Since the time of the declaration of Mani Ratnam's 'Raavan', interest about how Bollywood's well known film producer manages to do a modern day adaptation of Ramayan, has known no bounds. Luckily, Ratnam achieved success in his own inimitable way. His group's hard work shows in every frame of the film and his actors help him raise the film's bar.

The movie opens with policemen killed at different places around Lal Maati, which is a small town in Northern India. This is accompanied by kidnap of the local police chief Dev's (Vikram) wife Raagini (Aishwarya Rai).

Beera (Abhishek), the dreaded low cast tribal lord, is behind the abducting. Dev (Vikram) immediately gets hot on the trail of Beera with trusted lieutenant Hemant (Nikhil Dwivedi) and asks for the help of the good-humored forest guard Sanjeevani (Govinda). Beera knows the dense jungle like the back of his hand and is helped by the tribals, managing to stay just one step ahead of Dev and his team.

But as the cat and mouse chase goes on between Beera and Dev, the initial hate of Raagini for Beera lessens. As Dev inches closer, the near maniacal Beera shows he has a heart too and Raagini almost loses hers to him. What follows after Beera and Dev come face to face forms the rest of the film.

Helped by the superb technical cast members, Ratnam made his multilayered flick, a technical marvel to watch with awe. During the first half, the film moves on rapidly mostly focusing on Dev's chase of Beera, but however it turns boring beyond a point since the tale hardly moves ahead.

The director also fails to set up the exact setting of the outlaws. Beera's background, Dev's edginess to arrest Beera, Raagini's steady change of perception about Beera and eventually the final face off between Dev and Beera have all been terrifically captured.

Abhishek is amazing. Ash delivers a top notch act. Vikram unfortunately is saddled with a one dimensional role for most part of the movie until the climactic punch. Govinda as Sanjeevani brings on the much required comic relief in the tense proceedings and succeeds. Ravi Kissen grasps the chance to impress with both his hands and does well. Priyamani playing Beera's sister, in her brief role manages to bring out the pathos of her unfortunate character.

The film takes audience to virgin locations within the country never exposed before on screen.

Oscar winner A. R. Rahman's music together with Gulzar's lyrics is spellbinding but Mani hardly gives any time for any song to register any impact, as if in a quick hurry. (With Inputs from Agencies)