making the movie simultaneously in 2 languages (later to be released in 3). Whatever he does the audience is sure that it will be out of ordinary. His subjects are different. His presentation style is unique and the actors come out with resplendent performances. Raavan is yet another feather in Manirathnam’s cap but one feels that it falls short of what he has done with movies such as Roja and Bombay.

Raavan is an adaptation of the Ramayana. If this came as a spoiler alert to you, I am sorry but duh!? But it is a take of Ramayana with Raavan’s side of things. The director shows what Raavan is and what makes Raavan the person he is. Of course the scene is set in a more contemporary time where Raavan doesn’t really own Lanka but is a Naxal. He assists some villages that worship him. His opposite is Dev Pratap Sharma played by Vikram. I wouldn’t necessarily call him Ram because I know Ramayana too well. Dev is an SP who is determined to bell Beera played Abhishek Bacchan). Beera is a Naxal leader who terrorizes policemen and the rich. The story revolves around the kidnapping of Ragini played by Aishwarya Rai by Beera. His original plan is to kill her in 14 hours but finds himself incapable of doing it as she has no fear in her eyes. The story revolves around how Dev is going to reclaim his Sita, here Ragini. An interesting character in Sanjeevani is played by Govinda. He is the forest guard who shows Dev and his troupe the way around the forest. The other important character is Ravi Kishan who plays the brother of Beera. The story has the chronology of Ramayana without the additional characters and events. It is mainly how Beera falls in love with the captured damsel and how the stories of the naxalites lives stirs a different feeling in Ragini and how she experiences an inexpressible love for Beera. In the end good triumphs over evil but you are left wondering who was good in the first place.

What’s unique about Raavan is the extraordinary work put in by Santosh Sivan in cinematography. Even normal scenes are captured in a dramatic way. Many song and action sequences use slow motion and very different camera angles. In fact it reminds you of Santosh Sivan’s Ashoka. Though beautifully shot the over dramatization of normal events kills the flow and the narration of the story. The story is a known one and hence there is no excitement there. The characterization is ordinary and fails to induce any excitement. Abhishek Bacchan has the meatiest of roles but he doesn’t carry it well. His performance is patchy, good at places and ordinary at places. The movie is shot in breathtaking locales and the beauty of Aishwarya Rai finds a whole new way of expression. But sorry, that’s not enough for me in a movie. The plot is weak. Abhishek Bacchan is portrayed as a deadly criminal. The action sequences don’t substantiate his deadliness as they are not shot very nicely. They are ordinary. Vikram’s Hindi dialogue delivery is surprisingly good, but feels scripted. You want to know what Vikram can do please watch Sami or Aniyan in Tamil. You don’t even need to understand the language to know how good he is. For me, Vikram is a far better Raavan than AB. Aishwarya Rai looks beautiful and delivers a good performance. But we know she doesn’t belong to the league of great actors. After all these years one feels she will never be. Govinda’s character could have done a lot better. Priyaramani plays a cameo as Beera’s sister but it is not quite the Soorpanaka episode we know off. I’ve heard that Sri Lanka has some temples of Ravan and there he is worshipped. This movie is probably going to do extremely well there. The movie had potential but somehow the characters didn’t have the strength to carry it and the editing is so woeful that the movie feels like a collection of events.

Overall Raavan is a great painting. You can just take a particular picture and stare at it for hours. The mix of colors and the background will leave you speechless. As a movie it has too many holes. Manirathnam is quite a gambler and he has a history of some of his movies bombing without causing a stir. Kannathil Mutthamittal comes to my mind instantly. But he has a subject and usually deals with it fantastically. He didn’t have to show me Ramayana like a fairy tale picked from Arabian Nights. I believe in Ramayana and nobler than thou Raavan left me wondering did I pray to the wrong God all these years.