That this film adapts from one of India’s favourite mythologies, The Ramayan, we know. That it would be so subtly subversive in challenging that mythology, even adding a surprise development, was the unexpected dessert after the hearty meal.

Reliance BIG Pictures and Madras Talkies' RAAVAN seems to have got an excellent opening at the box office. It has grossed Rs 20 crores worldwide on the opening day from its three versions- Hindi (RAAVAN), Tamil (RAAVANAN) and Telugu (VILLAIN).

Mani Ratnam's Raavan is an overwhelming film. At times a tad bit overproduced, the film is an onslaught of brilliant use of technology on the viewer's senses -- stunning cinematography, the fluidity of the camera, quick edits, loud soaring music, with the actors thrown into wild nature.

The epics return again to contemporary cinema. After a re-telling of the Mahabharata against a political backdrop in Prakash Jha's Raajneeti, cineastes can now feast their eyes on a modern-day rewrite of the Ramayana, against a cops-and-robbers canvas.

Following the critically acclaimed Guru Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan reunite to star alongside Tamil superstar Vikram, in this cinematic reworking of the Ramayana epic. The cinematic tour de force that is director Mani Ratnam is back with undoubtedly his most ambitious project ever, and with Raavan he triumphs.

Bollywood superstars and married couple; Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan are starring in a new film called 'Raavan'. The pair describe it as one of their most physically demanding projects to date and if battling forests, creepy crawlies and even scaling waterfalls wasn't enough Aishwarya had to cope with filming in two languages simultaneously. The actors tell us how they handle their very hectic schedules and still have time to be together.

Video: Aishwarya and Abhishek on BBC Breakfast

Abhishek Bachchan on being Beera in the modern-day adaptation of ‘Raavayan’
Abhishek with Mani Ratnam and cinematographer V. Manikandan

Who is Mani’s favourite, Ash or you?

Me, by far. I am his boy, I am biased. The weird thing is he’s got a very friendly relationship with Aishwarya. They argue things out, they talk and he will ask her for advice. But with me it’s a very father-son kind of relationship. He knows me as an actor better than myself. He knows my potential, he knows my flaws.

Making of Raavan Part 1
Making of Raavan Part 2

The kids on Zee TV’s DID Li’l Masters haven’t stopped trembling with fright yet … after all, a visit from the ‘Raavan’ is bound to send shivers down their little spines.