Review of Raavanan

Raavanan (2010)
A stepping-stone of film-making in Indian cinema !!
19 June 2010
The much hyped Raavanan having released, I was one of the lucky few who got to watch it on the first day. The story in its most basic senses, is a modern adaptation of the Indian epic 'Ramayana'. But Mani Ratnam has brought to this movie a magical touch that would indeed change the trend of movies to come in Indian cinema.

The movie is a tale of revenge and vengeance that Veeraiya (Vikram) unleashes on the people responsible for the death of his sister. To teach them a lesson he ends up kidnapping Ragini (Aishwarya Rai) and lures the cops right into his trap. Even though Ragini was his captive her attitude and approach towards things only makes his feelings grow stronger for her everyday ! The movie focuses on Veeraiya and all the multiple voices and thoughts in his head that refer to "Raavanan" from Ramayana. But only as the movie progresses do we find out his real character and the reason for such a transformation.

The beauty of this film and the most appealing factor is the cinematography adapted. The camera work was so brilliant that it would make anyone stare in amazement at how beautiful they have shown each and every thing on screen. Not once was there a dull moment as the positioning and timing of every scene was in sync with every other aspect. A R Rahman has given life to the movie with the background music and songs he has to offer. The songs were timed so perfectly that not once would you feel that there was no necessity of a song being shown there. Watch out for the cinematography in "Usure pogudhey". And the bgm for each sequence being unique made you literally connect with the things happening on-screen !

On a further note another technical point of excellence seen in this movie is the make-up and costumes used. Be it the black soot or sandhanam smothered all over Vikram's face or the many scratches and bleeding cuts on Aishwarya, the make-up department has done its best to make the movie look as realistic as possible !

When it came to acting, needless to say the director Mr. Mani Ratnam brought out the best in each and every person cast in the movie. 'Veeraiya' would have been a disaster if it was portrayed by anyone else. Vikram outdid himself by giving his best performance till date. His aggressiveness and crazy mannered body language showed us that he was living in the character the whole time ! Aishwarya Rai Bachchan on her comeback to Tamil cinema after more than a decade has also pushed her acting skills to the limit. It is impossible to stop staring at her immense beauty and now, after her portrayal of the modern 'Sita' you just can't help but be in awe at how much she has to offer.

Raavanan, according to me is one of the finest movies made in Indian cinema. And i urge all you people out there to go watch it as soon as you can !
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