Raavan

A version of this review appeared in The Age, June 24, 2010.

Directed by the veteran Mani Ratman, this action melodrama is loosely inspired by the Ramayana, though Western viewers may think instead of Beauty and the Beast. The anti-hero is a brutal but honorable tribal chieftain named Beera (Abhishek Bachchan) who kidnaps the wife (megastar Aishwarya Rai) of a crusading policeman (Vikram) and gradually wins her respect if not her heart.

All this takes place in the densely forested mountains of northern India, where fast-flowing streams, like Ratman's swirling camera movements, suggest the turbulent emotions of the story. The characters may be morally ambiguous but the actors don't waste their energy trying to be subtle. Bachchan growls and bares his teeth; Rai spends most of the film glaring back in defiance, while soaking wet and adorned with purple bruises.

The film becomes slightly more entertaining if you know that the pair are married in real life, but overall this is less fun than your usual Bollywood comedy or thriller, despite spectacular scenery, a pounding score by A. R. Rahman of Slumdog Millionaire fame, an exciting fight on a bridge, and a dance number in the pouring rain that might be the closest thing you'll see to Apocalypse Now: The Musical.