Raavan

Ragini at the opening of the film

Raavan (2010) is a modern re-telling of the epic Ramayana, a foundational text throughout South and Southeast Asia traditionally ascribed to Valmiki. A brief summary from the British Library is:

Rama, prince of Ayodhya, won the hand of the beautiful princess Sita, but was exiled with her and his brother Laksmana for 14 years through the plotting of his stepmother. In the forest Sita was abducted by Ravana, and Rama gathered an army of monkeys and bears to search for her. The allies attacked Lanka, killed Ravana, and rescued Sita. In order to prove her chastity, Sita entered fire, but was vindicated by the gods and restored to her husband. After the couple's triumphant return to Ayodhya, Rama's righteous rule (Ram-raj) inaugurated a golden age for all mankind.

Ragini after an escape attempt

This is a very brief synopsis of just one version- there are hundreds. Notably, the brief summary fails to mention that at the end of many versions of the story after Rama returns to his kingdom the populace doubt Sita's virtue and she is exiled along with her unborn sons.

Beeru/Ravana is re-imagined as a tribal leader running a parallel government, and is played by Abhishek Bachchan, real-life husband of the more talented Aishwarya Rai, who plays Ragini/Sita. Beeru abducts Ragini to take revenge on her husband, Policeman Dev Pratap Sharma/Rama (Vikram), who is committed to stamping out Beeru's gang. Govinda rounds out the cast as forest ranger Sanjeevani Kumar/Hanuman.  

Ragini in the Jungle

The resulting film is visually spectacular. The cinematographer makes the most of gorgeous locations, with long slow shots lingering on the tropical landscape. Athirappilly Falls looks particularly wonderful. I have never been to Kerala, but this film makes a compelling case for a visit.

Ragini and Beeru

The costume design is equally inspired. Ragini first appears dressed in saffron and orange, the colors of courage and sacrifice. While held captive by Beeru she wears bridal red, and at the end of the film, after returning to her husband, she wears the white of a widow. The telltale colors make for striking visuals in the deep greens and steely blacks of her surroundings. Beeru wears earth tones and disappears into the background, while Rama wears the khaki of his police uniform like an invader arriving from a foreign planet.

Ragini in the final scenes

This is one of those movies that I wanted to like. Raavan could have been a really interesting retelling of what happened to Sita during the 14 days and nights she was held captive by Ravana. The film had money and talent and gorgeous music by A.R. Rahman. And the film does have well-acted and well-written scenes- but not as many as there could be. As a retelling it lacks the courage to say much new. The film's greatest cowardice is its unwillingness to decide if Sita has agency, or Stockholm Syndrome, or if she was just being manipulated by Dev. Maybe less than returning to her husband she genuinely wanted to stay with Beeru of the Jungle and shoop- but we never really find out. If you like The New World (2005) the odds that you like this film are much higher- but to my mind, this film was a beautiful missed opportunity.

I have heard good things about the translation The Ramayana: A Modern Retelling of the Great Indian Epic by Ramesh Menon, but I would be lying if I said I had read it. I have, however, checked it out of the library twice. A beautiful visual retelling of the Ramayana by photographer Vasantha Yogananthan can be viewed on the BBC website.

Film: Raavan (2010) 

Director: Mani Ratnam
Writer: Vijay Krishna Acharya, Mani Ratnam
Runtime: 130 minutes
Country: India
Language: Hindi
Based on the Ramayana, ascribed to Valmiki

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