Raavan

Photos, posters, trailers... all the marketing basically promised something between Apocalypto and Rambo: First Blood Part II, which turned out to be a wasted move. Raavan has a completely different story and a different form, and it builds on different strengths. Unfortunately, it is fickle when it comes to genre and the flashbacks only hurt the film. Unfortunately, the cinematographer couldn't detach himself from some of the effects and repeated them over and over again, and the editor didn't add the necessary pace and kept the gradation only for a few scenes in the opening and for the epic finale. However, it is this finale that makes Raavan a memorable film, one that playfully makes one forget such opuses as Shah Rukh Khan's Don in years past. Abhishek in the lead role may not be the real deal (personally, I hope he sticks to films like Friendship or Dhoom in the future), but his counterpart Vikram is a great villain. Aishwarya is excellent, but she held herself back a bit. Her register is getting richer. I found Govinda to be absolutely inorganic, but comparing him to his mirror in Raavanan, I have to appreciate his restrained, ambiguous acting. More than a story, Raavan offers a message about the abuse of power and the manipulation that affects the world. (17/01/2011)