This is partly in response to a comment on the TOI article about AR focussing
on
Hollywood only from now on (which I don't believe fully yet). The comment said
how the reader was "disappointed with the fact that Mani Ratnam asked for 3-4
tunes for the same lyric. Mani shud have first had a strong script and
screenplay before kicking off the movie. I personally think that Mani WASTED
rahman's time with the half-baked script of Raavan."
My understanding was that AR gave most of his directors more than one tune to
choose from. And I remember AR mentioning at the audio release function of
Raavan that the music was put together quite quickly so I am baffled at this
article.
And I am not sure I can say that music that comes from the Mani-ARR camp is
anyone's waste of time or effort. Raavan (despite its flaws) is a cinematic
masterpiece. The treatment of AR's songs in the movie was unique, beautiful and
more importantly a vital part of the narration in many ocassions.
For eg
Behene De, a key moment in the narration. We are introduced to Raavan's
feelings
towards Ragini for the firt time and so is he. He is amazed, intrigued and
attracted. It is in this song that the two most important dialogues of the
movie are said. One where beera (in response to raagini's question about why he
didn't kill her after she jumped off) tells Ragini that he was going to, but
that someone had re-written that piece of fate, unfortunately for him. And in
response to this Raagini tells him that to make a note now that how she will be
the one responsible for his death, his fate- which was indeed the case at the
end of th movie (irrespective of the circumstances).
Kalvare/Khille Re: An elegantly shot love song between a husband and his wife.
Tastefully choreographed by Shobhana and again an important part of the
narration because it's the only time we get to see Ragini's relationship with
Dev. She essentially is seducing him in the song and also there is a sense of
Ragini's god-like (blind) devotion to Dev. Again, a very important piece of
information for the movie's narration because it is the only window into the
Dev-Raagini relationship.
The haunting Ranhja Ranjha in the movie was yet again a beautiful reflection of
Raamayan. We see Ragini battling the demon in Ravana and trying to escape his
clutches. He never touches her. Only his hands run over her body as if drawing
out her space. There is a lot of tension in that scene which can be interpreted
in many ways. Again, lovely addition to the narration.
Thok de is the only time we see that a strong sense of uprising amongst the
"lower caste" didn't only exhist amongst Beera and his family but amongst the
entire community of'Lal maati'. Again, a powerful addition to the narration.
Kata Kata: The most significant moment in the movie forms the last part of this
beautifully shot Mani Ratnam style wedding song. The song takes the audience
through both ends of the emotional spectrum, from the colourful and joyful
wedding processions to the cunning shooting of Beera which leads to the series
of tragic incidents involving Jamuniya.
Jaa Re - the killer track. Without this song, the climax of the movie would be
half-dead. It evokes all the emotions that it should with the audience. The
freefall of Beera who dies (in his words) with immortal happiness.
I haven't commented on the cinematography of the songs since the scenes speak
for itself. So for me the entire Raavan soundtrack was used substatially in the
movie to take the film forward. That's one of the biggest respect a musician
could get from his director. Without the songs, we would have no movie. Half of
the narration was in fact in the movie. I'd rather have songs that contribute
constructively to the narration like Raavan than those where you break into a
dream sequeance with a million dancers (however grand the scenaries are) to
start shaking your legs to AR's songs. The music and the master deserve much
more respect than that.
