The Theme of Lust

The Theme of Lust (Background score – 74) is from Raavanan / Raavan. Composer – A.R.Rahman.

The theme is first introduced, when abducted Ragini is shown to be terrified of witnessing Veera’s brother handing over a gun to Veera to kill Ragini. It could also be simply Ragini’s Theme.

However, the theme plays in its entirety with prominence when Veera tries to give a justification to his brother, for not killing Ragini. He elaborates on an intellectual theory about his inability to kill someone who is fearless. We already know he has already fallen in love with her. In the theme, a Kora plays a repetitive phrase of melody and kindles a subtle, sweet storm in the soul and a deep contemplation out of bewilderment in the mind, and all of these and much more happens in Veera’s when he falls for Ragini’s beauty.

Rahman could have introduced this theme at the moment, when Veera sees Ragini, who just fell fearlessly from atop of a waterfall, lying on a branch of a tree. Even the tree could not bear the weight of Ragini’s beauty. The branch breaks along with Veera’s conviction and Ragini falls into the water in a slow-motion shot. The theme would have worked brilliantly for this moment, and they could have started the “Behne De/Usure Pogudhey” song a few seconds later.

Veera and his gang are stealing the arms and creating havoc in SP’s camp. Veera enters SP’s tent and finds Ragini’s torn dress hanging like an antique piece. Veera walks closer to the hanging dress. Rahman begins to play the other Kora theme with the African voice, but shifts to the theme of lust precisely when Veera moves his hands closer to dress and contemplates a touch. It is in here, the main emotion of the theme, becomes evident. Maybe the intention was to have just a character leitmotif for Ragini, but this is how I felt and understood this piece of music, while watching the film for the first time.