India Abroad Special Program
RAAVANAN

Directed by MANI RATNAM.
INDIA, 2010, 127 min. NY Premiere.
Tamil (with English subtitles)

Synopsis: Veeraiya, an uncouth and feared brigand kidnaps a policeman’s wife and takes her into the deepest of jungles, holding her hostage and finally succumbing to her exceptional beauty. Director Mani Ratnam teams up once again with Oscar and Grammy winning music composer A.R. Rahman and cinematographer Santosh Sivan to set a magnificently lush stage for his take inspired by the Ramayana. Shot simultaneously in Tamil and Hindi, this original version stars the magnetic Vikram as the bandit.

Director Mani Ratnam: Mani Ratnam worked as a management consultant before turning to filmmaking. His very first film, Pallavi Anu Pallavi, won the Karnataka State Award for Best Screenplay in 1983. He went on to creating internationally acclaimed films such as Iruvar, Bombay, Kannathhil Muthamittal, and Dil Se. Retrospectives and tributes to Mani Ratnam’s work have been held at the Toronto International Film Festival, Pusan International Film Festival, Tokyo Filmex, and Birmingham International Film Festival. His films are shown regularly at many important film festivals, including Cannes, Venice, Rotterdam, Toronto, Montreal, Pusan, and Palm Springs.

CAST
Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Prithviraj, Karthik, Prabhu, Priyamani, Munna, John Vijay, Ranitha, Vaiyapuri