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The Vow

A saccharine and paint-by-numbers slice of romance, which is largely boosted by the appeal of its two leads.

Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace (3D)

The under-utilised 3D adds little to this prequel, which only serves as a sore reminder of the brilliance of the original films.

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The talented bunch of actors ably cut through the surface gloss, but it’s tough to remain invested in the plight of the self-absorbed lead.

Shame

It starts off as brutal but arresting stuff, and the two lead performances are scorching, but disappointingly dissolves into a case of tragedy for the sake of tragedy.

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Raavan (Film)

by Mamta Bhatt | June 21, 2010 14:21 | Edited June 21, 2010 14:23

While the film’s premise is intriguing, the original story has been convoluted by bad editing, poor pacing and weak characters.

With its fast pace, choppy editing, and weak characters, this film feels like a missed opportunity of what could have been an intriguing film.

 

In India's epic religious text Ramayana, Raavan was the ten-headed, Sri Lankan king who wreaked havoc on the God Ram, by kidnapping Ram's lover Sita, and keeping her as his prisoner for a year. Although Raavan was ostracised as a demon throughout India for his actions, he was simultaneously celebrated for his knowledge, humanity and prowess. In the film, Raavan, director Mani Ratnam returns to the original text to look at these different interpretations of the demon.

 

Raavan depicts the modern human incarnate of the beast, Beera (Abhishek Bachchan) who kidnaps the local police inspector, Dev's (Vikram) wife, Ragini (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), as revenge for police brutality. A year, however, is turned into fourteen days of cat-and-mouse chasing, and Raavan is reworked as a moody psycho, with a heart-of-gold, who might just be purer than the Ram incarnate, Dev.

 

Ratnam is a highly respected veteran of Tamil and Hindi cinema, but fails to live up to his legend with this film. The story, though relatively straightforward, is convoluted by choppy editing and a directionless screenplay. The film moves at a frenetic pace in the first half, packed with music and montages, for the chase, and is drawn out in the second half to accommodate for lack of story progression.

 

Raavan relies solely on the audience empathising with Beera, but Abhishek Bachchan, hindered by a weak character sketch, comes across as psychotic more than sympathetic. Inarticulate, overbearing and heavily-exaggerated summarise Bachchan's performance. The film also marks the return of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (Bride and Prejudice, Pink Panther 2) to Hindi cinema after a year-long hiatus. She plays the damsel-in-distress with the right amount of shrieking and naivety, but is given little else to do. The only redeeming factor is Vikram, whose understated performance makes the viewer question the humanity of the God-likened character.

 

More interesting than the plot is Slumdog Millionaire composer, A.R Rahman's music, and the picturesque Indian forest. A shame for what could have been an intriguing re-interpretation of a demon's history.