Raavan

About the film

Raavan is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language action-adventure film co-written and directed by Mani Ratnam, who also co-produced the film. It stars Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Vikram while Govinda, Nikhil Dwivedi, Ravi Kishan and Priyamani are in pivotal roles. It marks the Hindi film debuts of Vikram and Priyamani. The film follows the crux of the epic Ramayana, but with a modernized plot that reveals the perspective of Ravana.

Raavan was announced in February 2008, whilst Abhishek and Aishwarya's collaboration in the second time after Guru (2007), created more anticipation. Shooting began soon after, and took place in various locations with a record number of extras in areas including Chalakudy, Kerala, and Ooty, Tamil Nadu amongst other regions throughout India. The film's music was composed by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics written by Gulzar. The cinematography was handled by V. Manikandan and Santhosh Sivan, and editing is done by A. Sreekar Prasad.

Plot

The film opens with a coordinated ambush by a tribal insurgent leader, Beera Munda, and his gang, who lure a police convoy into a fatal trap in the rural hinterlands. Concurrently, Beera abducts Raagini Sharma, a classical dancer, during a boating excursion. Her husband, Dev Pratap Sharma, a ruthless and fiercely dedicated Superintendent of Police (SP), is immediately notified and mobilizes a massive rescue operation. While state authorities and police forces classify Beera as a dangerous Naxalite outlaw, he functions as a local folk hero, running a parallel administration with his brothers, Mangal and Hariya, to protect indigenous communities from institutional exploitation.

Beera takes Raagini to a secluded cliffside hideout, intending to execute her in retaliation for an earlier state-sanctioned atrocity. Defiant, Raagini refuses to succumb to his execution and leaps off the towering cliff into a rushing river below. She survives the fall but is recaptured. Intrigued and unsettled by her absolute lack of fear regarding mortality, Beera holds off her execution, choosing instead to keep her as a high-value hostage. Dev leads an heavily armed tactical squad into the dense, untamed jungle, enlisting the assistance of Sanjeevani Kumar, a localized forest guard familiar with the terrain.

As the pursuit deepens, Raagini is exposed to the harsh realities of the tribal conflict and begins developing Stockholm syndrome, empathizing with her captor's motivations. She discovers that Beera’s vendetta stems from an extrajudicial raid Dev led against Beera's village during the wedding of his younger sister, Jamunia. In the ensuing crossfire, Beera was shot in the neck and dragged to safety by his men, leaving the village unprotected. The police subsequently detained Jamunia, subjecting her to brutal custodial torture and sexual assault to extract Beera's coordinates. Upon his return, Beera found a deeply traumatized Jamunia, who committed suicide the following morning by drowning in a village well.

Production

During the making of his 2007 drama Guru starring Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Mani Ratnam had finalised a script for his next directorial venture titled Lajjo. Based on a short story by Ismat Chughtai, it was a musical period film set in the desert and was to star Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor in the lead. Though the film was slated to go on floors after the release of the former, there were reports of a fall-out between Ratnam and Khan due to creative differences. While cinematographer P. C. Sreeram denied the reports, the film's would-be lyricist Gulzar said there were actually problems with acquiring the copyright of the story, and composer A. R. Rahman even confirmed to having completed 80% of the film score. Yet, the project was put on the back burner for reasons unknown.

Following the critical and commercial success of Guru, Ratnam announced his next film in February 2008. A modern-day retelling of the mythological epic Ramayana, the film again features the real life couple in the lead. The film was initially planned to be made only in Hindi and the idea for the Tamil version came later. In January 2009, while the film was in the making, it was further decided to dub the Tamil version to Telugu making it a tri-lingual. While the film was yet to be titled, it was widely reported in the media that the Tamil version was titled Ashokavanam in reference to the place where Sita was held captive by Ravana. Subsequently, the film was titled Raavan in Hindi and Raavanan in Tamil. While the plot is inspired by Ramayana, the story is narrated from Ravana's perspective making him the protagonist. The film is centered on the 'Ashokavanam' episode where Ravana kidnaps Sita and keeps her in Asokavanam. Later Rama ventures to save his wife and bring her back.

Bachchan and Vikram were roped in for the contrasting leads. Rai plays the female lead in both versions of the film.

Music

The soundtrack for the film was composed by A. R. Rahman with lyrics penned by Gulzar. It features six songs and an additional song that was performed by Rahman at the audio launch. It was released on 24 April 2010 by T-Series.

The additional track performed by Rahman, titled "Jaare Ud Jaare", was not included in the CD. The song was cited to be an "instant composition": "The night before the launch, Rahman closeted himself in his Mumbai studio and worked through the night to compose the song." This song is believed to be included in the later stages. The soundtrack also features three additional songs that were featured in the movie.

Key details