Page - 38 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 07/02

38 | Genoveva Castro www.jrfm.eu 2021, 7/2, 31–53 His ability to blend Eastern and Western musical elements to create strong associations for audiences from both contexts while supporting receptivity to sounds that might sit outside the listener’s cultural context is notable, even remarkable, and enriches every film he works on. His sound captures a multicultural aesthetic, drawn from his roots as a Tamil musician, that speaks to global audiences.27 Ratnam directed Raavan (2010) in Hindi, and simultaneously Raavanan (Mani Ratnam, IN 2010) in Tamil. The films were designed as a multilingual project and became a culturally diverse effort in which North and South In- dia were both represented. Aishwarya Rai played Sītā in both, and Abhishek Bachchan played Rāvaṇa in the Hindi version. Interestingly, the actor Vikram played Rāma in the Hindi version, but the antagonist, Rāvaṇa, in the Tamil one. The Tamil version seemingly did better than the Hindi version at the box office.28 The music was composed by A. R. Rahman. The soundtrack was a blend of Classical Indian, African folk, Sufi, and electronic music in the multicultural style that characterizes this composer. Rahman and Ratnam wanted a “groovy, yet folksy tribal feel” for the musical score, to match the story line.29 Raavan (2010) and Raavanan (2010) were big budget main- stream movies; they were released in theaters and found a place in several online platforms such as YouTube and Amazon Prime. Film aficionados still comment on these films in online publications and videos.30 The cinematog- raphy of Santosh Sivan has been particularly appreciated by online fans. The screenplay of the movie was also written by Ratnam, who privileged the character of Rāvaṇa. In an interview, Ratnam stated, “The Tamil version of the Rāmāyaṇa – The Kampan Rāmāyaṇam – makes him [Rāvaṇ] even more dramatic, even more spectacular. If you look at folk arts like Kathakali, it is always Rāvaṇ’s story that is performed. It is a tradition to narrate the story of the doomed person.”31 Ratnam has been fascinated with this kind of narra- tive throughout his career. In his movie Thalapathi (Mani Ratnam, IN 1991), he explored Karṇa and Duryodhana, two troubled characters from the other 27 Wilcox 2017, 50. 28 Dundoo 2010. 29 Khurana 2010. 30 See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZnkukRyTtk&ab_channel=FilmyHub360; https:// www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQv8fA9XcVo&ab_channel=FilmCompanionSouth [accessed 6 June 2021]. 31 Rangan 2012, 268.