Modern Bollywood take on Indian epic

By Rama Gaind

Acclaimed director Mani Ratnam has provided an absorbing modern-day take on the Indian epic ‘Ramayana’ in Raavan which is now out on DVD.

While the storyline is dark and brutal, the film has a visual lavishness that’s overwhelming. Excellent camera artistry by Santosh Sivan and Manikandan sees luminous frames swinging from misty mountains to wet and rocky landscapes.

One can almost forget the fact that the first half hardly has a story while you are captured by the opening scenes where the outlaw Beera (Abhishek Bachchan) smashes his boat into a canoe carrying a wide-eyed Ragini (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), wife of policeman Dev Pratap Sharma (Vikram).

Sharma has one mission in life: to capture Beera who has the status of Robin Hood in the tribal community. When Beera kidnaps Ragini, to avenge a personal family tragedy, the chase is on in earnest against a dense jungle backdrop. Her capture plays out against silky-smooth drizzle, crumbling trees, untamed waterfalls and tumultuous tidal rivers.

As the second half unfolds with adequate twists and turns, situations turnaround as Ragini becomes indecisive about her loyalties and reluctantly finds herself drawn to her kidnapper. Beera’s attraction is obvious despite his muddy facade and unpleasant past.

Raavan, which was released in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu, is stylistic including the rustic musical flavour from Oscar winners A.R. Rahman and lyricist Gulzar. While Rahman’s earlier collaborations with Mani Ratnam (Guru and Dil Se) are more memorable, this soundtrack features some notable numbers.