Raavan's star-studded premiere in London

London, Jun 17 (PTI) Mani Ratnam's much-awaited
bi-lingual film 'Raavan' had a star-studded world premiere
here, attended by Bollywood bigwigs like Amitabh Bachchan and
Shah Rukh Khan.
Hundreds of film buffs gathered at the BFI, Southbank
in London, where the premiere was held last night, and cheered
the film's star cast who had gathered for the gala event.
Ratnam, alongwith the film's stars Abhishek Bachchan,
Aishwarya Rai and Vikram added glitter to the premiere. The
film will simultaneously be released in Tamil and Hindi
tomorrow.
Abhishek, who plays the role of 'Beera Munda', said it
has always been his efforts to give "better and better
performance".
"Beera, my character in the film, is a very contemporary
person that Mani created. Beera has many facets and shades to
his personality. He is a fun character who is most
unpredictable and can do anything. 'Ravaan' is by far the most
challenging film I have ever done - both physically and
mentally," said Abhishek.
Shah Rukh Khan and his family was invited by the
senior Bachchan to the premiere and Abhishek profusely thanked
him for coming.
"Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you
thank you for coming! Love you. And now waiting for you to
come and fire me!(sic)" the junior Bachchan wrote on his
Twitter page.
Oscar winning musician A R Rahman, who has composed
the chart-topping tracks for 'Raavan', accompanied the movie's
star cast which also included actors Govinda and Ravi Kishen.
Aishwariya was wearing a dark green sari with her
hair tied in a bun and walked the red carpet with husband and
costar Abhishek in tow who was looking dapper in a black suit.
The former Miss World was asked whether filming the
movie was a taxing experience, to which she replied, "Mani
Ratnam looked after our training by keeping us on our toes
everyday."
"The physical demand in this film was immense not only
for the actors, but also the crew and technicians. It was a
challenge we tried to rise to every single day at work," she
said.
Most of the film is shot in dense forests - in Kerala,
Karnataka, Ooty and Malshej Chat near Nasik in Maharashtra.
Ratnam, 54, who has made films like 'Roja', 'Dil
Se', 'Bombay' and 'Guru', which garnered both critical acclaim
and box office success, said the film was done with spirit.
"It is just a few metres away... lets see it," was
all Mani Ratnam said when asked whether Raavan was modern-day
'Ramayana'.
"It has been done with spirit. We have all worked
hard," he added.
Asked why he chose Aishwarya for the lead role, he
said, "She was right for it. Is there any other reason?"
'Raavan' is the story of a dance teacher (Aishwarya)
who is happily married to a cop (Vikram) but their life goes
for a toss when a vengeful Beera enters their lives. PTI HSR
MYR