Raayan (2024) Full Movie

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Director: Dhanush
Writers: Manish Bhavan, Dhanush
Release Date: July 26, 2024
Language: Tamil

Raayan Movie Review: As with his debut directorial effort, Pa. Pandi, Dhanush shows yet again that he can do solid work behind the camera as well. The world he explores this time is far removed from the warm, feel-good world of his first film. Raayan has a raw and rage-filled setting, and is populated by characters who are rugged, violent, deceptive and also vulnerable.

Raayan begins in the past when four siblings - three brothers and their new-born sister - fleeing their village and ending up in the city, where they, fortunately, end up under the care of Sekar (Selvaraghavan), a handyman in a vegetable market. The film then cuts to the present where we see that the four have grown up into individuals with distinctive characteristics. The youngest brother Manickam (Kalidas Jayaram) is a college student, filled with righteousness. His elder brother Muthu (Sundeep Kishan) is rash and rage-filled. The eldest, Raayan (Dhanush) is the responsible one, and more like a father-figure. It's their love for their sister Durga (Dushara Vijayan) that's holding them all together, and as Raayan puts it, only seeing her wedded and with a child would truly make them a family.

But even as he tries to get her wedded, due to circumstances, he finds himself caught up between a power struggle between Sethu (SJ Suryah) and Durai (Saravanan), two gangsters with a history between them, who control the locality. Meanwhile, there is also the new cop in town (Prakash Raj), who is silently stirring up things between them so that he can clean up the city in the eventual clash that would ensue.

It is a credit to the strength of Dhanush's command over storytelling and the performances that Raayan manage to overcome its weakest aspect - predictability. Even if we realise at the back of our minds that given this particular premise, almost all the plot points that the film reaches are inevitable as the story moves towards its logical conclusion, we also can't help but wonder if Dhanush could have been a little more ambitious and chosen to take things to a different space, at least with some of them. This might not have come across as a noteworthy issue if this had been just another sophomore effort, but given the credentials of this filmmaker and actor, who has raised the bar quite high for himself, it feels a considerable one.

That said, he doesn't try to coast on the drama that is inherent in this premise and makes an earnest effort to make this film look and feel different. The filmmaking is sure-footed, capturing the aggression lurking within the characters, both male and female, while his pacing keeps the narrative moving at clip that has us engrossed in the proceedings. He's also ably supported by his technical team. There's the dramatic cinematography by Om Prakash, which gives the film its distinct mood, where danger might be lurking just beyond the frame. AR Rahman amplifies this tension with his score that captures the constant darkness and dread.

And there's the film's beating heart - the relationship between the siblings. Dhanush ensures that we never forget that this is first and foremost an emotionally charged drama, so despite all the heroism and bloodshed that we see on screen (the filmmakers also deserve praise for going with the 'A' rating) , we care for how the events affect the bond between these brothers and their sister. That is his biggest success as a director.