Now a Ramayan interpretation . Review on Raavan

Tagged as Mani Ratnam’s Magnum opus, Raavan is a visual extravaganza. Mani Ratnam has worked on every aspect of this movie, from the small sprays of water vapour, to the vast ‘jump scenes’ there is very little to fault when it comes to the cinematography. Having said that there are some aspects of the movie that will leave you wondering what is going on.

For people who have no idea what Raavan is about, it’s probably the oldest wine India has to offer in a new bottle. The Ramayan has been interpreted in numerous ways, and Mani Ratnam’s interpretation is pretty close, saving the ending which does drag on. Plot aside, it would be simpler to analyse the roles played by various actors (I recently found out that word actresses is politically incorrect).

Abhishek Bacchan (Raavan)

The last time I saw Abhishek in a negative role, I was impressed. Compared to his role in Yuva, there is a lot more eccentricity involved. To make up for the ten heads of Raavan, There is frequent mention of having ten men living in his head, and being in ten places at a time. Abhishek does bring a lot to the movie, and his chemistry with Aish is plain for all to see.

Abhishek may not have set the screen on fire with his performance, but he has done full justice to the role, and ironically his finest hour is at the end of the movie.

Aish (Sita)

I don’t see why anyone has ever doubted Aish’s performances in the past. As the distressed, yet brave Sita, Aish does a brilliant job, and is without a doubt the show stealer. There have been rumours, that Aish has stuck to almost negligible amounts of make up in the movie, if this is so. I can see why she was a Miss Universe in the past. Her love hate relationship with Abhishek, is a must watch and probably the shining beacon in an otherwise dull story.

Govinda (Hanuman)

Govinda has a delivered an extremely mature, yet comedic performance in the movie. The moment Govinda came on the scene, he was making me smile and giggle. I was expecting slap stick all out buffoonery, but Govinda surprised me and pretty much everyone in the hall. His exit from the movie was not sudden, and he did fade away towards the end of the movie.

Vikram (Ram)

Vikram’s dialogue delivery was severely hampered by his obvious knowledge of Hindi. What did work for him was his depiction of a fearless warrior much like lord Ram in the Ramayan. That said, I am sure Mani Ratnam could have picked a bigger actor for the role. On the other hand, a major Bollywood actor might have taken the focus away from Abhishek and hence undermined the entire exercise. Vikram does have his moments, and his tiff with Aish at the end of the movie is believable.

The music scores in the movie are really good, and will not put you to sleep.

All in all, Raavan is a visual extravaganza, that will have nature lovers and romantics thrilled. The story does not follow the Ramayan strictly and there are serious disconnects at places. The plot will not inspire you, but the performances might and the visuals definitely will.

Ps: no revealing the plot as always.