“Ten heads. Ten minds. A hundred voices. One man.”Dear Mani Ratnam, but where is THE MAN? If I can be ruthless in criticizing, I would prefer to say “the hero wasn’t man enough.” (In the Hindi version…)
Abhishek irritates. As Raavan.
I grew up listening to Amma reading out stories from epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata. I would choose Raavan over Rama any time, for I believe he is a man who followed his heart. A man of madness and devotion. After all, that is what a real man should be, NO? :)
Rama is not the epitome of righteousness. Raavan is certainly not wickedness incarnated. But on close reading, you will notice that they do sway between different poles of characters. One values love over everything else. The other underestimates the power of love for trust. It’s just my point of view. You have every right to disagree!
I always wondered why Raavan behaved like Raavan? His extraordinary discipline and tapasya is remarkable. He was overwhelmingly powerful. And the woman for whom he had a burning desire was his captive for over a year. Yet he never tried to violate her. NEVER. He visited her regularly and asked her consent to marry him. Every time, Sita declined. But there is NOT a single instance when Raavan misbehaved with her! I can’t help but say that it was so unimaginably good of him to behave this way.
I salute that brotherly brotherly affection of Raavan to avenge his sister Surpanakha, although I know it overruled the right and the wrong.
On a wild thought, I even imagined Raavan playing the role of Rama. I’m sure that he would never have allowed himself to be exiled. Never would Sita be unprotected and left alone! I’m SO DAMN SURE!
My views must be rebellious. But I think Raavan plays the role of a gentleman to the hilt. To quote Raavan : “Winning or losing... It depends on who's the fastest...”
If I were to believe that Mani Ratnam attempted to sketch a modern day Raavan, he failed miserably in his attempt (in the Hindi Version, Raavan. I haven’t seen the Tamil version yet. I’m sure it is way too better, as Vikram might fit into the role of Raavan than Abhishek). Abhishek Bacchan CAN NOT be Raavan. You need some one who is equally mad and devoting! You need a man of passion. Dear Mani Ratnam, NOTE THESE WORDS : MAN OF PASSION.
Honest feedback about the movie: Dazzling visuals…. Amazing cinematography by Santosh Sivan….It really takes some effort to forget the location! My picks are the fight sequence on the bridge and a few other scenes from the jungle…. Exquisite beauty of Indian forests…. rivers and waterfalls…. Wow! :) I found Mani Ratnam’s signature on a lot of frames. It was etched all over the screen!
Great music. Khili Re…. Thok De Killi…. :) Brilliant picturing.
Priya Mani is lovely. May be it is time she moves on from Paruthi veeran. She is way too talented to imitate her own self.
Aishwarya is still beautiful and is way better than Abhishek in acting! :)
Govinda, you came, you jumped around the trees, and you vanished in thin air. Why?
Vikram, I will forgive you for all your sins IF you continue to choose characters that befits you.
FINAL VERDICT: A great story with not-so-great dialogues. :( I left the theatre disappointed and frustrated. Although you did let me down in a big way, I still love you Mani Ratnam.
I got one more reason to choose the Tamil version.
ReplyDeleteFrankly, the guy Abhishek should seriously give some thoguhts about the movies he choose. He can 'underact'. And that is the only thing he can do. Watch Guru, Dilli6, most part of Dhoom. When he doesn't need to move even a single emotion muscle, he was good. When he needs to emote he fails ( read Dostana, KANK and the rest of Dhoom where he needs to sing, dance or romance ).
In Vinnai Thandi Varuvaaya, Gautham Menon made a terrific choice with Simbu, but failed with Naga Chaithanya in the Telugu vesion. I hope the same with Raavanan! Gautham and Mani may want to say that we know our job, but our stars failed. Then, why did they choose those stars...