Raavanan is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language action-adventure film written, co-produced, and directed by Mani Ratnam. The film stars Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Prithviraj in the lead roles along with a supporting cast led by Karthik, Prabhu and Priyamani. It marked Rai Bachchan's return to Tamil after a decade, since Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000). The film follows the crux of the epic Ramayana, with a ruthless cop named Dev Prakash Subramaniam, who is on a quest to find a tribal leader-turned naxalite named Veeraiya as he had kidnapped his wife Raagini and begins to develop emotions for Veeraiya after learning his purpose.
Raavanan was announced in February 2008, amidst much hype of the celebrated director, Ratnam's return to Tamil films, whilst Vikram's and Rai Bachchan's casting creating more anticipation. Shooting began soon after, and took place in various locations with a record number of extras in areas including Chalakudy, Kerala and Ooty, Tamil Nadu amongst other regions throughout India. The film's music was composed by A. R. Rahman, the cinematography was handled by V. Manikandan and Santhosh Sivan, and editing done by A. Sreekar Prasad.
The film was also made simultaneously in Hindi as Raavan, with Abhishek Bachchan reprising Vikram's role and playing the antagonist, While Vikram reprising Prithviraj's role and playing the protagonist, and Rai Bachchan playing the same role in both films. The film was also dubbed in Telugu as Villain. All three versions were released simultaneously on 17 June 2010 worldwide.
It was later remade into Bengali in 2011 as Tiger Number One, starring Shakib Khan, Sahara and Amit Hasan.
Plot The film opens with a coordinated ambush by a tribal insurgent leader, Veeraiya "Veera," and his gang, who lure a police convoy into a fatal trap in the rural forests near Tirunelveli. Concurrently, Veera abducts Raagini, a classical dancer, during a boating excursion. Her husband, Dev Prakash Subramaniam, a ruthless and fiercely dedicated Superintendent of Police (SP), is immediately notified and mobilizes a massive tactical rescue operation. While state authorities classify Veera as a dangerous Naxalite outlaw, he functions as a localized folk hero, running a parallel administration with his brothers, Singarasu and Sakkarai, to protect his community from institutional exploitation.
Veera takes Raagini to a secluded cliffside hideout, intending to execute her in retaliation for an earlier state-sanctioned atrocity. Defiant, Raagini refuses to succumb to his execution and leaps off the towering cliff into a rushing river below. She survives the fall but is recaptured. Intrigued and unsettled by her absolute lack of fear regarding mortality, Veera holds off her execution, choosing instead to keep her as a high-value hostage. Dev leads a heavily armed tactical squad into the dense, untamed jungle, enlisting the assistance of Gnanaprakasam, a localized forest guard familiar with the terrain.
As the pursuit deepens, Raagini is exposed to the harsh realities of the tribal conflict and begins empathizing with her captor's motivations. She discovers that Veera’s vendetta stems from an extrajudicial raid Dev led against Veera's village during the wedding of his younger sister, Vennila. In the ensuing crossfire, Veera was shot in the neck and dragged to safety by his men, leaving the village unprotected. The police subsequently detained Vennila, subjecting her to brutal custodial torture and sexual assault to extract Veera's coordinates. Upon his return, Veera found a deeply traumatized Vennila, who committed suicide the following morning by drowning in a village well.
As the military blockade cuts off essential supplies, causing widespread distress among the tribal villagers, Sakkarai proposes a truce to Dev to prevent further bloodshed. Dev deceptively agrees to the negotiation, but when Sakkarai emerges from the jungle unarmed to finalize the terms, Dev executes him on the spot, openly prioritizing the total annihilation of Veera's network over the safety of his wife. Dev's betrayal enrages Veera and Singarasu, who launch a fierce counter-offensive that decimates the police camp. This culminates in a physical, high-stakes duel between Dev and Veera on a rickety rope bridge hanging over a deep gorge. Veera ultimately overpowers the SP, but chooses to spare his life out of respect for Raagini's honor.
Dev extricates himself and locates Raagini, whom Veera has left bound but unharmed at a designated extraction point. While traveling back to their hometown of Tiruchirappalli, Dev's repressed anger surfaces; he aggressively accuses Raagini of infidelity, falsely claiming that Veera boasted about a sexual encounter with her. Outraged by her husband's toxic distrust and realizing the implications, a furious Raagini leaves Dev. She tracks down Singarasu to arrange an immediate confrontation with Veera.
Upon meeting Veera in the jungle, she demands the truth regarding the allegation. Veera vehemently denies making the statement, and the duo instantly realizes that Dev fabricated the lie, knowing a betrayed Raagini would unwittingly lead police tracking units straight to Veera’s hidden sanctuary. Dev and a heavily armed police detail emerge from the foliage, surrounding them. Raagini desperately throws herself in front of Veera to shield him, but Veera pushes her out of the line of fire. Hit multiple times by a barrage of gunfire, a mortally wounded Veera stumbles toward the cliff's edge. Raagini frantically reaches out to catch him; though their hands fail to link, the desperate gesture confirms her care for him. Satisfied and smiling at her reciprocated affection, Veera falls backward off the cliff to his death.
Cast Vikram as Veeraiya "Veera", a Naxalite in rural Tirunelveli. He is nicknamed Ravana since he is seen as a hero by locals but as a criminal by outsiders (character based on Ravana). Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as Ragini Subramaniam, Dev's wife who is kidnapped by Veera and kept in the jungle for 14 days. (voiceover by Rohini) (character based on Sita). Prithviraj as SP Dev Prakash Subramaniam IPS, who wants to shut down Veera's crime empire (character based on Rama). Karthik as Gnanaprakasam, a forest ranger who has worked in the jungle for 25 years and helps Dev find Veera's gang. He is a drunkard and enjoys joking around (character based on Hanuman). Prabhu as Singarasu, Veera's elder brother who supervises everything in the gang (character based on Kumbhakarna). Priyamani as Vennila, Veera's half-sister, who wants to marry Velan. On her wedding day, Veera was shot by Dev, and the police forcefully brings her to the police station, where she is brutally assaulted and eventually commits suicide, prompting the events of the film (character based on Shurpanakha). John Vijay as Hemanth Shankar, ACP aka DSP of Tirunelveli and the main perpetrator in Vennila's assault. He is Dev's trusted deputy (character based on Lakshmana). Munna as Sakkarai, Veera's younger brother, who is the only educated member of his brothers' gang and genuinely wants to stop the ongoing civil war and bring peace to the land (character based on Vibhishana) . Vaiyapuri as Raasathi, a transgender woman in the village (character based on Mohini). Ranjitha as Annam, Singgarasu's wife (character based on Vajramala). Varsha as Poonkodi Ashwanth Thilak as Velan, Vennila's lover, who left her at the altar out of fear of the police. Azhagam Perumal as the photographer who takes photos of Ragini Stanley as Padakotti Lakshmy Ramakrishnan as Velan's mother Elizabeth as Vennila's mother Saravana Subbiah as Ranjith, Veera's spy in Dev's gang (character based on Shuka and Sarana). Chaams as the wedding photographer
Production
Development During the making of his 2007 biopic Guru starring Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Mani Ratnam had finalised a script for his next directorial venture titled Lajjo. Based on a short story by Ismat Chughtai, it was a musical period film set in the desert and was to star Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor in the lead. Though the film was slated to go on floors after the release of the former, there were reports of a fall-out between Ratnam and Khan due to creative differences. While cinematographer P. C. Sreeram denied the reports, the film's would-be lyricist Gulzar said there were actually problems with acquiring the copyright of the story, and composer A. R. Rahman even confirmed to having completed 80% of the film score. Yet, the project was put on the back burner for reasons unknown.
Following the critical and commercial success of Guru, Ratnam announced his next film in February 2008. A modern-day retelling of the mythological epic Ramayana, the film again features the real life couple in the lead. The film was initially planned to be made only in Hindi and the idea for the Tamil version came later. In January 2009, while the film was in the making, it was further decided to dub the Tamil version to Telugu making it a tri-lingual. While the film was yet to be titled, it was widely reported in the media that the Tamil version was titled Ashokavanam in reference to the place where Sita was held captive by Ravana. Further reports emerged stating that since director Kasthuri Raja has already registered the title for his project, Ratnam has requested him for using the title. Later, Vikram, the lead actor, clarified in an interview that the film was tentatively titled Ravana but was wrongly reported as Ashokavanam. Subsequently, the film was titled Raavan in Hindi, Raavanan in Tamil and Villain in Telugu.
While the plot is inspired by Ramayana, the story is narrated from Ravana's perspective making him the protagonist. The film is centered on the 'Ashokavanam' episode where Ravana kidnaps Sita and keeps her in Asokavanam. Later Rama ventures to save his wife and bring her back.
Casting While Bachchan and Vikram were roped in for the contrasting leads in Hindi, Ratnam asked them to swap roles in Tamil. Though Bachchan agreed initially, he grew sceptical being unfamiliar with the language. Eventually Prithviraj was cast in his place. Rai plays the female lead in both versions of the film. After a brief hiatus, Karthik made a comeback with this film, collaborating with Ratnam for the third time after Mouna Ragam and Agni Natchathiram. Prabhu was cast in a prominent role, joining hands with Ratnam after Agni Natchathiram and Anjali. While Priyamani was cast as Ravana's sister, Munna was signed up to play a role synonymous with Vibhishana. Bipasha Basu was to play the role of Mandodari, which was later scrapped to keep the film short. Likewise, singer Vidya Rao's role as the mother of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's character was also cut from the final version. Comedian Vaiyapuri plays a transgender woman.
The cinematography was initially handled by V. Manikandan, but it was later taken over by Santosh Sivan, when the former left the project after multiple delays. The editing was done by Ratnam's regular, A. Sreekar Prasad, since Alaipayuthey. Rai's costumes were exclusively designed by fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee. Choreography was by Ganesh Acharya, Brinda, Shobana, and Astad Deboo. Peter Hein and Shyam Kaushal choreographed the action sequences, while Samir Chanda took care of production design.
Filming The film was predominantly shot outdoors in various hitherto unseen locations in and around India. Shooting took place at Tumkur (Karnataka), Orchha near Jhansi and the forests of Madhya Pradesh, Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra. It was also reported that Ratnam had planned to shoot at Sri Lanka but decided against it owing to insurgency by the rebel group LTTE. But Ratnam dismissed the reports as rumours.