Movie Review: Raavanan

just last saturday, i watched Raavanan with my friend – i had been waiting for this movie for ever since i saw the trailer online a couple of months back. 

my anticipation was not only related to my opinion that Mani Rathnam is one of the best directors India has produced to date (he is also my favourite choice when it comes to directors). it is the fact that every one of his movies have had that mix of intelligent story and dialogues, unique camera angles, suitable music at all junctures and most importantly, the best acting that can be wrung out of actors, even those with minimal talent. his movies have layers of subtle meaning to them that hint at deeper questions and paradoxes beneath the beautiful narrative that cloaks the story – from his acclaimed Nayakan to the recent Kannathil Muthamittal, these elements distinguish his creations and stamp on them a mark that sets them apart from the amateurs and the copy-cats.

so you may understand just how let down i felt when i say i was disappointed by Raavanan. disappointed.

the story line – lifted quite openly from the Hindu epic Ramayana – posits the good cop (Prithviraj) vs. the bad robin-hood-like terrorist (Vikram). their animosity – defined initially by the bounds of the law – is compounded by more complex issues when Vikram kidnaps the cop’s wife (Aishwarya Rai). a series of events follows -during which Vikram falls in love with Aishwarya, Aishwarya gets to understand that people cannot be easily defined as good or bad and Prithviraj’s fury causes him to become a blood-thirsty, revenge-seeing maniac whose aim is to kill Vikram. during this time, Vikram does not lay even a finger on the lady in custody. in due course, Aishwarya is reunited with her husband, who suspects her of having had inappropriate relations with her captor. this leads her to return to Vikram to question him – wherein she realises that she was only the bait for Prithviraj to gain access to and kill Vikram.

if there be one thing good said about this movie, it is its ability to present this mundane story in a form that is exceedingly beautiful. the scenic natural settings have been captured and presented in their most enchanting form. the cinematography is breathtakingly enchanting – with every angle capturing the best of the verdant beauty and of the subjects’ features in a manner that can only be described as masterful. needless to say, the main characters are all good looking – which adds to the overall beauty of the film. aesthetics-wise, this movie is a masterpiece.

but that is where the wonder of this movie ends. there is nothing more than this for someone who is attuned to Mani Rathnam’s genre of movies – the story line is exceedingly simplistic and predictable, and worse, there are several unexplained gaps in the story, with incidents thrown together almost like fillers; the dialogues are largely ineffective – and given the thick southern Indian dialect used, many of the dialogues were unclear; and the sequences are so shallow that they require minimal acting. given all this, Vikram’s attempts to illustrate his complex internal dialogue through weird sounds only makes him look silly. aishwarya looks excessively made-up for what seems to be several days into her capture. even if she used water-proof mascara and eye-liner, i doubt they would last beyond a day – a serious oversight on part of an otherwise practical director. and having Karthik to act as the tree-jumping forest guard is a tad ridiculous, especially given that his body structure is leaning towards fat than fit. in addition, the songs were not memorable, which makes me wonder if Rahman too caught the bug.

of course, it could be argued that this movie attempts to posit the thin line between good and bad – with the final ending leaving the question of just who is in the right/wrong side an ambiguous one. but given that former Mani Rathnam movies have tested the bounds of intelligence a bit more, this almost like a dumbed-down presentation.

and the saddest part of all is that this movie is rumoured to be Mani Ratham’s last – a pity that he won’t be making any more movie, and an even greater pity that his final sign-off turned out to be lacking in so many aspects. far from going off in a blaze of glory, he seems to have razed part of his reputation through this movie. disappointing indeed.

the day i gave to charity…

charity – it draws a mixed reaction from me. yes, yes, i know that it is good to give, and it ensures a few brownie points on your karma scale as well. but the ‘giving’ is not easy – i mean, if i were to use the law of opportunity cost (i.e. what-else-could-i-do-with-the-money calculation), i can come up with scores of options. no, i don’t think i am a miser, i am just being, well, economically-minded.

so, what made me buy a $50 SACA charity film premiere ticket? well, i went for one last year (for ‘die hard 4’) and they wowed me with a box of yummy caramel corn placed right on top of my seat! such simple gestures win me over. *wipes tear, sniffs* and i was able to get a tax waiver on the $42 that was given in addition to regularly priced $8 ticket. ooh, and add in the karma points. quite cool eh.

so i bought another ticket this year, out of the goodness of my heart of course, and made my way to the cathay cineplex. i was waiting to catch ‘journey to the center of the earth’. there was a long line of people outside, including some singer dude from t.v., who was obviously very happy with the glances/stares he was getting. loads of people is good, it means lots of tickets were sold. but it also set of alarm bells in my head – was i going to wait for long?

apparently, the SACA folks guessed that most singaporeans (and residents) are impatient people. they opened the doors on time, got us all seated quickly, and waltzed the VIPs through the pre-movie program (which included the donation of the big cheques – i mean, the really big cheques that are half-a-person’s size; and a couple of appreciation speeches). snap snap – no time wasted, no glitches. having sat through some very tedious pre-event ceremonies that stretch for hours, i applaud them.

i wonder though, how many people were listening to the speeches, thanks to a goodie-bag that was placed on each seat. it had the box of caramel popcorn (thank you!), a magazine, a columbia water bottle, and loads of discount vouchers. and a souvenir notebook based on the movie’s theme. ooh!

but as with all good things, it had to come an end. the movie began, and within 10 minutes, i was bored to tears. brandon frasier was fat, the story was utterly stupid and frankly, what’s with the i-am-so-intelligent-blonde? and no, i don’t think being a vernian would help much. jules vernes (erm, in case you don’t know, he’s the guy who wrote the book) himself is probably turning in his grave.

but that aside, it was a very enjoyable evening. i mean its not every wednesday of the week that i go out for a movie, and get people working hard from some months before to make sure i feel pampered.

yep, charity can be a good thing, and the charity film premiere gets a thumbs-up from me. cheers. so, when is the next one?