Raavanan dhaan Raman!

Enter cops in Vikramasingapram, courtesy chief cop Dev Prasad (Prithviraj). Exit cops from Vikramasingapuram, courtesy Veeraiyya(Vikram) and clan. The ten headed rustic romantic loses his sister to flesh seeking cops and to avenge the pain, he kidnaps Ragini (Aishwarya Rai), wife of Dev.

The first half of the movie is all about survival for Ragini by putting up a bold face which she complements by bold acts which melts the bad boy Raavanan’s otherwise tough heart. The openness with which he confesses love for Ragini is intriguingly indirect! The moments where he asks her to stay back with him is utterly dreamy and her swaying feelings blend in well.

The second half finally seems like the movie is heading somewhere. A proper story line connects the actions on screen where the search for the lost wife gains rigour. Whoever found the locales for this movie deserve a 5 on 5. One is instantly drawn to the coarseness, the dirt, the rain and the forest. The cinematographers Santosh Sivan and Manikandan get another 5 on 5. Whether one is watching a grasshopper sitting on the branch of a tree or the searching eyes intense with emotion, the directors of photography have created magic and only magic.

Now for the cast; Vikram himself deserves a 100 on 100 if not more. From Chitthan in Pithamagan to this Raavanan, Vikram’s acting skills are undoubtedly exceptional. His physical features display all the roughness required and his dialogue delivery is just as extraordinary. Aishwarya Rai has to be complimented for dubbing in her own voice but the make up artist could have done away with all the waterproof eye liner and lipstick! Anyway she comes across as ‘God made no one perfect except her’, so it would not have mattered if she didn’t have the extra baggage called cosmetics.

Prithviraj as Dev Prasad aka Rama as in the storyline looks great. However he shows no pain that his wife has been kidnapped, except when he saves the dress she is wearing or during the song ‘Kalvare’. His only aim is getting at Veeraiyya and an addition would be getting his wife back. Maybe his character was meant to be that of a workaholic!

Prabhu, Karthik and Priya Mani have all essayed their roles well. However, the National Award winner Priya Mani seems to be getting roles which involve rapes alone! How sad! The climax with all its twists is decent, but one really feels for Raavanan. He surely is Rama for me!

I claimed that the tamil version of the music was not as good as the Hindi version. But in the movie, the songs and the background score merge in very well and the last song by Rahman, ‘Naan meendum varuven’ lingers for a long time.

Overall, a on 3 on 5!