Raavan is a curious case of Robinhood-turns-Romeo that jars your senses for most parts and even the technical brilliance fails to hold attention except for a few stray moments. If momentous Style is wedded to slow, illogical content, it doesn’t make for a pretty picture at all. For example a film like Jab We Met had its technical faults in terms of Art Direction but the fabulous story telling keeps you engaged throughout. Raavan, as a story, is neither about the much publicised Naxal movement and neither it is a convincing love story. Moreover, Abhishek’s acting irritates to no end. It reminds me of Drona and don’t ask me why.
The question that pesters me is, how can one spend massive crores in a film that is far from entertaining. In fact, beyond a point it is an ordeal to even sit through it. Some of the action sequences are marvelously done. The Abhishek-Vikram combative climax on the bridge-on-fire is brilliant and worth a wow-gasp but the film as a whole is riddled with silly abstractions and incohesive contexts.
Santosh Sivan mesmerisingly enhances Raagini’s (Aishwarya) magnetic beauty and Beera’s (Abhishek) animal madness. The waterfall of heaven springs towards ethereal flowing river. Fantastic visuals. And then back to basics, what new-n-different are you saying in your story? And mind you, it’s a Mani Ratnam film, so obviously the expectations are huge. So, who is the real Beera, the Robinhood whose sister (Priyamani) has been wronged by the Police and who enjoys a huge fan base amongst the poor tribals or Beera, the Romeo who falls for a police officer’s (Vikram) wife? The change-in-heart of a ruthless villain is way too filmi and one actually laughs at the silliness.
Sreekar Prasad’s Editing is interesting. It is at times simple, then zippy and then the too-close-for-comfort shots of Beera disturb your equanimity. And once again, the logic in highlighting Beera’s madness by such gimmicks is questionable (specially because it is a Mani Ratnam film and the man is one of the finest filmmakers that we have). Samir Chanda’s Art Direction is impressive and succeeds in creating a whole new world.
A R Rahman is a regular feature in Mani Ratnam’s films. Behne De, Khili Re Khili, Thok De Killi are nice tracks but from Rahman’s own standards, it is not one of his best soundtracks. In fact there’s a stark resemblance to his past work. The background score, in an attempt to spook the audience insinuating Beera’s manic unpredictableness, actually sounds jarring to ears at many an occasion.
Screenplay is attributed to Mani Ratnam himself. And that’s where the basic fault lies. It was a brave attempt to pit Abhishek and Aishwarya against each other. But the easier-way-out was taken by the change-in-heart, maybe to cater to a perceived public opinion that the real life husband-wife may not be accepted as hateful opponents. A filmmaker should always go by his own convictions and desist from sugar coating the context of his plot according to the perceived ’market demands’ . By the end of the film one is left wondering, what-was-that!
As I had mentioned earlier, the Action sequences are craftily handled and there is an audience that may appreciate the blazing guns and booming bombs. In fact, that’s the only hope this film has for survival at the ticket window. Action Director Shyam Kaushal and Peter Heines have done a neat job of making the action sequences look as Real as possible.
As for the performances, it is the supporting cast that is far more appealing than the big stars. Ravi Kishan as Beera’s elder brother Mangal is witty and joyous. Priyamani in a small part is deligfhtful. The many extras utilised as poor villagers are wonderfully casted. Of the biggies, Abhishek Bachchan should gear up for jokes being coined on his get-up and dialogue delivery style in Raavan. If Yuva and Guru are two of his best works (both directed by Mani), Raavan will be an embarassment. Aishwarya has acted competently and is nice in some hysterical moments. Govinda is wasted. He must do something about his wight, else be ready to be relegated to Uncle roles forever. Vikram has the typical South Indian hero charm. He is sincere and plays his part well.
As a director Mani Ratnam hits the lowest notes with Raavan. He has innovatively tried to incorporate the Mythology angle in his story but it doesn’t work. So, what is it, the new-age Ram turns Raavan. If the attempt was for the Box Office rewards, then the makers are in for a huge disappointment. If as a viewer one is relieved that the film is over, what more one can say. Raavan is a very expensive film. And it has got a very choppy sea to tide over. Stay away from this ’villain’ as far as you can.
My Rating will be: 1 1/2 stars