http://www.raavan-thefilm.com/
Mani Ratnams obsession with nature and darkness, especially, Aathirapilly water falls and jungle surrounding south India is apparent in the movie. Major portion of the film is besides, inner and nearby locations of waters, and in Monsoon.. The backdrops of locations maybe different, but the continuity have been strictly followed as audiences may not feel the difference anywhere (From Athirapilli to Hogaenakkal, to Ooty). Might be symbolising Ashokavanam...
Scenic locations, loved the nature untouched. Splendid technical work and shots.
Wild Beera (Abhi in Hindi and Vikram in Tamil) kidnaps gorgeous Ragini (Ash) only to find the justice in his own way.
Beauteous and virtuous modern-day Sita who's kidnapped by a Maoist 'Raavan' and taken through 14-day experience echoing Lord Rama's 14-year exile.
The image of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan plunging from the heights into a waterfall and getting trapped in a dry tree remains the one visual that surpasses all other recent celluloid mise en scene suggesting a link between nature and vulnerability.
Ragini a classical dancer and Dev Pratap Sharma IPS officer (Vikram in Hindi and Pritvi Raj in Tamil), are married, and they move together to the deep-rooted region of Lal Maati, a rural town in North India. This place has no regards for the police and court law, but in the hands of Beera. His ways are very untamed.
On a mission to put an end to Beera’s realms, Dev tears the things down. (Normal filmi story, of sister being raped by the police) Broken down in spirits as his happiness is completely lost, it’s turn for Beera to retaliate. How he does it, and Dev's reaction to it, is the Climax…
The climax fight (not the real climax)that takes place between Abhishek and Vikram in Raavan and Vikram and Prithviraj in Raavanan, on a wooden bridge captured from different angles, is also exquisite...
No fun and comedy except for Govinda jumping like a monkey, and bringing in shades of Hanuman. Subject line is related to Ramayan, and script is okay.
"Raavan" is a feast for the senses. Not much more needs to be said about Mani's images. They flow out of Santosh Sivan and Manikandan's cameras with the urgency of a symphony written on the night before apocalypse.
The message as is one of my favourate quotes:
‘There is so much of good in the worst of us, and so much of bad in the best of us…”
Is there a Ram inside Raavan?
And a Raavan inside each of us?
But too intense a movie, to watch again immediately, unlike those who watch consequtive shows of the same.... Loved to have most of the team members together for it....
Mani Ratnam once again has floundered a chance to make a good movie from a good Subject. The premise of the film was that there is a thin line between Good and Bad. The characters of Rama and Ravana in the epic Ramayana are equally talented but Ravana becomes bad because of his mistake of eying an another person's Wife. If it was Mani Ratnam's attempt to show Ramayana from the angle of Ravana, he has made a hash of it. For all of Mani's intelligence, he only finds an old cliche (Sister's rape) as a reason for Beera's revenge. How does Dev (Rama) become Bad, when actually Beera is the one who takes law into his own hands. When Dev uses his wife to get to Beera, its not wrong because he was doing his job (Karma, Bhagvad Geetha). Ragini's (Sita) characterization is confusing. She comes across as hollow and malleable. Mani falls into the all the cliche traps of showing Raavan as ugly and barbaric. Overall Mani has disappointed again with his lackadaisical approach to a Good Subject.
ReplyDeleteAren’t true feelings, divine and spontaneous? Do people really have feeling towards others taking into consideration if they are married or what their financial situation is?
ReplyDeleteI am reminded of a lesson learned in school, the moral of which was ‘you do not love people because they are beautiful, but they seem beautiful, because you love them’…
And about law, if the safe guarders of law can break them, then why should not the common man take the laws in their hands?
Preclimax scene was in Malshej, shooting for the never ending 'raavan'..then there was Lonavala…
ReplyDelete