Raavan Box Office: Disaster, Act of God, Pathetic
The Bollywood monkeys are out of the cage, again.
And their antics in the new Hindi film Raavan are evoking nothing but scorn, withering scorn, from some critics.
King-sized disappointment, waste, uninspiring, mediocre and silly are only some of the epithets Indian movie critics are hurling at Raavan (Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Vikram). Mani Ratnam is the director.
Here are excerpts from a few early reviews of Raavan:
IndiaFM:
The benchmarks only get higher and higher every time Mani Ratnam makes a film and RAAVAN, unfortunately, is a step down. Sorry, several steps down!…
Abhishek doesn’t look convincing for the part…. [SearchIndia.com’s comment: ha ha ha, who’s surprised]
On the whole, RAAVAN is a king-sized disappointment, in terms of content. From the business point of view, a Mani Ratnam film might ensure a healthy opening [at plexes mainly], but the weak script on one hand and the heavy price tag on the other will make RAAVAN see red.
IndiaTimes:
The dialogues are highly uninspiring for a film that intends to tackle a subject of this stature. (Ash asks Vikram: Yeh Beera Robin Hood hai ya Raavan)….
Raavan is no Mani Ratnam signature film at all. It in fact looks like Mani attempting a Ram Gopal Verma (in terms of camera angles and direction) or even a Vishal Bhardawaj (feel, setting and twist of the film) while being inspired by Ghai’s Khalnayak (story)….
There is no punch in the script which doesn’t rise above clichés, no tenderness in the love between Dev and Ragini and no depth to Ragini or Dev’s character as they come across as silent spectators to Beera’s eccentric antics….
Ash holds one disgruntled expression on her face throughout and so does Vikram….
We assume Mani Ratnam went through a writer’s block this time around.
Livemint:
But the technical inventiveness, unparalleled in Indian cinema, is a waste.
The screenplay and performances, the two pillars of a good film, are poor and confused. The scenes have none of the gravitas and magic that define the best of director Mani Ratnam’s work. Here, he is too caught up in the spectacle. The idea, that of the myriad, contradictory qualities of the archetypal villain of Hindu mythology, Raavan, never really takes off in the film. Ratnam was concerned with who Raavan is and why he is what he is. In execution, the villain is a caricature….
Performances in the film are mediocre; some even silly….
It has been years since Ratnam made a masterpiece. His last few films don’t match his classics such as Iruvar, Mouna Raagam and Agninakshetram.
Related Stories:
Raavan Box Office: Disaster, Act of God, Pathetic
Raavan Review – Beastly Nonsense
Raavanan Review – Tamil Shit Better than Hindi Shit
Raavan is Horrible, Say Movie Critics added by SearchIndia.com on
View all posts by SearchIndia.com →
i think mani ratnam lost his charm after he met abhishek.
upto kannathil muthamittal all mani’s films were gem of a movies,from yuva all mani’s movies were only germs
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You Write Above: i think mani ratnam lost his charm after he met abhishek.
True, Abhishek Bachchan is known to have such
charmfulharmful effects. 😉Horrible or not. I’m waiting for ur word, SI.
I came across a site which had reviews for Raavan and Raavanan. It praised Raavanan but Raavan was criticised.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: Horrible or not. I’m waiting for ur word, SI.
Still only 5:32AM here.
We’ll have to wait a while.
As I commented yesterday…I am hardly surprised by the way Raavan is consumed by the critics.
Still have hopes for Raavanan…still have hopes with Vikram and Prithviraj…still have hopes that Mani’s tamil version…still have hopes that Raavanan would be atleast few shades better than Raavan. But in reality…all my hopes are turning into rope and chokes me out 😉
even so, you liked the films like Aayirathil oruvan and All the Best even indian critics bashed it severely.
So, waiting for you to define my weekend…stay at home and scratch my keyboard or raid the mall nearby.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write above: So, waiting for you to define my weekend…stay at home and scratch my keyboard or raid the mall nearby.
Still only 9:30AM ET here.
2. You write: even so, you liked the films like Aayirathil oruvan and All the Best even indian critics bashed it severely.
Selvaraghavan’s Aayirathil Oruvan was a class work. All The Best was alright but not in the AO league.
BTW, we watched Selva’s 7G Rainbow Colony yesterday. Will probably review it after the Raavan
stormdrizzlepiffle (??). 😉Finally you watched it…whats your feeling about 7G…an abstract or review title would do good 😉
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Still gathering our thoughts on this.
Not a bad film but we wouldn’t place it in the very good category either.
Kind of an odd-film.
Selvaraghavan himself must be a bit of an oddball (used in the positive sense here) to make a film like this.
Acting of the three main characters i.e. Kathir (Ravi Krishna), Anitha (Sonia mami) and Lakshmi (Suman Setty)was decent.
Ah, so you finally watched 7G Rainbow Colony.
Music was definitely a plus point. Waiting for your review.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Will try to do a full review in a couple of days.
“Acting of the three main characters i.e. Kathir (Ravi Krishna), Anitha (Sonia mami) and Lakshmi (Suman Setty)was decent.”
Took a break from some serious work to catch up on your raavan review. Found this instead. Happy you finally caught 7G. Aren’t you glad you didn’t miss this one? Well, I dare you to say you didn’t cry in the last few scenes from 7G. You’re right. I did. Hell, I’ll even admit I cried each time I saw those scenes, and I can tell you that only 2 movies can make me cry each time I see them, the other film being “Finding Neverland”. Now if you haven’t seen that one, you’re again missing a great film. Johnny Depp is good, but Kate Winslet and the little boys put in superlative performances that inevitably make me shed a tear or two.
I’ve already decided Raavan/raavanan is a lost cause, from the kind of responses its and having observed Mani’s rather unimpressive run of late. Will see the tamil version anyway. Vikram (unless grossly misdirected like in Kanthaswamy), is always a joy to watch.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: Vikram (unless grossly misdirected like in Kanthaswamy), is always a joy to watch.
Vikram was most definitely not a joy to watch in Raavan (the Hindi version).
“Selvaraghavan himself must be a bit of an oddball (used in the positive sense here) to make a film like this.”
You know, you just maybe right there. I do know for a fact that he is blind in his right eye due to a cancer of the retina when he was a kid that caused him to get it replaced with some fake glass eye or something. He’s said that in many interviews, also mentioning how neighbourhood kids used to taunt him about it. That’s why he always wears dark specs. And, as the 7G title card says, the film is based on a true story(or perhaps, more than one). And we all know how odd real-life can get.
Selva made Sonia and his brother Dhanush act in obscene manner in Pudupettai when she was his fiancee. He is really weird!
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Boy, if only we were his brother Dhanush! 😉
Sonia mami did look hot those days. Maybe, even these days. 😉
Selva IS an oddball…if you’ve seen his other films like Kadhal Konden, Pudhupettai, it’s easy to confirm that. I mean, even AO should have made you realise that. But he’s cool though. I liked the climax of 7G and the songs were good.
As for Raavan/Raavanan: –
im surprised with the negative reviews. I thought that due to the hype and publicity and a LONDON PREMIERE (totally pointless in my opinion) that it would be good (i mean the tamil one – i had less hopes on the hindi version cuz of the not-so-talented Bachchans). Was gonna watch it this weekend. Might wait for the DVD release.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: As for Raavan….i had less hopes on the hindi version cuz of the not-so-talented Bachchans). Was gonna watch it this weekend. Might wait for the DVD release
Not worth it even with free DVD.
Yet another Mani film ruined by the bacha(n)s…Review the tamil version s’il vous plait
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Oui monsieur.
btw nytimes says : Raavan-an Indian epic with bollywood glamour(?) and is all praise for maniratnam…how much time left for SIs verdict ?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Saw the NYT piece earlier today.
Now Mani Ratnam must really be worried if it’s the kiss of death for Raavan.
Well, we all know what happened when the foreign critics i.e. non-desi critics raved about Hrithik’s Kites and gave it a 86% rating on RT. 😉
The earliest show in New Jersey for Raavan is around Noon and 1:30PM ET for Raavanan.
Can’t wait for your unbiased review!
Which version are you planning to watch? Both by any chance??
Looks like Tamil version is slightly better with a better cast, but overall both are disappointment.
http://movies.rediff.com/report/2010/jun/18/review-raavanan-is-better-than-raavan.htm
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Will likely watch both.
Both?? you are an amazing creature! Some reviews say that Guru was better.. that certainly doesn’t bode well..
SearchIndia.com Responds:
One down (Hindi version).
Raavan is Garbage.
somewhat related to the Raavan post (assuming that you will be watching the movies in NJ): US soccer team is getting walloped by a country smaller than the state of NJ.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You Write: somewhat related to the Raavan post US soccer team is getting walloped by a country smaller than the state of NJ.
Fully related to Raavan. We got walloped by a bunch of morons with smaller brains than ours.
SI,Don’t you think Mani Ratnam is a very hyped director?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Yes, definitely. After watching Guru and Raavan, most definitely Yes.
glad to write after a long retreat..just watched back to back shows of both hindi and tamil..
because of the Karnataka Film Chamber’s usual comedy(crappy) acts, tamil version did not get screened in multiplexes…only seven (ordinary.. sorry..so called) theaters are currently screening in tamil…bangloreans are pretty unhappy about the same.
Watched in hindi first, and u bet, all viewers are awestruck with the visuals..photography at its expert level.. except for abhishek’s ‘try’ on the character, i liked the movie and the screen play..though not the usual ‘Mani’ type, it looked different.Abhishek was better than the worse(Delhi 6) but Ash was at ease.
Without the comparison attitude i made myself a gajini(short term memory loss) to watch the tamil version. due to the poor audio and clarity of the screen, no one could enjoy the beauty of the movie. it looked noisy and hurry compared to the hindi version (did any one felt the same?). now i cant stop comparing. vikram looked over expressive almost the entire the movie. his dialog delivery is absolutely uncomprehending. i even felt abhishek was better in some scenes. vikram seemed to give more life to the character and abhishek made it look autistic. aishwarya looked a bit struggling in the tamil version. prabhu looked more heavier than his role..i liked his counterpart in hindi..he was much promising than prabhu. i seriously do not want to talk about karthik..govindha made a cake walk. Vikram as a cop is better than prithvi.(cant believe Mani has chosen prithvi for this role). Priyamani excelled in both versions sans complaints.
Overall..Raavan/Raavanan, is a visual treat with “conditions apply”.
* very ordinary dialogs. Though Mani movies do not contain lengthy ones, the sharp one liners are missing- especially in tamil, it looked like really ordinary and the local dialect could have been avoided.
* one cannot conclude whether Mani’s view of the character of Raavan/Raavanan has been justified by the two actors who enacted it. I even doubt if Mani was pleased with the enactment of his ‘dream boy’ or did he really see him in the output?
* casting, especially in tamil, does not promise. It looked better in Hindi and all ‘side kicks’ of beera did well compared to their tamil counter parts.
GO FOR IT!!! but do not expect a ‘Thalapathi’ or ‘Nayagan’ or ‘alaipayuthe’, because this movie belongs to the ‘Thriller’ genre. Though not classy, its good. Its a ‘Go Green’ movie with exotic visuals and a different experience 🙂
@Bangloreans: please wait for the Tamil version to get released in multiplexes. do NOT EVER watch it in single screen halls. the quality is too bad for a visually rich movie. Try out the Hindi version instead.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Raavan (Hindi) was plain awful.
All three (Abhishek, Ash & Vikram) were pathetic.