Raavan is the upcoming flick of ace writer, producer and director Mani Ratnam, who is celebrating his 54th birth anniversary today.

Raavan features Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Vikram and Prithviraj in the leading role with a supporting cast of Prabhu Ganeshan, Karthik Muthuraman, Priyamani and Munna.

The film will hit screens on 18 June together with its Telegu Dubbed version "Villain".

A. R. Rahaman composed the background score and soundtracks of the movie. Sony Pictures and Reliance Big Pictures have bought the worldwide distribution rights of this film for 350 crores.

The shooting of the film started at the end of 2008, but was postponed for some time owing to Ratnam's ill health.

But, the flick started again in August 2009 and went into post-production in October. Cinematographer Santosh Sivan was replaced by V. Manikandan in early 2009.

The film has many breathtaking action scenes as well as stunts which are performed by the actors.

Kalarippayattu, a Keralian martial art form, also features in this film. The costume of Aishwarya is designed by Sabyasachi Mukherjee. The lyrics have been written by Vairamuthu, except the song 'Veera', which was provided by Maniratnam himself.

The location of this film includes the forests of Kerala, Jhansi, Kolkata, Ooty, Mahabaleshwar and the Malshej Ghats of Maharashtra. (With Inputs from Agencies)