Raavan 7/10
Just coming from Raavan night show. Taking in account rainy, friday late night show, the theater was pretty full.
Warning: My review may contain spoilers and is going to be compared with Kim Ki Duk's "
Bad Guy".
So, after Mahavarat we get Ramayan. Are there any epics left? No, right, thats a breather.
~~~~ Spoiler ~~~~
Taking a backdrop of Naxal activity the story unfolds slowly. Veera (Abhishek) is the leader, people are confused if he's Raavan or Robin Hood and Dev (Vikram) wants to put this confusion to an end. In this tussle Dev's wife gets kidnapped and sets out for searching her. In the journey meets with Sanjeevani (Govinda) who helps him with jungle roads. Eventually Veera and Dev meets and story ends (well, a few of here can predict what happens then)
~~~~ Spoiler End~~~~
Story: Maniratnam got a readymade script as he's following Ramayana. He just molded it into present time-line still loopholes are present but they are covered by some good acting.
Cinematography: Awesome. This is the only reason you should watch it in theater. Aish is not my fav. but still she looks beautiful in some angles.
Editing: A few time not so tidy. One totally unnecessary scene was kept (Aish's monologue). Which just adds no value, long enough to bore you. It actually reminded me Twinkle Khanna's monologues in Mela
Songs: A.R. Rehman's latest miracle is missing from this movie, i.e. the song "Ranjha Ranjha", only one stanza is given to us. I was so sad, I loved this song very much. Its hip, deep, funny and tells so much about feelings. A few songs are misplaced. I'm noticing since Guru Maniratnam's movies are having unnecessary songs and songs in WTF situations. Songs just didnot suite this movie.
Acting:-
Abhishek had so so much acting scope that he could have taken this movie to a new level on its own but he fails to deliver till that level. He tried his best (or may be not) but just got out of control in a few scenes. Rest are alright. His portraying of Veera was very well done. But if could replace that "Jhik Jhik Jhik" thing along with a shaky head with a mystery laugh or smile. His character is so much similar with "Han Ki" in "Bad Guy", the make up, hair style, even the suppressed voice (both of them had different reasons though
)
Aish just hams whenever she opens her mouth. Does good with with eyes, again this movie should have been a one with only body language, eye movement and long silent shots.
Vikram, has no scope for acting. Only one scene he got show emotion that was when he found the village when Aish was kept hostage. He enters the room Aish was bound, found ropes, food etc and breaks down seeing them. Here a few moments showing his emotions would be a good thing but Maniratnam puts a song
Govinda just sucks.
Only another actor is a real find of this movie is Ravi Kishen. He is just awesome in his brief role. Really appreciate his efforts.
Verdict, a predictable movie with occassional good to gr8 acting. But a very dark and violent approach. This kind of movies are not for everyone and has every chance of being a flop.
Still appreciate Maniratnam for trying something new. I would have preferred to bring the violent parts a bit more which would have made some gr8 impact on audience mind. Making Veera involving in a brutal act so you hate him very much and then again making him love and suffer for Aish so much that you feel pity for him and love him. That would have been playing with audience mind which is just given a miss. Still try this, you may not be that disappointed.
. I have more than 30 movies pending to be watched but will surely watch these first!
)
