RAAVANAN (2010)

Director: Mani Ratnam
Cast: Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Prithviraj, Prabhu, Karthik, Priyamani


When Raavan comes to my mind, I think of that ten headed asura of the Ramayana: foe of Ram, kidnapper of Sita, king of Lanka. Then I think of his intricate personality. The love for his family and homeland, the ‘love’ for Sita, then the respect he gives for her chastity, and finally fighting for what he believes in. As far as Ramayana is concerned, Raavan is undeniably the bad guy.

Even as Mani Ratnam tries to draw analogy with the epic novel, I find that Raavanan(the film) has large differences.

The story in a nutshell:

Veeraiyya a k a Veera (Vikram) is a big shot in his clan (a hillbilly village apparently in the Tirunelveli district) and a troublemaker. Dev (Prithviraj) is on the encounter squad, and his orders are to finish Veera off, though it’s not too clear what for. In the brawl, and because of subsequent incidents, Veera’s sister (Priyamani) dies, and Veera and his family are filled with thoughts of vengeance. This leads them to kidnap Ragini (Ash), none other than Dev’s wife, when she’s boating, and to hold her hostage.

The story ? Dev tries to hunt down Veera and rescue Ragini.

Not much of a surprise eh? The trailers would have made you surmise as much.


I’m not sure why Veera loves thinking of himself as Raavanan, ten-headed and all. Apparently the ten heads are the voices in his head, his conscience, heart, mind, etc, that direct him to different courses of action, like choosing between cold-bloodedly killing somebody and mercifully granting him amnesty.

Vikram, same as ever, has done his role commendably. When you watch the movie though, you’ll realize that Veera’s character is far different from Raavanan( the asura ); and has interesting black and white shades, white predominating in most cases.

Ash, I grudgingly admit, has done a good job as Ragini. Fear, bewilderment, righteous anger, courage, kindness, and hope, and many other abstract emotions switch places continually on her expressive face. Yea ok; I guess she’s kind of like Sita.

If looks could kill then Prithviraj is the man, and he practically guns down everybody in the path of his cold fury, appearing ravenous for Veeras’s blood- Veera, who had the nerve to kidnap his beloved wife! So no use in comparing this guy with Ram; he doesn’t have compassion and is one bugged dude you don’t wanna cross.

Prabhu fits the role to the bill, as Veera’s elder brother.

Karthik has a tiny but interesting role, and an episode arrives when you get reminded incredibly of Hanuman (only not quite as cool, but with the monkey business and all). This is another instance where Mani Ratnam tries to analogize with the epic, but totally unwarranted in my opinion.

Priyamani plays Veera's sister,and her role reminds one of Ramayana's Surpanakha in only one aspect: That an incident involving her makes the animosity between Veera and the police force headed by Dev, get personal(remember that it was Surpanakha's nose getting chopped off by Lakshman that brought Raavan to take revenge, kidnap Sita, and all the subsequent incidents).

Breathtakingly beautiful backdrops of gushing waterfalls, cool rainforests, and ethereally majestic hills are a feast for the eyes. Cinematography is splendid! Art shares credit too, and the flimsy footbridge (where occurs the one-on-one between Veera and Dev), decrepit statue of Vishnu, and courtyard where Veera and his fellows, splattered top to bottom with multani mitti, frolic to music, are quite impressive.

‘Usurae Pogudhu’ and ‘Veera’ are catchy numbers, though knowing A .R. Rahman’s uncanny ability of slow mesmerization, I’ll probably take to the others in good time.

My final verdict: Raavanan can definitely be watched once, and…phew… it’s a relieving change from the stereotypical Tamil movie.