Ravanan is finally here! There was so much hype about Ravanan and Raavan before its release that people started thinking if this combination of Mani Ratnam – A.R.Rahman will always produce some of the best movies.
As we all know, Ravanan was also shot in Hindi simultaneously as Raavan. While Vikram plays the role of the gangster in the tamil movie, Prithviraj plays the role of the inspector who wants Vikram’s head at any cost. Abhishek Bachchan plays the role of the gangster in the Hindi version while Vikram becomes the inspector in that. Aishwarya Rai plays the role of the inspector’s wife in both the versions. The telugu version was dubbed from the tamil movie as it better suited the audiences.
Mani Ratnam has already tried this combination of shooting an additional movie for the fractional cost of the second one 🙂 . His initial attempt was for the Hindi movie Yuvaa which was simultaneously shot in tamil as Ayutha Ezhuthu. I guess he has now refined this model and learnt to reduce the expenses a bit more by reusing artists in both versions. Hats off to this genius for this innovation, which will surely be followed by many top directors.
One thing remarkable about this movie, which every one appreciated is its locations. It was shot in the jungles of Kerala and Santhosh Sivan, the cinematographer has beautifully picturised the waterfalls, the forest and its natural beauty from his lenses. This should have definitely made many film makers rethink their spots, as the general trend in the past ten years has been to shoot the majority of the song sequences overseas only.
After the release of the movie, there were many comparisons about the roles of Veera, the gangster played by Vikram and Abhishek. While I have heard raving comments about the way Vikram has just stolen the limelight, I have not heard such reviews about Abhishek. One thing that was mentioned in common was the beautiful representation of Aishwarya Rai in both the versions of the movie. I guess Mani Ratnam has successfully been able to bring out the best in her, which is her beauty. As far as her acting goes, lets not even go there as I am not a big fan of her acting.
The fight between the gangster and the inspector on the bridge is by far the best scene in the movie, based on general opinion. My favourite is the Usire Poguthey song in Tamil, which has wonderful lyrics and portrays exactly the thoughts of the character singing the song.
Overall, Raavan or Ravanan might not be a super hit as expected before the launch, but it did bring out some innovative ideas and I consider it as a turning point in Indian Movie Industry as it has kindled the spark in many film makers about their approach towards movie making.
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