ROONEY recommends (RAGINI)nan.

(I have read the wonderful piece by q bhai which describes the boat, kidnapping sequence and other great scenes, where I felt I could enlarge more so my just basically thoughts on performances. Also I feel I am on who can only feel those magical sequences cant describe or write on them
Link)


“Some goals are so worthy, it’s glorious even to fail”
-Lieutenant Manoj Kumar Pandey, (PARAM VIR CHAKRA)

It’s a failure and one which could have been of epic amounts(day saved by MANI Sir ) but unlike Drona, Dhoom II, Umrao Jaan where I never felt that what I felt yesterday night in cinema (credit to MANI sir) that I felt the above line is apt to describe Abhisekh bachan. The Goal was worthy one and this Beera could have been a legend (ala Gabbar maybe, interesting in that analogy both father and son share same fate ), and I can see why effort was made to potray the character, hunger was there to perform but never in recent history reading of character (ofcourse in Bollywood few roles required reading but that discussion is for another day) be so flawed, defective or one may say lame.. And one might even argue to expect Beera from him was too much a crime from MANI SIR.. (But hey this guy played Lallan and Guru so there I feel is some potential..) that it destroys its surrounding beauty (read natural habitat) as Aishwarya Rai survives it and how is why one should see Raavan!

I HAVE always felt good in an extreme situation can become bad, and bad in an extreme situation can become good. Mani Ratnam’s Raavan which inspite of timid performance of its Beera deals with some unique tension and though provoking on sides of good and bad in modern day, It strikes ur heart, it tears aways ur beliefs, it gets all our feelings of Good and Bad .. NAKED.

It’s made me remember a line from SWADES

“Ho..raam hi toh karuna mein hai, shaanti mein raam hai

Raam hi hai ekta mein, pragati mein raam hai

Raam bas bhakton nahin shatru ke beech chintan hai

Dekh taj ke paap raavan, raam tere mann mein hai

Raam tere mann mein hai, raam mere mann mein hai

Raam toh ghar ghar mein har, raam har aangan mein hai

Mannse raavan jo nikaale, raam uske mann mein hai “

In Beera’s world till his death he is RAM. Most of above words when u watch the movie one can correlate to Beera’s world.
RAGINI

And that’s why I start from Ragini who is the epitome of beauty, grace and innocence yet brave. How well Ratnam has captured her beauty in Beera’s Land is worth a lesson to any director in this country. But her beauty was never disputed only that Mani Sir gave us different pleasure this time. We see Beera’s world from Ragini’s eyes and that prejudices our sympathy for this world, its thoughts upbringing, and their beliefs. Ragini one might argue has only to be fearful, but no I sincerely felt the way her character progresses (hers the only one that’s clear for me) it overshadowed Beera (ofcourse Beera had fallen for her and lost that charm). Ragini slowly and steadily from anger to prayer to God in what i felt was the single best scene from movie, when she could see that her Vidhaata is testing her, she questions God’s motives. There in that one moment we can see that how her feelings are betraying her and here in Beera’s land for her the line between good and bad is blurred. That for me is a significant emotional moment to feel. Feel Ragini’s vidampana, anger, fears and frustrations (yet something has changed within her though she still declares Love for her husband). Singlehandedly one of the best sequences.

More On Rai I suspect the fact that you feel for her is the victory of er splendid portrayal. But moreso u commend her when u start feeling that its she who is leading the charge to save the movie from Beera’s failure to seize a role of a lifetime.

MY INTERPRETATION

In another incredible sequence its astounding that in whole movie Ragini never wears white colour clothes (even in flashback) while Beera and Dev are clearly differentiated with black and white respectively in colours. But in the climax Ragini is wearing white meets Beera and exactly the moment Beera is shot there’s the sequence where her beauty and whiteness have been corrupted by Blood. It’s an iconic shot for Ragini who here we are shown in a moment of feeling love is separated and how her life will be like those blood stains. Or even in larger context that she might live a life of Beera’s widow.
BEERA misfires
It was like Rooney playing for England at this World Cup this isn’t Beera that we saw we should have seen.

When everything in the mixture starts to falter because of Beera till it is rescued by Ragini u question the performance and rightly so. My basic problem is MANI SIR has got everything like positioning, camera towering, observations leading us to believe in the cult and I virtually buyed Beera till he uttered his first words, right except Beera’s expression, dialogues everything that relates to Beera to emote. We are shown Beera to be a legend, a local hero, Robin Hood type figure but it completely fails you the moment he starts uttering or speaking. I felt as if I was seeing C grade Version of Joker from TDK making his debut in Indian Cinema. (also sandy has mentioned it)

THE problem is there was no need for psycho but maybe that chik-chik..bik..bik or whatever in MY INTERPRETION was Abhisekh’s way of showing chaos of having TEN MINDS working together?? May be the director wanted to show how the most intelligent tribal had this psycho and animal thing yet that’s how he thought.

Also I felt was same film with a restrain performance, or maybe now I am doubted on his acting abilities more when I remember the characters that have worked most with Abhi is were he remains silent and speaks less. Case in point Sarkar, Delhi -6. He isn’t a great Dialogue or expressive actor on completion of raavan I can vouch that and he if he has sticked to Sarkar like less speaking character the warrior lord could have been really surrected.

(Beera is said to be different from adivasis but when he utters he should have seen Ravi Kissen in what I felt second best performance in the movie. Ravi Kissen I felt if he was a star he could have simply sleep walked in this role with all the accoloades. He fails the convincing power of being Beera (ofcourse I feel he has to look vulnerable due to ragini but what about other sequences)

ALSO ultimately BEERA LACKS ANY SORT OF CHEMISTRY WITH RAGINI. ITS ONLY RAGINI THAT MAKES U FEEL THAT LOVE AND PASSION IN THE END, MAY BE THAT’S THE WAY TRIBAL EXPRESS LOVE BUT DIALOGUE AND THEIR DELIEVERY COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER.

On front of Santosh Sivan and other technicians I wont say more but that it’s A Grade. Its better then International Movies. On music it was good score but not the greatest from rahman but background score is A GRADE (as usual).

DEV
Accomplishes his job in a manner he had to. Apt performances.

MANI RATNAM

Only fault I lay at director is he could have been more outcoming in storyline, there a plenty loopholes but fortunately his narration is intact and u forget questioning some scenes, but that leaves one with double edge sword of it backfiring, and it spectacularly backfires in case Beera. GOVINDA excels as SANJEEVANI, but it would have been more fun if MANI SIR had gone for some more back story and dialogues to complete the narration. I would have loved the film to be longer.

SPECIAL MENTION TO PRIYAMANI. BRILLIANT. ( QUITE UNIQUE THAT IN A MALE DOMINATED MOVIE I ENJOYED PERFORMANCES OF IT FEMALES LEAD)

RESPECT THY WHO ARE COURAGEOUS, and thus I conclude inspite of all above RAAVAN is an experience one should not missed, it’s like avatar it’s a unique world, with madness. It’s a film that leaves deep impact. It’s a tragedy of a warrior king. AND I WAS SPEECHLESS AFTER THE MOVIE AND EVEN CLAPPED THOUGH I WAS SOLITARY PERSON WHO DID SO AFTER THE MOVIE. In an age there we see quite crap of movies RAAVAN is miles ahead of its time (or a movie whose time may never come in Indian Cinema). ONE ENTERS Beera’s world at his own choice but it makes a permanent mark in ur psyche and one actually just fails to leave.

Not since Rang de Basanti i have felt bad in stomach, nervous, fear, speechless after a movie… and it happened yesterday.. and i still feel hallucinations of Beera’s world, tragedy, my heart beats for Ratnams Beera… i just dont know how to describe.. i just experienced it.

RATINGS-(MOVIE) 4/5 STARS
u don’t see RAAVAN, u experience RAAVAN UNFOLD.
RATINGS (ACTOR- BEERA)
ABHISEKH- A WORTHY FAILURE YET
1/5 STARS

Ps- THE movie increased respect for Sail Ali Khan as Langda Tyagi.