Mani Ratnam's much anticipated multi lingual Raavan (a.k.a Raavanan in Tamil) is a commendable and bold cinematic effort to recreate the timeless epic of Ramayana which embodies universally appealing values of heroism, jealousy , mistrust , revenge and evil. Though evil here is more about revealing the antihero in Raavan and seeing those same traits ironically reversed in Ram at another point in time. Ram here is Dev (played by Vikram)a duty bound cop with a single mission to bring down his nemesis Beera (played by Abhishek) who is the protector of the downtrodden but one who does not let morals come in his way. A much wanted criminal in the eyes of the law. His philosophy is almost a Mahabharata borrowed one of "ends justify the means". What drives him to do that one thing that bring hims onto a vengeful collision path with Dev is unveiled slowly during the movie . It all starts off with the abduction by Beera of the character based on Sita , represented as Ragini (played by Aishwarya). Ragini is the wife of Dev and this begins the odyssey set against some of the most spectacular landscapes shot most brilliantly and expectedly by Santosh Sivan.
Set against lush forests, deep gorges, inundated streams and constant cleansing of the earth by the abundant rain, Ragini tied and gagged is dragged along by Beera, with Dev and his band of other cops in pursuit. Beera is an unusual specimen, intense , unpredictable, maniacal yet a character with whom one does start forming a bond of affection and empathy as we realise a certain lovable and humane side of his character. Abhishesh plays Beera industriously , trying to get under the skin of the character even though there are mannerisms which could have been handled more subtly but then that is the directors outlook. In all a performance worth acknowledging set against the often churned out mediocrity of Bollywood. One can't ever relegate Aishwarya to the background and not the least here because she is the focal point of the movie, the one who is subjected to a cruel fate. She does portray her character with intensity but what annoys is her voice and associated intonation and that creates a certain hamming like effect. No doubt sensing the potential of such a role, she does seem to have put in that little extra effort. Her beauty, with time has not waned and she is graceful and classic at most times. Dev played by Vikram is powerful for the action sequences and when he is angry but surely Mani Ratnam should not be compromising on the power of speech expecting delivery in Hindi from a chap who is not a natural Hindi speaker. Govinda plays the character based on Hanuman and is at best a very marginal role. Others including brothers of Beera and the aggrieved step sister of Beera player by Priyamani are all just about OK. Now the reason that I believe this is not a memorable movie is on account of the fact that Mani Ratnam has excessively depended on visuals and even facial expressions to attempt to create a unique experience but this comes at the expense of dialogues which lack the punch and often is mistimed. The narrative does not really dig deep into the characters and reveal their flaws and strengths. Abhishek has done what he could as his best but was he the best choice? Finally the climax and the last 30 mins of the movie is a lot more engaging and does eventually make you leave the movie hall with a fair amount of satisfaction but with a lingering doubt as to if this is indeed the best we can now expect from Mani Ratnam ? Once you have finished watching the movie in a movie hall (not on DVD), think of the opening sequence.
