Reviewed by Rit Saraswat

Remember that girl (or guy) in high school you had a massive crush on? They were attractive, bewitching, and there was always some sort of buzz around them? And you’d imagine that first interaction, when you’d finally walk up to them, have an incredible first conversation, and end up married with babies? Well, Raavan is sort of like that crush you had… beautiful, attractive, alluring. Only with Raavan, when finally get a chance to see what it’s all about, you’re left feeling confused, slightly numb, and mostly disappointed.

Sound like a stretch? Well, that actually happened to me in high school.

But that’s not to say Raavan isn’t worth checking out. I don’t think I’ve ever found myself disappointed with a movie, while at the same time recommending it to everyone. This is just the sort of disorientation Raavan creates. It’s a great idea on paper, but somewhere along the way, it lost its head. Or in this case, ten heads.

The story pretty much speaks for itself; village hero Beera (Abhishek Bachchan) kidnaps Ragini (Aishwarya Rai), wife of powerful cop Dev (Vikram). Ragini, a combative little thing, becomes the object of Beera’s affection, while nearby, Dev closes in on his wife’s captor.

The story isn’t so much the problem, it’s how it’s presented to us that weakens the whole attempt. It’s told out of order throughout, so we’re left to fill in the blanks when we hear vague references to unseen characters. By the time we get to the flashbacks and explanations, we’ve already pretty much figured out the backstories, albeit in much less color and visual detail. So then it becomes a waiting game… when will the flashbacks end, so we can get on with the whole thing? With so much narrative scrambling, we become aware that we’re watching a film that has been edited, rather than being given the opportunity to get lost in the gorgeous atmosphere created by Ratnam and his top-notch team. This is the only reason I can come up with for leaving the theater feeling emotionally unsatisfied. The film does have a strong ending, but it would have really been a home run if a) we had seen enough interaction between the two leads, and b) the emotions had built organically throughout the film, in a more or less linear form. With such a strong premise and multi-faceted characters, it probably would have been wise to do without any sort of editing trickery; there’s enough going on as it is.

Performances, you ask? Abhishek really tried his damndest to turn in a good performance. There are times where he shines, and others where he’s just passable. But he’s never embarrassing or artificial, to his credit. Vikram (who plays Beera in the Tamil version, incidentally) does a fine job as the obsessive Beera Hunter Dev, but he never really owns the role. (Could be the distracting, unkempt mustache perhaps?) Aishwarya, on the other hand, is all grace, beauty, and fiery drama. Her performance suits the big screen, and toward the end especially, she takes command of the screen, demonstrating exactly what she can do with extreme closeups and strong dialogue. She has all the goods of the reigning actresses of yesteryear. Now let’s just hope she doesn’t fall off the radar into Bachchan wifedom anytime soon. (On a sidenote, it was hard to watch her and Govinda share a scene and not be reminded of their Albela days.) Govinda, by the way, absolutely shines as the drunken Hanuman incarnation, Sanjeevani. This performance is a glimpse into what we would have seen, had he chosen to play Chunnilal in “Devdas.” 

Artistically, I doubt we’ll see a better film this year. Ironically, one of the weakest and most distracting aspects is Rahman’s background score; it’s just so over the top, so overbearing, that it takes away from the beautiful, natural scenery. With the exception of a few of songs not included on the soundtrack (Ud Jaa Re, rousing war chant Yudh Yudh Yudh, and an unplugged, Richa Sharma-infused presentation of Ranjha Ranjha), we’re left to contend with some really odd choices in background music. When Beera first shows up, we’re treated to some strange ominous chanting, as if Ratnam was saying, “In case you didn’t get it, Beera is intense.” A shame, because despite most people, I found the soundtrack itself to be pretty awesome. OK, so “Beera Beera” is a bit Lion King-ish, but it’s hard to deny the power of “Behene De”, or the sheer lyrical genius of “Thok De Killi.” (The latter has some pretty intense choreography that Bachchan Jr. just couldn’t seem to get a grasp of.) And, by the way, I was disappointed not to see Bipasha Basu in “Ranjha Ranjha” as was promised. And by promised, of course, I mean, “As was written on Wikipedia.” Serves me right.

So, verdict time… is it worth a watch? Absolutely, because Mani Ratnam always deserves a chance. Because it would be sad to see a movie like this fare poorly at the box office. Because so often we find ourselves begging for something different at the movies, and now we finally have it. While it’s a bit of a misfire, there is so much heart and pure artistry at work, it would be a bit cruel to ignore this one. And let’s be honest, a misfire by Mani Ratnam is likely to be a much better product than any present day blockbuster.