Raavan

Story:

Raavan is a Hindi-language epic action-adventure film directed and co-produced by Mani Ratnam, who also wrote the screenplay. The film stars Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, and Vikram, with Govinda, Nikhil Dwivedi, Ravi Kishan, and Priyamani in significant roles. This film marks the Hindi film debuts of Vikram and Priyamani. The plot is a modernized retelling of the Ramayana, focusing on the narrative from Ravana’s perspective.

Announced in February 2008, Raavan generated excitement due to the second on-screen pairing of Abhishek and Aishwarya after their collaboration in Guru (2007). Filming started shortly thereafter and spanned various locations across India, including Chalakudy in Kerala and Ooty in Tamil Nadu, involving a large number of extras. The music for the film was composed by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics by Gulzar. Cinematography was managed by V. Manikandan and Santhosh Sivan, and editing was done by A. Sreekar Prasad.

The film was simultaneously made in Tamil as Raavanan, where Vikram played Abhishek Bachchan’s role as the antagonist, Prithviraj Sukumaran took on Vikram’s role as the protagonist, and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan reprised her role in both versions. Both versions were released worldwide on 18 June 2010, with the premiere held in London on 16 June 2010.