Do we judge the qualities of our lives and that of our own self with a contrast as simple as black and white, good or bad? That is what Mani Ratnam had tried to bring out with his densely shot 'Raavan'. It took Mani and his team a grueling three years to complete this flick, which says alot about the kind of effort it took to shoot the movie in the dense forests of Madya Pradesh.
First of all, Raavan is one of those movies that can't be compared with Mani's previous works. Some may claim it is not on par with his other movies, while some may claim it is as good as any. Admittedly Mani's best movie to date, Iruvar, had a similar response during its initial release before it picked up steam and played to the gallery of classics around a decade later. Raavan might fall in the same mould- few years from now, it'll be seen as a classic.
Mani seems to cut loose whatever is left of the thin veil of ropes that tied him from fully expressing his ideas in his previous movies, and he executes Raavan with a newfound freedom- thus pushing the envelope further as far as the qualities of his own movies go. We all saw what happened when Mani went bold in Iruvar- the movie collapsed on a commercial structure, and like someone who failed in a first real jump, Mani was very subtle in the movies that he made after 'Iruvar', and it took him some time to attempt something with complete boldness again- and by some time I mean 13 years. Because it's only in Raavan that he rediscovers that touch.
Even Iruvar wasn't a perfect movie, but it was classic- so much to the extent that even the unanswered grey aspects of the movie, the hanging threads, and the flaws have come to be accepted to be part of what makes the movie even greater- and Raavan's imperfections might work the same way, they will dissolve as time passes by- and the movie will be accepted as one to be remembered for a long time to come.
To begin with the story- Beera (Abhishek) is another one of Mani's Nayakan moulded character. A man who stands firmly at the wrong side of the law, but not necessarily at the wrong side of life on a larger scale. He is at logger heads with Dev (Vikram), a ruthless local policemen who is hell bent in killing Beera, and thus erasing the image of a lawbreaker ruling the roosts in the rustic rural area of Lal Maati. Once Dev and his fellow policemen contribute heavily to the ill-fated death of Jamuniya (Priyamani)- Beera's stepsister, Beera goes out for revenge. He savages few of Dev's colleagues, and abducts Ragini (Aishwarya Rai), Dev's apple of the eye. Beera vows to kill Ragini within 14 hours of abduction to avenge for his sister, but when Ragini's lack of fear strikes him like a bolt of thunder, Beera retracts from the stance and instead keeps her alive- an act that would set a motion of unprecedented events and upturn of emotions leading to an emotional and poetic climax.
Abhishek Bachchan without doubt is Mani's personal favorite, and Beera was tailor made for him. He plays the character with such effervescence that his facial expressions alone are sufficient to deliver the kind of emotional turmoil he goes through when he starts falling in love with Ragini. He gives a weak look full of love at one glimpse of his vulnerable moment, and at the very next, he returns to his sadistic smile that is his trademark. He comes across as a good-hearted character who shouts out loud to the world that he is indeed a ten-headed Raavan, and a devil in order to hide his own soft side. You start by despising Beera's madness, slowly get intrigued by the layers of emotions he has within himself, and you start adoring him towards the end of the movie. On another day and at the hands of a lesser actor, the character Beera can easily come across as just being a pure psycho, but Abhi prevents that with great deliverance. Every little detail of his performance is polished put exceptionally, so much so that when he finally strings together a dialogue to express himself, no matter how short or incomplete, you'd know what he was actually saying. This is Abhi's best career performance to date, and betters even Guru in many aspects.
Aishwarya Rai never lost an ounce of elegance even after all those years, she looks genuinely charming even in the scenes where she is thrashing about in torn clothes with dirt smearing all over her body. And her performance is no less elegant as well. She stands out well in the plethora of visually poetic scenes between Abhi and her, and yet she stands her ground, and makes the duel and the battle of eyes even more interesting. She is convincing in the latter half when she is torn by her blossoming care for Raavan and also her existing love for Dev, as the two men seem to be heading on a collision course- she struggles to differentiate black and white anymore, which is what the film is all about. In short, Mani tells us the story through Ash's bewildered eyes- the entire darkness and gray shades about it.
Vikram is convincing as the ruthless policeman, and also manages to bring out well the demonic obsession that consumes him towards the end of the movie, when he was killing people at the snap of a finger just to get Beera. His need to get Beera weighs over his need to find Ragini, the kind of obsession not associated with a typified 'good guy'. As Raavan shows love and care for the woman, Dev shows more thirst for blood that tends to be justified by his khaki uniform. The gray shades of Dev were so effortlessly brought forward by the National-award winner.
Priyamani leaves a lasting impact despite her brief appearance, and manages to evoke sympathy for her ill-fated character- a good cameo to get herself introduced in Bollywood. Govinda is underutilized, but manages to evoke humor in the eariler scenes that he was part of- as the story focused more on Beera's side of things.
Technically the film is too good, in one word. Santosh Sivan returns to wield the camera for the larger part of the movie, for the first time since 'Dil Se', and his camerawork is simply mindblowing, not to take any credit away from V.Mani Kandan, who was also the joint cinematographer. The denseness of the jungle, and the depth of the river are simple natural settings, but the way the shots are composed makes this one of the most, if not the most visually poetic movie ever made in Indian cinema. Scenes between Abhi and Ash especially deserve special mention- the shots used for the song 'Behene De' steals your breath away. Mani stays true to his common principles of using natural lights for his films and it is evident again in Raavan.
Kudos should go to every member of the production team for executing the film with such a natural look in such a difficult location- every actor is made to work and go through genuine physical barriers to enact their roles, as it is evident in the movie.
AR Rahman's music as usual carries the film forward almost single handedly at times. There is a variation of music for every different setting, for every different mood, and what tops it all is ARR's own slow humming song 'Uduja' that is used heavily during the climax, bringing out the exact emotional content of the moments.
'Thok De Killi', 'Khilli Re' and 'Kata Kata' carry Mani's usual trademark of songs being executed exceptionally well, as the choreography of all three songs captivates a great deal.
Mani excels in writing the couple of plot twists in the lead up to the climax, and perhaps his biggest achievement would be that despite the plot twist, he doesn't lose the core emotional content that sets the film running. Mani may have not written the dialogues himself, but staying true to his trademark of minimal dialogue usage, the dialogues are great whenever delivered, especially around the climax and the emotional scenes between Ash and Abhi. Vijay Krishna Acharya lost so much credibility after his Tashan flopped that he was sacked from Yash Raj Productions, but with his dialogues for Raavan alone, has attained himself from credibility again, as it looks like he is still Mani's trusted ally in that particular department.
All in all, Raavan has its flaws and unfinished threads- but it is by no means a cumbersome movie- in fact it is a classic for that very reason- the film ends like an open ended question, a question that reverts back to the audiences, to pick up the pieces and find the Ram and Raavan within their own selfs as they makes their way home. Some might say this movie is not for everyone- it is in fact for everyone. But some might find it hard to stomach or dismiss it. But give it sometime and it'll grow back on you.
Mani Ratnam is a gem for the Indian film industry. And with a great deal of help from his actors and technical team, he proves that once again with Raavan.
A couple of cheers and now the wait begins for the next Mani Ratnam film. :)
Rating: 9/10
p.s.- don't listen to the critics. They don't make movies. Mani Ratnam does.
Taran Ardash, please humbly quit reviewing movies.
First of all, Raavan is one of those movies that can't be compared with Mani's previous works. Some may claim it is not on par with his other movies, while some may claim it is as good as any. Admittedly Mani's best movie to date, Iruvar, had a similar response during its initial release before it picked up steam and played to the gallery of classics around a decade later. Raavan might fall in the same mould- few years from now, it'll be seen as a classic.
Mani seems to cut loose whatever is left of the thin veil of ropes that tied him from fully expressing his ideas in his previous movies, and he executes Raavan with a newfound freedom- thus pushing the envelope further as far as the qualities of his own movies go. We all saw what happened when Mani went bold in Iruvar- the movie collapsed on a commercial structure, and like someone who failed in a first real jump, Mani was very subtle in the movies that he made after 'Iruvar', and it took him some time to attempt something with complete boldness again- and by some time I mean 13 years. Because it's only in Raavan that he rediscovers that touch.
Even Iruvar wasn't a perfect movie, but it was classic- so much to the extent that even the unanswered grey aspects of the movie, the hanging threads, and the flaws have come to be accepted to be part of what makes the movie even greater- and Raavan's imperfections might work the same way, they will dissolve as time passes by- and the movie will be accepted as one to be remembered for a long time to come.
To begin with the story- Beera (Abhishek) is another one of Mani's Nayakan moulded character. A man who stands firmly at the wrong side of the law, but not necessarily at the wrong side of life on a larger scale. He is at logger heads with Dev (Vikram), a ruthless local policemen who is hell bent in killing Beera, and thus erasing the image of a lawbreaker ruling the roosts in the rustic rural area of Lal Maati. Once Dev and his fellow policemen contribute heavily to the ill-fated death of Jamuniya (Priyamani)- Beera's stepsister, Beera goes out for revenge. He savages few of Dev's colleagues, and abducts Ragini (Aishwarya Rai), Dev's apple of the eye. Beera vows to kill Ragini within 14 hours of abduction to avenge for his sister, but when Ragini's lack of fear strikes him like a bolt of thunder, Beera retracts from the stance and instead keeps her alive- an act that would set a motion of unprecedented events and upturn of emotions leading to an emotional and poetic climax.
Abhishek Bachchan without doubt is Mani's personal favorite, and Beera was tailor made for him. He plays the character with such effervescence that his facial expressions alone are sufficient to deliver the kind of emotional turmoil he goes through when he starts falling in love with Ragini. He gives a weak look full of love at one glimpse of his vulnerable moment, and at the very next, he returns to his sadistic smile that is his trademark. He comes across as a good-hearted character who shouts out loud to the world that he is indeed a ten-headed Raavan, and a devil in order to hide his own soft side. You start by despising Beera's madness, slowly get intrigued by the layers of emotions he has within himself, and you start adoring him towards the end of the movie. On another day and at the hands of a lesser actor, the character Beera can easily come across as just being a pure psycho, but Abhi prevents that with great deliverance. Every little detail of his performance is polished put exceptionally, so much so that when he finally strings together a dialogue to express himself, no matter how short or incomplete, you'd know what he was actually saying. This is Abhi's best career performance to date, and betters even Guru in many aspects.
Aishwarya Rai never lost an ounce of elegance even after all those years, she looks genuinely charming even in the scenes where she is thrashing about in torn clothes with dirt smearing all over her body. And her performance is no less elegant as well. She stands out well in the plethora of visually poetic scenes between Abhi and her, and yet she stands her ground, and makes the duel and the battle of eyes even more interesting. She is convincing in the latter half when she is torn by her blossoming care for Raavan and also her existing love for Dev, as the two men seem to be heading on a collision course- she struggles to differentiate black and white anymore, which is what the film is all about. In short, Mani tells us the story through Ash's bewildered eyes- the entire darkness and gray shades about it.
Vikram is convincing as the ruthless policeman, and also manages to bring out well the demonic obsession that consumes him towards the end of the movie, when he was killing people at the snap of a finger just to get Beera. His need to get Beera weighs over his need to find Ragini, the kind of obsession not associated with a typified 'good guy'. As Raavan shows love and care for the woman, Dev shows more thirst for blood that tends to be justified by his khaki uniform. The gray shades of Dev were so effortlessly brought forward by the National-award winner.
Priyamani leaves a lasting impact despite her brief appearance, and manages to evoke sympathy for her ill-fated character- a good cameo to get herself introduced in Bollywood. Govinda is underutilized, but manages to evoke humor in the eariler scenes that he was part of- as the story focused more on Beera's side of things.
Technically the film is too good, in one word. Santosh Sivan returns to wield the camera for the larger part of the movie, for the first time since 'Dil Se', and his camerawork is simply mindblowing, not to take any credit away from V.Mani Kandan, who was also the joint cinematographer. The denseness of the jungle, and the depth of the river are simple natural settings, but the way the shots are composed makes this one of the most, if not the most visually poetic movie ever made in Indian cinema. Scenes between Abhi and Ash especially deserve special mention- the shots used for the song 'Behene De' steals your breath away. Mani stays true to his common principles of using natural lights for his films and it is evident again in Raavan.
Kudos should go to every member of the production team for executing the film with such a natural look in such a difficult location- every actor is made to work and go through genuine physical barriers to enact their roles, as it is evident in the movie.
AR Rahman's music as usual carries the film forward almost single handedly at times. There is a variation of music for every different setting, for every different mood, and what tops it all is ARR's own slow humming song 'Uduja' that is used heavily during the climax, bringing out the exact emotional content of the moments.
'Thok De Killi', 'Khilli Re' and 'Kata Kata' carry Mani's usual trademark of songs being executed exceptionally well, as the choreography of all three songs captivates a great deal.
Mani excels in writing the couple of plot twists in the lead up to the climax, and perhaps his biggest achievement would be that despite the plot twist, he doesn't lose the core emotional content that sets the film running. Mani may have not written the dialogues himself, but staying true to his trademark of minimal dialogue usage, the dialogues are great whenever delivered, especially around the climax and the emotional scenes between Ash and Abhi. Vijay Krishna Acharya lost so much credibility after his Tashan flopped that he was sacked from Yash Raj Productions, but with his dialogues for Raavan alone, has attained himself from credibility again, as it looks like he is still Mani's trusted ally in that particular department.
All in all, Raavan has its flaws and unfinished threads- but it is by no means a cumbersome movie- in fact it is a classic for that very reason- the film ends like an open ended question, a question that reverts back to the audiences, to pick up the pieces and find the Ram and Raavan within their own selfs as they makes their way home. Some might say this movie is not for everyone- it is in fact for everyone. But some might find it hard to stomach or dismiss it. But give it sometime and it'll grow back on you.
Mani Ratnam is a gem for the Indian film industry. And with a great deal of help from his actors and technical team, he proves that once again with Raavan.
A couple of cheers and now the wait begins for the next Mani Ratnam film. :)
Rating: 9/10
p.s.- don't listen to the critics. They don't make movies. Mani Ratnam does.
Taran Ardash, please humbly quit reviewing movies.
