21 June 2010

My Movie – Raavan
The ‘Beera’ interpretation of Raavan

Raavan is a different movie-one incapable of being judged by the quintessential formula movie criteria- just as the title character of Beera. Intriguing one moment and scary the other…the movie captivates in parts. All the hype leading up to the movie release has managed to draw in crowds and the fact that this is the latest offering from the epic film maker Mani Ratnam is one reason for the interest. True, Raavan has a lot of pluses to its credit. Starting with the ensemble cast- Abhishek Bachchan shines in this challenging role of a villager who is supposed to be at ten places at once. He is a law unto himself and has his own parameters of measuring right and wrong. Patronized by people of his village, he also manages to terrify those who go against him.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan shows that she’s more than a pretty face and excels in certain scenes. I particularly liked the scene where she prays to God to give her strength and not to expose the good angle of the enemy. Her beauty is well captured and all the close-up shots prove that it is possible to speak volumes through your eyes. Vikram who plays a police officer, Dev, makes a good hindi debut. Priyamani in a brief cameo as Beera’s sister leaves a mark.

The strong point of the movie is the inspiration that it draws from the Ramayana making it a modern day adaptation of the epic. There is the good brother ( Vibhishana) who wants to make peace with Dev and the ruthless brother(Kumbhakarna) and then the very entertaining Sanjeevini(Hanuman) who helps the police. Nevertheless, there is a slight twist in the tale which adds to the suspense. There’s also the excellent cinematography by Santhosh Sivan and Manikandan. Every scene is aesthetically appealing and a visual treat. Guess the beauty of India hasn’t been so expertly showcased in all its magnificence until now. The music of A.R. Rehman is absolutely hypnotic but it’s a pity that the song Ranjha Ranjha wasn’t totally played and comes in bits. The background track adds to the energy of the movie. Shobana’s choreography for the song ‘Piya Piya’ is mellifluous.

The major disappointment was the screenplay-we have the trademark ‘Mani’ flashback to present scene switches and the bomb blasts. The movie fails to sustain interest and loses narrative pace at times. There are also some unnecessary scenes like the attack on the police in the beginning. The omniscient facet of Beera isn’t effectively portrayed and though the character has a scope for awesome histrionics, its impact on the audience is weakened by the large effusion of actors who just come and go. There is an abrupt end to some characters. The picturization of ‘Thok de killi’ could have been more energetic to work in tandem with the powerful beats. Aishwarya’s screaming tends to go a little overboard and Abhishek seems slightly repetitive .

What Raavan loses in all these aspects it makes up with its technical brilliance, novel conceptualization, and the hard work of its crew which is evident in each frame. Abhishek brings a certain vulnerability to the brute and we can’t help but sympathize with Beera. In the end one is left to conclude that any person isn’t born good or bad…it is just the circumstances which make a man what he is and decide how he behaves. A memorable experience indeed.

-Lalitha Spoorthi
lspoorthi at yahoo dot co dot in

More My Movie experiences:
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Vedam by Ratnakar
Vedam by Laya
Vedam by Naveen Soma
Vedam by Pavan
Vedam by Deepak
Vedam by Manohar
Vedam by Sridhar A
Vedam by Sarath Chandra
Vedam by Murthy
Vedam by Kumar
Vedam by Santosh
Vedam by Sreekanth D
Prasthanam by Ravi
Prasthanam by Suresh
Prasthanam by Amarnath
Prasthanam by Krishna Chaitanya
Prasthanam by Che
Prasthanam by Purnesh
Prasthanam by Kumar
YMC by Kumar
YMC by Mallik
YMC by Satya
YMC by Anurag Reddy
YMC by Ramskott
YMC by Dellcom
YMC by Ashok
YMC by Ramya
YMC by Sudheer
YMC by Laya
YMC by Survi
YMC by Rajeev
YMC by Pavan
YMC by Rohit
Inkosaari by Avanthi
Inkosaari by Sneha
YMC by Praveen
YMC by Rajani
YMC by Sujith
Inkosaari by Ganesh
Leader by Sreekanth D
Maya Bazar by Gopal
Mahatma by Kishore
Baanam by Stanley
Josh by Nathan
Magadheera by Ashok
Magadheera by Wannabe Director
Magadheera by Shanti
Magadheera by Anitha
Magadheera by SS
Oy by Prathna
99 by Bala Thirumalasetty
Veedokkade by Srinivas
Delhi 6 by Vamsi
KIKK by Sweta
Luck by Chance by Srini
KIKK by Lalitha Spoorthi
Arundhati by Naveen
Arundhati by Srini
Arundhati by Bharat
Sasirekha Parinayam by Santhi Venkat
Sasirekha Parinayam by Vamshi Muthapu
Sasirekha Parinayam by Niharika Reddy
Nachavule by Vamsi Krishna
Neninthe by movie lover
Avakai Biryani by Vamsi Krishna
Kotha Bangaru Lokam by Vamsi Krishna
Kotha Bangaru Lokam by S
Ashta Chemma by Deepthi
Ashta Chemma by Lalitha Spoorthi
Sarkar Raj by Pradeep
Jalsa by Lalitha Spoorthi
Gamyam by Sridhar
Gamyam by Sreekanth D
Gamyam by Sanjay
Halla Bol by Purnesh
Taare Zameen Par by Ashok Varma
Taare Zameen Par by Raja Simha
Happy Days by Krishna Sastry
Chirutha by Phani Kumar
Chak De India by Ravi
Yamadonga by Lalitha
Chak De India by Shyam
AMAV by Darsakudu
5 in March by Sashidhar
Okkadunnadu by Anand
Black Friday by Ratnakar
Desamuduru by Krishna Prasad
Guru by It's opinion
Dhoom 2 by Lalitha Spoorthi
Dhoom 2 by ASK
Don - Syam
Boss - Anand
Boss - Hrithik
Stalin - Bala
Bommarillu - Nandini
Bommarillu - Darsakudu
Bommarillu - Vasu
Bommarillu - Harsha Prakash
Bommarillu - Lalitha Spoorthi
LRMB - Shravan
Bommarillu - Anirudh
LRMB - Srinivas
LRMB - Darsakudu
LRMB - S Sridhar
Bommarillu - Shridevi
Bommarillu - Vasudev
Bommarillu - Roopa
Sriram - Godavari
Sarath - Bangaram
Bala - Pokiri
Srinadh - Allari Pidugu
Sudheer Allari Pidugu
Anu - Athadu
Shyam Krishna - Iqbal
Purnesh - Grahanam
Sudhindra - Super
Vijay - Aparichitudu
Madhav - Aparichitudu
Hazaraon Kwaishein Aisi
Swades
Shyam - Black
Sai - Anand
Rohit - Anand & Veer Zaara
Jaya Prakash - 7GBC
Raj - Anand
Purnesh - Anand
Purnesh - The Village
Sriram - Gudumba Shankar
Purnesh - Gharshana
Purnesh - Lakshya
Purnesh - Yuva
Leenesh - Yuva
Kis - Lakshmi Narasimha
Indian Pride - Tagore
Raj - Boys
Phani - Gangotri
Phani - Khadgam
Vikram - CKR
BKR - Indra (Singapore)
Ram - Indra (Dubai)
Ranjeet - Idiot
Rahul - Indra
King Koduri - Indra
Srilakshmi Katragadda - Mitr: My Friend