Raavanan

About the film

Raavanan is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language action-adventure film written, co-produced, and directed by Mani Ratnam. The film stars Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Prithviraj in the lead roles along with a supporting cast led by Karthik, Prabhu and Priyamani. It marked Rai Bachchan's return to Tamil after a decade, since Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000). The film follows the crux of the epic Ramayana, with a ruthless cop named Dev Prakash Subramaniam, who is on a quest to find a tribal leader-turned naxalite named Veeraiya as he had kidnapped his wife Raagini and begins to develop emotions for Veeraiya after learning his purpose.

Raavanan was announced in February 2008, amidst much hype of the celebrated director, Ratnam's return to Tamil films, whilst Vikram's and Rai Bachchan's casting creating 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, the cinematography was handled by V. Manikandan and Santhosh Sivan, and editing done by A. Sreekar Prasad.

Plot

The film opens with a coordinated ambush by a tribal insurgent leader, Veeraiya "Veera," and his gang, who lure a police convoy into a fatal trap in the rural forests near Tirunelveli. Concurrently, Veera abducts Raagini, a classical dancer, during a boating excursion. Her husband, Dev Prakash Subramaniam, a ruthless and fiercely dedicated Superintendent of Police (SP), is immediately notified and mobilizes a massive tactical rescue operation. While state authorities classify Veera as a dangerous Naxalite outlaw, he functions as a localized folk hero, running a parallel administration with his brothers, Singarasu and Sakkarai, to protect his community from institutional exploitation.

Veera 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, Veera holds off her execution, choosing instead to keep her as a high-value hostage. Dev leads a heavily armed tactical squad into the dense, untamed jungle, enlisting the assistance of Gnanaprakasam, 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 empathizing with her captor's motivations. She discovers that Veera’s vendetta stems from an extrajudicial raid Dev led against Veera's village during the wedding of his younger sister, Vennila. In the ensuing crossfire, Veera was shot in the neck and dragged to safety by his men, leaving the village unprotected. The police subsequently detained Vennila, subjecting her to brutal custodial torture and sexual assault to extract Veera's coordinates. Upon his return, Veera found a deeply traumatized Vennila, who committed suicide the following morning by drowning in a village well.

Production

During the making of his 2007 biopic 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. Further reports emerged stating that since director Kasthuri Raja has already registered the title for his project, Ratnam has requested him for using the title. Later, Vikram, the lead actor, clarified in an interview that the film was tentatively titled Ravana but was wrongly reported as Ashokavanam. Subsequently, the film was titled Raavan in Hindi, Raavanan in Tamil and Villain in Telugu.

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.

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