Maya Ravan –An ultimate disaster

With publicity done to peak, Maya Ravan was expected to be an outstanding musical drama. Unfortunately, the show turned to be otherwise. The drama was lagging during the first part, while in the second part, Shobana and her team were shown more through the projector than in real performance.
The musical in English was highly Indian-accented, and the casting of Shobana as the devil, Ravanan, was a disaster. With feminine dance steps, the tough look of Ravanan was nowhere to be seen. All the artists, with their terrific body movements, glued the spectators to their seats. The dance performance was the only factor, that made the performance interesting, but again, the repeated steps were tiring.
It seemed as if Shobana was the only person who could bring expression to the face. Most of the others, especially Rama and Hanuman had no expressions at all. Sita did make good try and I wondered why Shobana didn’t take up the role herself. That would’ve been the best role she could do.
Indian traditional costumes were wonderful and add marks for a positive review. The costumes of the devil gang were similar to the African tribal wear with big beaded necklaces and leopard striped gowns. The devil dress left a mark deep within, wandering aimlessly about the reason for selecting such attire.
The drama, different by its name and selection of hero, was expected to bring a twist to the Ramayana story. The faulty spotlight added another mistake to the drama. The choreography was good. The songs and music in different Indian languages was not at all welcoming to the foreigners, as they couldn’t keep up with the ‘tempo’ of the drama.
An absolute flop, but a great try.