‘Raayan’ movie review: Dhanush’s fiery bloodfest offers only dwindling returns
In his sophomore directorial, Dhanush attempts to turn an ordinary story into something more with a well-written setting and measured storytelling, but falls disappointingly short
(Originally published in The Hindu on July 29, 2024)
Droplets of water fall on the cheek of a newborn girl, lying on a priest’s lap, as her lanky elder brother, dripping water from head to toe, names her ‘Durga.’ In mere days, she would witness him spill blood, forced to shed the boy in him, be smeared of a sin he would never cleanse himself of, and lead a life amongst fire and death.
Raayan, actor-director Dhanush’s second directorial, begins with this well-conceived sequence that sets the tone right. Composer AR Rahman tugs at your heart as you see Kathavarayan a.k.a Raayan, his two young brothers, and an infant sister, flee their town and arrive in Madras. With the help of Sekar (Selvaraghavan), they find refuge and means of survival. Is Sekar just a gentle-hearted stranger, or did he see something in Raayan’s eyes and wish he better be on his side? We are never told, but our guesses might align with the latter.
In the present day, shouldering fatherly responsibilities, Raayan (Dhanush) owns a fast-food shop to help Maanickavel Raayan (Kalidas Jayaram) with his college studies and get Durga (Dushara Vijayan) married soon. Muthuvel Raayan (Sundeep Kishan), however, is a bratty, impulsive, alcoholic who gets into petty fights and has to wait for his brother to bail him out. Even his paramour, Meghala (Aparna Balamurali) has to muster energy, or drown a drink, to put up with his aggravating behaviour.
In any other neighbourhood, Muthu would have faded into the setting as a common deadbeat. A charming song sequence in which he drinks, dances and jollies around with Meghala shows the life he would have led had he not lived on a turf where a war is brewing between two rival gangs; one headed by Dorai (Saravanan) and the other, by Sethuraman (SJ Suryah). At the centre of this world is a whirlpool of murder, debauchery, feud, politics and power, a quagmire that Raayan has repeatedly warned them not to get pulled into. Making matters thicker is …………
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