Raavan

India’s most intelligent and respected director, Tamilian Ratnam’s latest bilingual (Hindi/Tamil) film is solid and superior Bollywood entertainment. The bastard Beera (Bachchan) kidnaps the ‘arrogant and fearless’ Ragini (Rai-Bachchan), wife of no-nonsense cop Dev (Vikram). On one level, the plot is dosa-thin: will Dev rescue Ragini safely? But this is a modern update on the revered Hindu epic Sanskrit text ‘The Ramayana’ (c.300 BC). Ratnam’s characterisation kicks in after the first ‘chase and thrills’ hour, giving us a feisty female protagonist who has to question her perception of her captor as either ‘raavan (demon) or Robin Hood’. Performances attract admiration, Oscar-winner A R Rahman’s energetic rustic tunes charm and the cinematography of a monsoonal rural India is stunning. Unlike its mythological evil namesake, this ‘Raavan’ is ravishingly good.