Raavan (Hindi)

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4.5/10
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5.0/10
Release Date:
June 18, 2010

Dev falls in love with Ragini, a spunky classical dancer who is as unconventional as him. They get married and he takes up his new post in Lal Maati, a small town in northern India.

A town where the word of law is not the police but Beera, a tribal who has, over the years, shifted the power equation of the place from the ruling to the have-nots of the area. Dev knows that the key to bringing order to any place is to vanquish the big fish; in this case - Beera. In one stroke Dev manages to rip open Beera's world, and set in motion a chain of events which will claim lives, change fortunes. Beera, injured but enraged hits back starting a battle that draws Dev, Beera and Ragini into the jungle. The jungle which is dense, confusing, scary. And in this journey they must confront their own truth. A journey which will test their beliefs, convictions and emotions. Emotions which are as scary and confusing as the forest. The forest becomes the battleground. The battle between good and evil, between Dev and Beera, between Ram and Raavan. But when the lines dividing good and evil are blurring fast whose side will you take. When hate turns to love and the good starts looking evil which side will you battle for? Love is a battle that nobody wins but everyone must fight. Even this Raavan.

Dev falls in love with Ragini, a spunky classical dancer who is as unconventional as him. They get married and he takes... Show More

Wogma

Editor   Jun 18, 2010 09:47  1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

It's so confusing when seriousness is dealt with song and dance. Wish the film was advertised as modern Ram Leela performed in a tribal theater. That expectation would have prepped me to deal with the over-dramatization a lot better

rony

Editor   Jun 18, 2010 13:50  1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

I went, I saw, I came back and slept. Thought I’ll wake up thinking it was all a bad dream. But, it wasn’t…
Raavan is a kaala dhabba in the filmography of Mr. Mani Ratnam. The trailer was screaming out loud that it will be a bad film; the posters were sucking up to Jr. Bachchan as if his mug shot can bring in a ticket. Still there was one name we trusted. But fifteen minutes into the film you start questioning your beliefs. All you see is one montage after another in the name of screenplay and A. R. Rahman doing some African vocals in the background as if this film is set in the Congo while Santosh Sivan is busy shooting extreme close-ups of ants, tree bark, cigarette ash etc. By the time it’s interval you’ve given up on the film. Subhash Ghai had done a fantastic adaptation of Ramayana in Khalnayak. What Mani saar wanted to explore is a mystery. To add to the trauma there is Vijay Krishna Acharya of Tashan fame writing the dialogues which goes like this “bak,bak,bak,bak,bak”. And Shaad Ali of Jhoom Barabar Jhoom fame as a creative producer. Wonder if both of them ghost directed the film while mani saar was recuperating from the heart attack because what you get is a mix of Tashan & Jhoom Barabar Jhoom. Abhishek Bachchan irritates the hell out of you. Aishwarya screams, jumps, falls, suggestively shows her arm and keeps screaming “Devvvvv” the only two actors who were a treat to watch were Ravi Kissen & Govinda.

Final few words: if you are a mani bhakt and want to see your idol fall watch this film otherwise pretend Mani never made a film called Raavan. Wish it was all a bad dream.
Rating: * ½ (Bad)
Ticket Meter: Rs 180/- (waste of money).

Partha Pratim

Editor   Jun 19, 2010 11:55  

Mani Ratnam’s ‘Raavan’ is a graphic account of cinematographic excellence with the story of The Ramayana running in the background. The deftness of Santosh Sivan towered above everything else in the movie – unfortunately – the overdose killed the movie. Valmiki would have been numb at this rendition of his work where Sita (Aishwarya Rai Bachhan as Ragini Sharma) develops a soft corner for Raavan,.....

Kaushik Chatterji

Editor   Jun 18, 2010 13:55  

Even if one digs deep inside and forgives him for the shallow adaptation of Ramayana, when one considers the depiction of the socio-political situation, well, compared to this Yuva was a spitting image of the scenario in our country today - and that, I am sorry to say, is unforgivable, at least in my books.

CinemaaOnline

Editor   Jun 19, 2010 07:45  

I can’t resist likening Raavan to a football game between two middle rung teams, a tedious midfield battle, mediocre at best. And just when the more patient of viewers reach out for the remote to change the channel, there comes a long burst of inspired moves from both sides that leaves the bored & brave viewers breathless. Raavan meanders pointlessly for more than an hour and a half, so much so that it was no surprise to see the almost full house trickle down to less than 50% by the interval and most of the others cursing the boredom. But in a strange twist of fate, the brave ones who stayed back were rewarded with arguably the most brilliant 30 minutes of cinema from Bollywood this year.