Ashokavanam/Raavan Pics
Finally, we get some solid proof on the progress of Manirathnam's ambitious Ashokavanam/Raavan in the form of these photos(more photos here, thanks Raapi) from the shooting of the star-studded film in Calcutta. The focus of the photos in the feature is definitely on Aish but a couple of other faces familiar to us have been captured too in Vikram and Prithviraj(the latter has been captured from a much more visible angle than the former though).
Though the Hindi version is titled Raavan, I kinda assumed that the hero(played by Abishek Bachan/Vikram) in Mani's take on the Ramayana would still be Ram. But the captions for the photos here say that Vikram plays Ram in Hindi and Prithviraj plays the same role in Tamil. Several news reports have said that Vikram and Prithviraj are playing negative roles in the Hindi and Tamil versions respectively. So Ram is the bad guy in these versions spun by Mani? Interesting...
Balaji's Thots... [Permalink]
Your Thots (24)
24 Comments:
We are tired of Male Chauvinist Antagonist and neo-liberal Female protagonist flicks. KB has given enough variations of such themes.
In last 15 years Mani's scripts have been highly paralysed so he compensates it with Well lit, Well Edited, Well Shot, Well Scored, sometimes Well enacted work. Just a technical Candy floss.
Originally, Vikram was supposed to play Raavan in Hindi. But looks like A Bachchan got insecure and got that role for himself even though it meant he foregoes Aishwarya on screen. After the film is released, Abhi Bachchan's author-backed role will receive more acclaim - because Vikram's role will be emasculated anyway. This is the ploy to keep the myth that Bollywood actors are better.
In one of the earlier posts on heartthrobs in Tamil, I had commented that Mani had played his part behind each one of those. I also said that Mani insists on giving a makeover with the mush gone for his lead hero to give a gentler sophisticated look. Bingo, he has followed the same here with Prithviraj too :-) Vikram is the villian in Hindi while Prithvi is same in Tamil. So I think that article could be wrong. They are picturizing some sort of seduction song of Ash(?) with the villians .
:-)
I am disappointed with the Ash obsession of Mani/Rajni/Shankar. She is in the mid-30s already and has always been a mediocre actress.AvaLa vidungappa, vera aaLeva kidaikkala? If they wanted good looks they could have gone for someone like say, Deepika Padukone instead. Mani has never repeated his lead pair up until now.
"So Ram is the bad guy in these versions spun by Mani? Interesting..."
ena poayi villain aakitaaraa Mani Sir? naan oru apaavi! :-) idhu ungaluku "interesting"-a irukey...ena ulagamadaa idhu!
just kidding...Mani's "Guru" disappointed me in terms of depth even if it featured some fine acting by Abhishek and Aishwarya. I just hope that Mani has a terrific screenplay, as is his wont, for this movie. Guru had a very "bland" (for the lack of a better word) screenplay, I thought..."aaytha ezhuthu" even if lacking in depth had a very interesting structure...wonder whats going to prop up this movie...
I would go with AB and Vikram playing the title roles in Hindi/Tamil respectively. Why would AB(the notion that Bollywood superior to Tamil Film industry) sign up for a non title role
Anyway it would be intresting. I am a Prithvi fan. So would like him to get more screen time that Vikram.
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Banu, would that be to keep up the notion that Malayali actors are superior to Tamil actors ;)
anon, "Male Chauvinist Antagonist and neo-liberal Female protagonist flicks" - i'm not sure mani's films fit that profile. he's got his own style. not sure that means his scripts have been paralyzed :)
anon, mani's always been careful to select popular stars, esp. in hindi films. so i don't think he'd have considered vikram as hero in the hindi version. i'm pretty sure its always been AB. vikram gets to have the cake and eat it too since he's enacting 2 different roles in the 2 versions :)
vijay, i think aish is one name that ensures publicity and an opening in every language. so from a financial perspective, it makes sense to have her as the heroine :)
ram, i'm guessing it'll be seeing the way he gives the ramayana the modern touch :)
banu, it was probably mani's choice keeping in mind the popularity of the actors in the respective languages :)
Vijay, Miser Mani gets a measly deal when he pairs Abhi and Ash. For Ash, it's promoting them as Couple and to increase the brand value of Abhi.
No wonder Mani Sir is an MBA Student!
Anony, good point :-) Not to mention that since it is Mani sir, they would have already slashed their prices in the first place just to act in his movie, even if they were acting individually and not as a couple.
Balaji, Ash makes sense ONLY from a publicity POV. Even there a Priyanka Chopra or a Deepika Padukone cant be far behind. Rajni praising Ash and saying that she would have been great as Nilambari sometime back in a function was a borderline insult to Ramya I thought. Especially after what Ramya managed to do with her role.
Mani and Suhashini have partially towards this couple..not sure why. If you watch Suhashini's reviews, she often praises Abhishek even for his mediocre performance.
vijay,
Am not surprised with what Rajini had said. He often gives nonsense speech. Once he said "friends are more important than a wife" (MCP)
Prithviraj - Aish pair looks stunning compared to the Vikram - Aish pair! My instinct tells me the Tamil version will be way better than the Hindi version, mainly because Abhishek is not a great actor, and I dont prefer to see Vikram talking in Hindi.
"Once he said "friends are more important than a wife" (MCP)"
You would be surprised how many married men eventually find that to be true...
wonder who will play Hanuman?
wonder who will play Hanuman?
Hindi - Govinda
Tamil - BharatiRaaja
Hanuman is played by Karthik! ( it's official )
anon, excellent point. mani always makes sure his cast is composed of actors in the news and this one's no different :)
vijay, shankar will be eyeing other markets like telugu, mallu and maybe even foreign and there i'd think brand aish is way ahead of priyanka or deepika. i don't like her much but from an all-india market POV, she just makes the best business sense :)
xxx, probably came from mani's closeness to abishek since he's worked with him twice b4 :)
rapper, same happened with AE/Yuva. i thot the hindi film's cast just didn't work :)
anon, LOL :)
anons, considering mani's blue-eyed boy is maddy(used to be arvind swamy b4), i assumed he would be hanuman in tamil and hindi. but if its karthik, that sure is a surprising choice :)
After reading the comment "many men think friends are better than wife" I go "bad bad bad" too many bad men out there. :D
IcyCool
@Icycool:
Many men prefer friends over wife but that doesn't mean they prefer friends over S*x.
There's a subtle difference!
Govinda playing the role of Hanuman in hindi version. No idea about Tamil version. I remember reading in one of Mani's interviews that.... This is only a hindi movie and Mani clearly said that he is not making it in tamil(donno the truth though).
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I never feels nothing in ratnam film b4 seeing Uyire. Aftr Uyire, am mad wit maniratnam direction. Mani focusing in camera, editing, bgm score, location choosing, dialog delivery, Expression delivery. A complete director. Iruvar and Guru.. Top of tamil cinema.. (in my view). Nw waiting 4 RAAVAN.
whats wrong with this guy vinayak, malayalam actors superior to tamil, what a stupid comment?
That was supposed to be a sarcastic comment,saaar ;)
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