Raavan is yet another disappointing hyped film. Once you’re done watching the film, you wonder that this is what they worked so hard on, this is what they struggled to shoot in difficult terrain and this is what the hype was all about!

Abhishek Bachchan is Beera, a rebel, modern day Robinhood. Inspector Dev (Vikram) is his arch-enemy (because he intruded his sister’s wedding and she succumbed to shame) so he abducts his wife Ragini (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) to extract revenge. What follows is Dev searching for Ragini and Beera and Ragini getting to know each other.

There is nothing new in the plot as it is based on the Ramayana. The first frame and rousing music captivate you but it is pretty much downhill after that. The first half is alarmingly boring and tests your patience making you wait for the intermission. The locales are breathtakingly stunning, reminiscent of Pandora in Avatar and the faraway land in King Kong but that is not enough to engage you. You don’t root for the characters and there is no excitement. The story of Beera’s reason to kidnap Ragini is clichéd. The songs are ethereal but there is one every 15 minutes! The only interesting part is the fight between Dev and Beera on a bridge towards the end.

There is a twist in the end that makes little sense and is rather disappointing. You cannot endear a character to the audience and then murder him. That is the reason Kites didn’t work and Raavan won’t work either. Raavan tells you that the person you think is good, is not and the so-called bad person is indeed good!

Santosh Sivan’s camerawork is splendid, transporting you to the beautiful locales and making you wish that the film were shot in 3-D. Vijay Krishna Acharya’s dialogues spring a pleasant surprises and are peppered with humour. The dialect seems North Indian (Bihari to be precise) and it is unclear in which region the film is based. We assume South India so then the dialect seems incongruous. The special effects such as zooming in on a solitary yellow insect and burning paper with a cigarette were unnecessary. And what’s with the characters jumping from one tree to another?

You cannot help but gape at how lovely Ash looks and her performance is just as good. She brings out the layers of her character and is particularly graceful in the song Khili khili where she enchants you with her classical dancing. She expresses the hate Ragini has for Beera quite effectively. Her fans will love her in the movie. Abhishek Bachchan is not as good as expected and he repeats himself in the movie by yelling and shaking his head all the time. Vikram is smoking most of the time and makes a decent debut. Ravi Kissen and Govinda provide comic relief and are well-cast in their supporting roles.