Mani Ratnam’s Raavan – When will good prevail over evil?

I have always been a big fan of Mani Ratnam. Quite possibly and inconsequentially, I could still be a fan if only I could somehow erase his recent experiment - ‘Raavan’ from my memory. Walking into the theater ten minutes late is the only positive thing I remember from last night’s experience. I patiently waited for some story to unfold, but Mani just kept hitting me with a picturesque backdrop, incessant rains, rock-climbing amphibious outlaws who smear themselves with a magic paste that presumably makes up for their lack of acting skills. Still waiting my man, hit me with the good stuff Mani!

Nice work by the cinematographer, but he has to graduate from capturing a dew drop falling off a leaf in slow motion to something more concrete, I think. Ok, try other things…but hold the camera still for a second I say! An hour passed, yet no story, only more rain. Interval is a welcome respite. But I didn’t leave my seat for a popcorn break because I wasn’t too sure I could fight against my saner self if he decided not to return. So, I planted myself firmly and hoped for a miracle in the second half.

Second half commences, and I only wish my saner self were more dominant. The small B acts once in a while, only when he gets bored of putting up a mean, scary face. His weird bhak-bhak-bhak (or was it chak-chak-chak??) was not too different from the audience reaction. Ash has performed remarkably well in some parts. Those parts are the ones in which she keeps her mouth shut and stares into the distance with a fake tear drop that is a tad too viscous to flow down. Vikram is wasted in the movie, and quite understandably wants to hide his emotions behind aviator sunglasses. A.R. Rahman tries his best to save the movie once every 15 minutes, but then again the melodies get washed away in the rain. The real Raavan, as I recollect from my mythological learnings, was a very respectable badass. Such a vain attempt to piggyback on his legacy may not sit well with him. Hypothetically - if the real Raavan dude were buried and could in fact turn (quite a herculean task, given the large turning radius that comes along with 10 heads), I’m pretty sure he’d go for it.