Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan at Raavan London Premiere

Raavan - Movie Preview

Beera Munda - Undisputed, Unlawful, Untamed (Abhishek Bachchan) Dev Pratap Sharma - The Punisher, The Law, The Righteous (Vikram) Ragini - Conscience, Beauty, Music (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) Synopsis: TEN HEADS TEN MINDS A HUNDRED VOICES ONE MAN Did, such a man ever exist Was' he Just a myth... or does he live even today...? What is the line that divides Good from Evil..? Do our understanding change when we look from the opponent's perspective...? The bond between the hunter and the Hunted between the Captor and the Captive seems to be a bond of do or die... The tension between opposites often seems so electric, that it isolates them from the rest of the world, leaving just the two - All alone... Are Ten Heads better then one...? Is there a Ram inside Raavan? And a Raavan Inside each of us?? RAAVAN is not a story. It is a world. Dev falls in love with Ragini, a spunky classical dancer who is as unconventional as him. They get married and he takes up his new post in Lal Maati, a small town in northern India. A town where the word of law is not the police but Beera, a tribal who has, over the years, shifted the power equation of the place from the ruling to the have- nots of the area. Dev knows, that the key to bringing order to any place is to vanquish the big fish; in this case- Beera. In one stroke Dev manages to rip open Beera's world, and set in motion a chain of events which will claim lives, change fortunes. Beera, injured but enraged hits back starting a battle that draws Dev, Beera and Ragini into the jungle. The jungle which is dense, confusing, scary. And in this journey they must comfort their own truth. A journey which will test their beliefs, convictions and emotions. Emotions, which are as scary and confusing as the forest. The forest becomes the battleground. The battle between good and evil, between Dev, and Beera, between Ram and Raavan. But when the lines dividing good and evil are blurring fast whose side will you take. When hate turns to love and the good start' looking evil, which side will you battle for? Love is a battle that nobody wins but everyone must fight. Even this Raavan. Written and directed by Mani Ratnam, it stars Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Vikram in the lead roles while Govinda, Ravi Kishan, Nikhil Dwivedi, Tejaswini Kolhapure and Priyamani play key supporting roles. It has been simultaneously made in Tamil as RAAVANAN with a slightly different cast. Vikram, who plays Dev in Hindi version, plays Veera, a Naxalite leader (Ravana) in Tamil version, whereas Prithviraj plays a Police officer. Abhishek Bachchan is there only in Hindi version; however Aishwarya Rai is there in both the versions. The film is also dubbed into Telugu and other regional languages. Mani Ratnam has approached the story from the perspective of Veera (RAAVAN). The music and lyrics of the movie are done by Oscar winners A. R. Rahman & Gulzar. The audio rights are with T- Series. RAAVAN, which hits the screens in June 2010, is jointly distributed by Madras Talkies and Big Pictures.

"Raavan is my most challenging film yet"

Abhishek dived from a 90 foot cliff, braved snakes while shooting for it

He dived from a 90-ft cliff into water, stood under a waterfall for two hours, braved snakes and leeches in Kerala's forests - Abhishek Bachchan says shooting for 'Raavan' was emotionally and physically challenging for him.

The actor revealed that he decided to jump from scary heights despite a no from director Mani Ratnam.

"I did jump. There was a professional diver to train me how to do it," Abhishek, who has teamed up with wife Aishwarya Rai in the movie, told IANS in an interview.

"When we went up there, it was 90 feet or something. So the insurance people said that we can't allow him to do it. You can't put your lead actor's life at risk," he said.

"Mani said no, I am not going to risk my actor jumping off that (cliff). Actually, the current of that river is very intense. There are rocks at the bottom.

"In the meantime, a five-year-old boy came and dived into the water. We were shooting it at Hogenakkal (waterfall on the Cauvery river), where these local kids jump off for money. So five-six people jumped at the end of the day and finally the shot was taken," he said.

"This is the most challenging film I have ever done in my life. I haven't done such a physically and emotionally challenging film in my life. And it's not about going to tough locations or tough scenes. The film drains you and you feel so good when you go home at night because you feel that you have done something. Getting a movie like 'Raavan' is so rare. You don't get such a role today," Abhishek said.

Ratnam's 'Raavan' is said to be a modern interpretation of the epic "Ramayana". It also stars southern superstar Vikram, who plays a cop married to Aishwarya.

The director simultaneously shot 'Raavan' in Tamil and Hindi at various locations, including the Athirapally forests in Kerala, Ooty in Tamil Nadu, Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, Kolkata, and the Malshej Ghats in Maharashtra. The film has lots of action scenes and stunts performed by the actors.

Ratnam completed the film despite health problems.

"Once you work with him, you will be in awe of him because of the talent he brings to the table. The minute he says cut, he turns into a dear friend. He is someone very close to me. I really feel a strong bond with him. But in front of the camera, you don't have to work to give him the respect - it just comes... He is truly just the best," said Abhishek.

It was Ratnam who gave Abhishek his first hit in 'Yuva' and they later worked together in 'Guru'.

Talking about his character, Abhishek said: "Beera is the most fun character I have played. Fun because when we work on a character, we draw an outline and then fill in the blanks. But Beera is so unpredictable that you can get away with everything. Mani said do whatever you have done. Make it a convincing performance.

"I believe if you can look the character, 50 percent of your job done. I think when you get the body language correct, half of your work is done. And if you have understood the body language, your dialogues after that would just come."

Ratnam loves shooting on real locations to extract the best from his actors, said Abhishek.

"On the first day, he puts us under the waterfall for two hours and, trust me, you are in character. Mani loves to shoot at location. You will think, 'where have we come?' The jungles of Kerala, the snakes and leeches... then you realise that he puts you into the situation where in a day or two you start reacting instinctively as your character would react because you are actually facing that.

"You don't need to act that much, you are just reacting naturally. So when you go to locations like that, it brings out the character automatically."

Aishwarya sizzles in 'Raavan'

Check out her scorching chemistry with hubby Abhishek in these stills from the movie

She's officially one of the most beautiful women in the world, so no surprises that Aishwarya Rai looks gorgeous even when she's been shooting in a jungle for a really long time. Yes, facing mudslides, leeches, snakes and waterfalls, she's always a stunner in 'Raavan'. Just get a look at these new stills from the movie. Ash looks HOT, and even in the photographs, we're loving the chemistry she has with hubby Abhishek Bachchan.

We know that in the movie she's married to the character played by Southern star Vikram. But looking at these stills, we wonder if there's a twist in the story, and Ash's character ends up with Abhishek's character in the end. Just like in real-life! We'll wait for the movie to find out, meanwhile enjoy these cool pictures of Ash and Abhishek from 'Raavan'.

Bollywood Hindi Movie Raavan Preview and Synopsis

Language: Hindi

Release Year: 2010

Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Govinda, Ravi Kishan, Priyamani, Vikram

Producer: Mani Ratnam

Director: Mani Ratnam

Music Director: A R Rahman

Banner: Big Pictures, Madras Talkies

Background Music: A. R. Rahman

Sound: TAPAS

Lyrics: Gulzar

Cinematography: Santhosh Sivan

Editing: Sreekar Prasad

Dialogue: Vijay Krishna Acharya

Story/Writer: Mani Ratnam

Action Direction: Sham Kaushal

Costume: Sabyasachi

Movie Synopsis

RAAVAN is not a story, it is a world.
Beera Munda – Undisputed, Unlawful, Untamed
Dev Pratap Sharma – The Punisher, The Law, The Righteous
Ragini – Conscience, Beauty, Music

Dev falls in love with Ragini, a spunky classical dancer who is as unconventional as him. They get married and he takes up his new post in Lal Maati, a small town in northern India,

A town where the word of law is not the police but Beera, a tribal who has, over the years, shifted the power equation of the place from the ruling to the have-nots of the area. Dev knows that the key to bringing order to any place is to vanquish the big fish; in this case – Beera. In one stroke Dev manages to rip open Beera’s word, and set in motion a chain of events which will claim lives, change fortunes.

Beera injured but engaged hits back starting a battle that draws Dev, Beera and Ragini into the jungle. The jungle which is dense, confusing, scary. And in this journey they must confront their own truth. A journey which will test their beliefs, convictions and emotions. Emotions which are as scary and confusing as the forest. The forest becomes the battleground. The battle between good and evil, between Dev and Beera, Between Ram and Raavan. But when the lines dividing good and evil are blurring fast whose side will you take. When hate turns to love and the good starts looking evil which side will you battle for? Love is a battle that nobody wins but everyone must fight. Even this Raavan.