RAVANAN - MY REVIEW

Hi Friends I managed to watch RAVANAN (One of the most expected movies of this year, my other expectations are Mohan Lal,Suresh Gopi,Sarath Kumar starrer CHRISTIAN BROTHERS and the MOST expected movie is ENTHIRAN starring none other than super star RAJNI KANTH) on the day of the release itself (Vere enna periya velai enakku!!).Initially I was planning to watch RAVAN at 6.30pm and then RAVANAN at 9.30 pm but my friends adviced me against this coz it will be too boring since both have the same storyline (btw it didn’t have any STORYLINE or at least the LINE was invisible to my eyes!!).And for the first tym(I think this is the first tym..coz I can’t recollect any previous instances!!) in my life I followed somebody’s advice and I must say that it saved me my time and my money ( I think in the future I should make it a point to take advices seriously and follow it).Let’s talk about the movie…

Like everybody else I also thought that Mani will be giving us another epic like DALAPATHI (Which is loosely based on the Mahabharatha story) but this tym Mani has failed to recreate the magic. If Dalapthi was the story of Karna,Duryodhana,Kun thi,Krishna and Arjun..Ravanan is the story of Ram,Ravan,Seetha,Han uman,Kumbhakarna and Vibheeshana but in Dalapthi the characters were realistic and natural but the characters in Ravanan looks out of place and over reacting. Maniratnam tries to portray Veerayya (Vikram) as Ravanan and he tells us that Veerayya’ s character has 10 faces or 10 qualities thru the mouth of some villagers but other than that we never really get a chance to see why Veerayya is called Ravanan (A villager says he is a great dancer, another says he is a master comedian etc but none of this qualities are shown onscreen in any scenes).The only trait that’s visible is STEALING somebody else’s wife and fall for her beauty (Btw that’s the ONLY weakness of RAVANA and that’s what resulted in his end).Basically this movie is about a rivalry between a COP(Played by the Malayalam star PRITHVIRAJ) and an OUTLAW (Robinhoodish) and there is nothing else in the plot.

The actors

VIKRAM(Ravan) – He has done justice to his role as Veerayya but there is no scope for much acting and in some places we will have a feeling that his acting crossed the border from FINE ACTING to OVER ACTING (Maybe that’s what Mani wanted from him).In my honest opinion Vikram should reduce the time gap between his releases or his fans will go searching for other actors to cheer for. His fans are not getting enough of him and whenever he delivers something it’s not liked by all (only a class of ppl can appreciate his selections and not the mass).I agree that he should do roles which makes the best use of his potential but that doesn’t mean he should alienate himself from the more popular Directors and mass entertainers who could make a movie within a couple of months.

At present he is almost taking 2/2.5 yrs per film…. (Anniyan,Pithamahan, Kanthasamy,Bheema,Ra vanan etc)

AISHWARYA RAI BACHAN (Seetha)– Aishwarya as Ragini is one of the best things in the movie. She looks really gorgeous and sensual in this movie and I could not blame Veerayya for kidnapping her (even I would’ve done the same if there is a minutest chance).I never thought Aishwarya is this beautiful and I think in this film her beauty is well complemented by the location and Santosh Sivan’s camera. She looks like a woman troubled and her vulnerability and fear makes her more beautiful (I am stopping now else I may end up writing an ode to her)

PRITHVIRAJ (Ram)– Prithviraj plays the role of a cop who’s primary aim is to capture/kill Veerayya at any cost. He looks dashing as a police officer and he has played his role well .He is very junior to Ash and Vikram when it comes to experience but still he managed to stand shoulder to shoulder with them. It’s actually he benefited most out of the movie…he got to play a role in a Maniratnam movie (which is not a small achievement),act with Vikram,Ash(not many actors from south gets a chance to do it – Mammukka did it,Lalettan did it and now Prithvi also has done it),Karthik and Prabhu. So with this film Prithviraj will get noticed by major Directors from the south and it will really help boosting his career.

KARTHICK – Karthik plays the role of a Forest Guard and his character is based on Hanuman and he also have played his part but again his role is also not well developed and he is underutilized. Mani’s AGNINATCHATHIRAM is one of the best films in Karthik’ career and again there is MOUNARAGAM so Mani knows Karthik’ s potential and still he chose not to give him a more meaty role.

The other characters are Prabhu whose role is based on Kumbhakarna (I don’t think Kumbhakarna was as big as Prabhu is…he actually fills the screen – Btw I SHOULD NOT COMMENT ABOUT HIS BULK COZ IAM NOT VERY FAR FROM REACHING HIS STATURE!!!)) who does what his younger brother Veerayya says even if he believes that Veerayya is wrong and then there is one guy who plays Veerayya’ s younger brother and he is modeled on Vibheeshana who tells Veerayya to make peace with Dev and unknowingly walks to the trap set by Dev and gets himself killed in the process (in the real story Vibheeshana becomes Rama’s ally).Priyamani plays the role of Veerayya ‘s sister (Soorpanakha was the epic equivalent) and she is the reason why Veerayya kidnaps Ragini and even though her role is short it stays in memory.

The only time there was a clap/Boo was during the scenes they show RANJITHA (Prabhu’ s wife).She don’t have any dialogue in the film (again it’s not for her dialogues she is famous/notorious now but for her actions!!!) and her role is very short and nobody wudve bothered if her scenes were removed from the movie.

So I have mentioned all the stars in front of the camera but it will be an injustice from my part if I don’t give credit for the people who worked behind the scenes.

A R RAHMAN – ARR’s music and BGM is awesome and it really syncs with the scenes. Once again MANI-RAHMAN combination have hit the bulls eye.

SANTOSH SIVAN – He is the real star in this movie. The sceneries in the movie are jaw dropping only after seeing those will we realize that there are such beautiful places in India and especially why we call Kerala GOD’S OWN COUNTRY. Actually capturing Kerala’s captivating beauty is nothing new for Santosh Sivan he has done that before especially in his docu-movie “BEFORE THE RAINS”. His Cinematography is the main highlight of this film and that’s what which makes this movie a visual entertainment (There is no proper story or situations to keep u interested so the only relief is BEAUTIFUL SHOTS).


MANI RATNAM – Though this movie is not as good as his previous movies we still can feel the Maniratnam touch in this film also..the locations, the scenes, the ambience etc creates that distinct feeling. The best thing is his choice of locations and shots.Peter Jackson and James Cameron needed CGI to make ethereal world but Mani managed to do that with the help of the wizard named Santosh Sivan.Mani should have used better use of his lead actors and he should have made the Screen play a little more tight.


My opinion

Minus points


1) Lack of good screenplay
2) Underdeveloped Characters
3) Underutilization of talent
4) Many a times dialogues were inaudible (especially during opening scenes)



Plus Points


1) A.R.RAHMAN’S Music and BGM
2) Aishwarya Rai,Vikram and Prithviraj
3) Stunning visuals by Santosh Sivan
4) Choice of locations (Mostly Kerala – God’s own country and mine)



Verdict – This movie will do average collection in multiplexes and urban locations…not very saleable in rural areas where people don’t like watching COMPLEX movies.