Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

nashh13 Mani Ratnam's Raavanan is a visual masterpiece, a great work of art and almost nothing beyond that. Till more than half of the film, it is about its marvelous cinematography, eye popping locations, excellent acting, technical perfection, polished and gritty narration and visualization and good editing.The story of Raavanan runs parallel to epic Ramayana but as the film progresses there is a bold twist to the original story. We are directly introduced to the central story with a nicely edited prologue. Veeraiyya, a bandit and a 'protector' figure for the tribal, kidnaps Raagini (Aishwarya Rai) wife of Dev, a senior police officer, to settle some scores. We are shown the past of Veera through brief montages shown in between. The love between Dev and Raagini is shown hurriedly within the space of a love song. The non linear structure of the narration is notable. From then on it is a long journey through the forest. We have a jumping & drinking Hanuman, a Kumbhakarnan, Vibheeshanan and Shoorpanaka in the film. There not much happening in the first half. Its the second half of the film that strikes a chord on you emotionally. This is where that bold twist on Ramayana which was being build up all over first half happens. One wonders who is Ram and who is Raavanan.After seeing Vikram act this role out, I am certain nobody could have done Veera any better(didn't see Raavan though). Aishwarya Rai looked enchanting, and has done justice to her half baked character Raagini. Prithviraj looked perfect for the role as a honest but ruthless cop. Acting was generally great. Cinematography was outstanding. The soundtracks sounded a bit weird in Tamil. I got used to the Hindi version (tracks were originally composed in Hindi, I think, as the Hindi songs were released a month before the Tamil). I loved them all especially folkish+electronic Ranjha Ranjha, Sufi-ish Behene De and a powerful but short Beera Beera. Some may say its not Rahman's best but I personally think its a very good album. Mani Ratnam, who was dubbed Steven Spielberg of India, has mainly focused on the style over subject. A little more hard work on the script was needed. It is made clear that Dev's hunt for Veera is not just about Raagini. What is it then? There wasn't a decent space to show Veera's love for Raagini, grow. There were a lot of things missing in the movie. But I was blown away by the visual artistry of the movie.

sriram_m What a man seeks from maniratnam's movies. Not but purity, poetry, beauty, artistic intensity(Very few can reach such depths) and finally truth. What is his intrinsic authority to define what right and what is wrong? Some of his movies are fierceful with electrifying emotions and some are merely soulful and poetic like torrents of silent river with the dancing of light and shadow. May sometimes intellectuals and mob can't find entertainment from his movies. But few are with vibrant and sensible hearts with child's like enthusiasm could feel the power, depth and humility in his movies. He is one of the greatest artists of our time which world couldn't able to understand. He didn't get fame what he deserves. Like the poems of rabindranath tagore, as you muse and feel more and more you will get more spiritual experience from his movies. Like terrance malik's movies his movies dissolve with nature and poetic sadness and with life's music. They will open our hearts to life, love and beauty. For those who want to know what life are, what are morals, what is right and what is wrong. Are they prefixed and reformulated. Or shall we explore, question ourselves with abundance of love in our hearts towards the things of world to know ourselves what is truth. That journey is RAAVANAN. Few may don't like this movie because they may not get thrill from the movie. Only sheer poetry, exploration of truth exists in the movie. Master story teller's hands are as soft as ever. Though, for this movie those are more complex because those are now more simpler.

Siddharth The much hyped Raavanan having released, I was one of the lucky few who got to watch it on the first day. The story in its most basic senses, is a modern adaptation of the Indian epic 'Ramayana'. But Mani Ratnam has brought to this movie a magical touch that would indeed change the trend of movies to come in Indian cinema.The movie is a tale of revenge and vengeance that Veeraiya (Vikram) unleashes on the people responsible for the death of his sister. To teach them a lesson he ends up kidnapping Ragini (Aishwarya Rai) and lures the cops right into his trap. Even though Ragini was his captive her attitude and approach towards things only makes his feelings grow stronger for her everyday ! The movie focuses on Veeraiya and all the multiple voices and thoughts in his head that refer to "Raavanan" from Ramayana. But only as the movie progresses do we find out his real character and the reason for such a transformation.The beauty of this film and the most appealing factor is the cinematography adapted. The camera work was so brilliant that it would make anyone stare in amazement at how beautiful they have shown each and every thing on screen. Not once was there a dull moment as the positioning and timing of every scene was in sync with every other aspect. A R Rahman has given life to the movie with the background music and songs he has to offer. The songs were timed so perfectly that not once would you feel that there was no necessity of a song being shown there. Watch out for the cinematography in "Usure pogudhey". And the bgm for each sequence being unique made you literally connect with the things happening on-screen !On a further note another technical point of excellence seen in this movie is the make-up and costumes used. Be it the black soot or sandhanam smothered all over Vikram's face or the many scratches and bleeding cuts on Aishwarya, the make-up department has done its best to make the movie look as realistic as possible !When it came to acting, needless to say the director Mr. Mani Ratnam brought out the best in each and every person cast in the movie. 'Veeraiya' would have been a disaster if it was portrayed by anyone else. Vikram outdid himself by giving his best performance till date. His aggressiveness and crazy mannered body language showed us that he was living in the character the whole time ! Aishwarya Rai Bachchan on her comeback to Tamil cinema after more than a decade has also pushed her acting skills to the limit. It is impossible to stop staring at her immense beauty and now, after her portrayal of the modern 'Sita' you just can't help but be in awe at how much she has to offer.Raavanan, according to me is one of the finest movies made in Indian cinema. And i urge all you people out there to go watch it as soon as you can !

Abhinav Sunder Mani Ratnam was the only director in India, who handled melodrama in the most natural way; and that was evident in his films like Nayagan, Roja, Bombay, Alayipayuthe, and even the recent Guru. But after watching Raavan/Raavanan, I' am forced to rub off that very statement from my head, because right from the start, whatever happened on screen seemed to be contrived and artificial at most parts, with the very character of Raavan not even being properly established!Well, the basic premise, inspired from the Indian epic Ramayana is entirely predictable, but a taut screenplay would have done the job! When the Tamil version suffers hugely from a bad casting and a far from great performance from the usually dependable actor, Chiyan Vikram, the Hindi version excels in the performance section, but falls flat on the screenplay, which is a total mess in both cases! But as far as I have analysed, the Hindi version has a far better execution than the Tamil version.The cinematography by Santhosh Sivan oozes sincerity and demands a standing ovation; Santhosh Sivan's visuals add life to every dull moment, and remains the best part of this king size film. The DI is of international quality, and the expert colouring adds to the beauty. The music by AR Rahman is brilliant, but the background scores disappoint to a large extent! Veterian editor Sreekar Prasad saves the film from drowning down into the heavy rain forests, which is continuously wet! Samir Chanda makes every frame rich with his intelligent use of vibrant colours and art work. The actions scenes by Peter Hein are exquisitely shot with a lot pain and passion, which is evident on screen, as those are the only parts where the theater comes alive, with excellent use of Sound by Tapas Nayak.Abhishek Bachchan as Beera in Hindi outsmarts Vikram as Veerayya in Tamil, whereas Prithviraj surprises you as Dev in the Tamil version, and comes out with an edgy performance, which stands out and ends up being far better than Vikram's portrayal of Dev in Hindi, which is shocking, but true. Aishwarya Rai has nothing much to do, other than portraying a poorly written character! All other supporting actors, including Govinda and Ravi Kissen in Hindi seems to be more into the characters, and convincing than Karthik and Prabhu in Tamil!Leaving its negatives apart, the film surely has its moments. For instance, take a look at that scene, in which the character of Dev pierces the burning cigarette into a mere newspaper cutting! Well, that Mani Ratnam magic is hidden somewhere deep inside, but sadly doesn't come out. And moreover, each frame of the film is a separate, million dollar visual, which will take your breathe away; the credit goes largely to Mani Ratnam's vision as a director! Raavan puts you in a rather awkward situation, when you almost forget that you are watching a movie, and start rating the beautiful shots individually! And I have to admit that most of the film's major flaws went unnoticed by me during my first watch of Raavanan, and later on ended up noticing a few in the Hindi Raavan, mainly due to the above mentioned reason.In the end when you leave the theater, all you remember is the stunning camera work, the nerve pumping action scenes, and a little bit of brilliance spread out in the 2 hour 7 minute saga! Raavan falls short of the expectations, but indeed is worth the money you pay for the ticket. I give a generous three out of five for the Hindi version and two out of five for the Tamil version. Its far from being a classic, but nevertheless entertains to an extent!Hindi Raavan: 3/5 (Manages to entertain) Tamil Raavanan: 2/5 (Dull)PS: My rating is very very liberal, and that's mainly for the love of Mani Ratnam's film making style, which seems to be drowning away now; Raavan is just a stupendous piece of eye candy! Where are those subtle, dramatic moments, which used to fill our senses with pleasure, passion, gut and energy? Where are those smart dialogues? Where is the screenplay? Everything is missing here.ALTERNATE TAKEIf I were Sreekar Prasad, and if the footage appears to be poorly directed, I would have opted for a simple, linear editing pattern for Raavan, rather than screwing up in the non linear pattern.