Nikhil Dwivedi Calls Mani Ratnam's Raavan 'Bizarre': 'Film Did Nothing For Me'

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Actor Nikhil Dwivedi has called Mani Ratnam's Raavan a 'badly-made film,' criticizing its 'bizarre storytelling' and underutilization of Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai.
Actor-producer Nikhil Dwivedi has offered a candid reflection on his experience working in Mani Ratnam's ambitious 2010 film Raavan. Featuring Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, and Vikram in pivotal roles, the film reimagined the Ramayana in a contemporary setting. While hailed for its visual grandeur, it divided audiences and critics alike. More than a decade later, Dwivedi has spoken openly about why the film didn't resonate with him.
In a conversation with DNA, Nikhil did not mince words. He admitted that while some viewers appreciated the film, he found it to be a 'very badly-made film" that left no impact on his career or his personal journey as an actor. 'Aap unn kam logo mein se hai jinhe woh film pasand aayi. Mere hisaab se bahut kharab film bani thi. Mujhe aisa lagata hai. It's good ki aapko achi lagi, but the film did nothing for me," he said, clarifying that his perspective was that of an audience member, not just an insider.
Dwivedi acknowledged that Mani Ratnam's Raavan was visually breathtaking and one of the most aesthetically beautiful films he had ever seen. However, he felt the storytelling was confusing and ultimately failed to connect. 'I didn't mean as an actor, but as an audience, I think it was not a well-made film. It was a beautiful-looking film. Aesthetically, it was one of the finest films. But I think all the actors were wasted, and you just couldn't understand what the film was all about. The storytelling was very faulty. It was a bizarre form of storytelling," he added.
The actor further questioned the creative decision to reinterpret an age-old epic. While reiterating that every filmmaker has the freedom to reimagine classics, he wondered why one would alter stories that have survived centuries. 'Sometimes I feel filmmakers try to outsmart something that doesn't need improvement. What Valmiki and Tulsidas wrote has endured because it was complete in itself. To change that just for the sake of experimentation doesn't always work," he said.
Despite his sharp criticism, Dwivedi did not dismiss Mani Ratnam's vision or effort. He acknowledged that the filmmaker poured his heart into Raavan and that the film's experimental approach, while bold, simply didn't succeed. 'Maybe they were trying to experiment, but that clearly didn't work. That happens in art. Sometimes experiments succeed, sometimes they don't," he remarked.
Released in 2010, Raavan cast Abhishek Bachchan as Beera (inspired by Raavan), Aishwarya Rai as Ragini (a Sita-like figure), and Vikram as Dev Pratap (modeled on Rama). The story explored unconventional bonds and moral ambiguities, a departure from the traditional telling of the epic. However, despite its ambition and scale, the film struggled at the box office and remains one of Ratnam's most polarizing works.
First Published:
August 16, 2025, 19:17 IST
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