Raavan is Manirathnam’s interpretation of the Indian epic Raamayan. A thought provoking idea which has been narrated by ManiRathnam, makes you think about the boundaries & the differences between what’s Good & what’s Evil.
As the story goes along, you start synpathizing with Raavan’s character, though he is initially shown as a symbol of the evil Demon Raavan. The grey shades of the so called Good Rama’s character starts to seem like the Evil one !This is realized through the character Aishwarya plays that of Sita.
Manirathnam has used his creative license to tell convey his thoughts in a radically out of the box plot line.
Good aspects of the film are its stunning scenic visuals shot by Santosh Sivan in Kerala, Ooty & some of the forest areas in India. They are definitely a treat to viewers eyes.
Aishwarya looks stunning as ever before & Abhishek renders a brilliant performance supported by the ensemble cast cvomprising of Vikram, Priyamani, Govinda, Ravi Kishen & Nikhil.
Music & background score by AR Rahman is the biggest asset of this Manirathnam film. I loved the song rendered by the almighty Rahman towards the rolling credits of the film. Sad that this song is not available on the Audio CD of the film.
Behne De, Beera & Ranjha Ranjha are some of the good numbers from Raavan’s album. I was disappointed that the song Ranjha Ranjha was not shown in the film completely & is used only in parts.
I am not sure if the plotline of the film will go down well or will even be well understood by the mass audience of India. But I am sure the Manirathnam’s all time fans like me will surely head towards the theatres to experience Manirathnam’s new film.
As I head back watching the film Raavan, & switched on the TV, reports were coming in that the film had not opened really well at many places. But its definitely worth a watch for the Manirathnam’s fans !
Here’s a peak at some of the best visuals from Raavan which I think is unfortunately edited out from the film
https://youtube.com/user/RaavanTheFilm#p/u/10/I1WIny6Z-Kc