Mani Ratnam's Raavan (Tamil Version)

For this post I am deviating from my regular posts as I think this film needs a review from a film buff like me. My niece booked the ticket for me and my family for Mani Ratnam's  Raavan (Tamil Version) which has Vikram, Prithviraj and Aishwarya Rai in lead roles. Like others I too had a big hope in this film as it was from Mani Ratnam. But it all vanished as I left the theater at 2:30AM where the show started at 12AM in Sharjah, Concord. The film does not do any justice to the viewer. First of all the film didn't need Aishwarya Rai and would have been better if Shobana was heroine. Aishwarya Rai was like a pretty beautiful doll being kept in different locations without much emotions. Other main thing was the director very deliberately wanted to make the viewer think that he has made the film with the epic Ramayana in mind which is denoted y the entry of veteran actor Karthik acting like a monkey at the forest check post. He is also been made to act in a scene where he meets Aishwarya Rai by acting like a monkey inside the deep forest where she is kept as hostage. Luckily he didn't had a tail otherwise the director would have burnt that also to make us feel that the film is a modern Ramayan. That character itself was unnecessary. The hero was being characterized as a person with the character of Raavan in Original Ramayana by the villagers is also very funny. A scene where Aishwarya Rai is seem to be  sleeping on a branch of a tree while jumping down Athirappally waterfalls in Kerala which is shown several times throughout the film also doesn't look convincing. The film fails to attract person like me other than the initial few minutes from the titles till Aishwarya Rai is getting abducted. The film is a miserable waste of time and money. I will give this film 2 stars out of 5.