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Raavan (2010)

Director: Mani Ratnam

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From Time Out London

India’s most intelligent and respected director, Tamilian Ratnam’s latest bilingual (Hindi/Tamil) film is solid and superior Bollywood entertainment. The bastard Beera (Bachchan) kidnaps the ‘arrogant and fearless’ Ragini (Rai-Bachchan), wife of no-nonsense cop Dev (Vikram). On one level, the plot is dosa-thin: will Dev rescue Ragini safely? But this is a modern update on the revered Hindu epic Sanskrit text ‘The Ramayana’ (c.300 BC). Ratnam’s characterisation kicks in after the first ‘chase and thrills’ hour, giving us a feisty female protagonist who has to question her perception of her captor as either ‘raavan (demon) or Robin Hood’. Performances attract admiration, Oscar-winner A R Rahman’s energetic rustic tunes charm and the cinematography of a monsoonal rural India is stunning. Unlike its mythological evil namesake, this ‘Raavan’ is ravishingly good.

Author: Anil Sinanan

Time Out London Issue 2078: 17 - 23 June, 2010

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User reviews of this film

SUCHARITA said...

Posted on Jun 20 2010 21:00 A big disappointment after all the wait for a great film by Mani Rathnam. I have been a big fan of his films over the yeras and had alot of exceptations from Raavan. The only think niice abloout the film was the cinematography and the music to some extent. It failed to hold the intrest of the viewers . Came through as only a sheer hype on the Rai-Bachchan couple.
From the maker of films like Bombay/Roja/Guru ,it was a disaster.

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