Raayan

<p>In an unnamed village, a teenage Kathavaraayan “Raayan” lives with his family consisting of his parents; brothers Manickavelraayan “Manickam” and Muthuvelraayan “Muthu”; and newborn sister Durga, on whom he dotes. One day, his parents disappear on the pretext of going to the Chennai. Through this, he starts taking care of the rest of his family. A priest tries to abduct his infant sister; while trying to save her, Raayan kills the pri- The siblings flee to the city and meet a market businessman named Sekhar, who takes care of the siblings. Raayan starts working for Sekhar. Years later, Raayan works as a owner in . Manickam is a college student, while Muthu is a hot-headed alcoholic who is in love with Meghalai. Sekhar supports Raayan and his family as a good family friend. Durai and Sethuraman “Sethu” are two gangsters who are rivals in the area and have a feud with each other after Durai killed Sethu’s father. R. Sargunam, a recently transferred who has a personal enmity with Durai due to the murder of his father by Durai, wants to create a conflict between Sethu and Durai and kill them both in an . One day, Sargunam sends a group of hired goons to ambush an attack on Sethu, who kills all of them. Sethu, believing that Durai was responsible for the recent attack on him, sends his men to kill Durai’s son, who was at the local bar. Muthu, who was also present at the bar, gets into a broil with Durai’s son and his gang. Seeing this, Sethu’s gang infiltrates their altercation with weapons and amidst the chaos kills Durai’s son. Muthu ends up being the sole survivor. While most people believe that Sethu killed Durai’s son, Durai finds out about Muthu and tells Raayan to hand over Muthu within 24 hours. However, Raayan, together with Muthu and Manickam, kills Durai and his gang. Sethu, who is confused about Durai’s death, finds out about Raayan and his brothers’ involvement in his death and calls Raayan for a meeting. He requests Raayan to join his side and promises him and his family protection from the police, but Raayan refuses. Sethu begins to threaten Raayan, who in turn, also begins to threaten Sethu indirectly without outrightly stating that he is indeed the killer. Sethu then tries to assassinate Raayan by sending his goons, but one remaining henchman flees back to Sethu with the news that he witnessed Raayan singlehandedly killing all his henchmen there. Around that time, Raayan was planning Durga’s wedding with a government employee and agreed to shoulder the responsibility of the event expense around 5 lakhs and dowry, leaving him in dire need of money. At the groom’s family’s request for dowry, Raayan agrees to hand over his profitable mobile hotel and all their bank savings to the groom’s family. Fearing for their future, Raayan plans to kill Sethu the night before Durga’s marriage by entering Sethu’s second wife, Annam’s, house in an ambush attack. However, Raayan finds Durga tied up in that house, realises it is a trap set by Sethu, and fights Sethu’s henchmen who ambushed him. However, on escaping, Sethu’s henchman Guru abducts and sexually assaults Durga. Meanwhile, it was revealed that both Muthu and Manickam, who were not able to land a job quickly, were now working for Sethu to supplement their household expenses; at realising their target was their brother, they panicked and stabbed him. After escaping from Guru, Durga runs back to where she left Raayan and saves him by admitting in a nearby clinic. Sethu’s gang tries to kill Raayan in the clinic, but he is saved by Durga and Sekhar. The trio escapes to an isolated house far from the city, and there, Durga learns about Muthu and Manickam’s betrayal. Meanwhile, Muthu and Manickam continue to work for Sethu, while Meghalai gives birth to Muthu’s child. After almost a year, Raayan recovers from his injuries and kidnaps Annam; he asks Sethu to send Guru to him in place of Annam as he was behind Durga’s rape. Sethu accepts, and Guru gets killed by Durga. Manickam wanted to amend things with Raayan and Durga; therefore, he requests Sekhar to arrange a meeting with Raayan and plead for mercy. Overhearing the conversation, Sethu tricks Manickam and uses this opportunity to make Sekhar reveal Raayan’s whereabouts, but he refuses and is killed by Sethu. His body is hung for public display and brings out Raayan and Durga from their hideout. Sargunam uses this chance to arrange a meeting with Raayan and Sethu for a public compromise; however, he was secretly planning on killing them all in a common location. However, Sargunam changes his plan as there were many goons of Sethu with him, and carries out his backup plan, that is a deal that he made with Raayan; in exchange for eradicating Sethu and his gang, Raayan and Durga were promised freedom, safety, and a new identity. During celebrations, Durga stabs and kills Manickam for betraying Raayan. In the ensuing fight, Raayan kills Sethu and his gang brutally, and finally, but hesitantly, killing Muthu. The next day, Sargunam waits for Raayan with the money, but his real intention was to kill him so that Sargunam’s deals would not be leaked. However, Raayan was clever enough to figure out his plan and not arrive at their meeting spot. Meghalai gives her child away to Raayan and Durga citing that she does not want a child of his bloodline. Raayan and Durga pack their belongings and leave to Coimbatore for a peaceful life. On 29 December 2017, announced that for his second directorial after (2017), he would collaborate with Hema Rukmani and Murali Ramasamy, headers of . He further stated that he would play the lead and the production would begin the following year. To which, on 7 September 2018, a puja was held in . Touted to be a film released in and -languages, it would feature , , , and . Music composer , cinematographer and editor were brought on board. Rukmani stated “It’s an impressive story and is Dhanush’s dream project that he’s had in mind for a long time. He’s very passionate about the film and when we heard the script, we understood why”, during the press launch of the venture. , began the same month. In early March 2019, some reporters claimed that the venture was shelved, saying it was only shot in few bits, mainly due to the cast’s schedule. Others reported that it was not shelved, but was instead put on hold, as Dhanush was busy filming for (2019). In June 2020, Dhanush’s elder brother was reported to have been approached by the actor to direct a part of venture, as Dhanush was busy with other commitments. The project was later put on hold. However, it was reported that it would begin after the ends, which was later proven false. In January 2023, it was reported that instead of reviving the script, Dhanush would write a new script, to be funded by of . The production house officially announced the project on 18 January, and was tentatively titled . The film’s official title, was revealed on 19 February 2024. Dhanush would sport a tonsured head and stubble with a thick handlebar mustache for his character. was cast in an important role, collaborating with Dhanush again after (2024). was confirmed to play an important role, replacing who was initially approached for the role but had to decline due to scheduling conflicts. also joined the film in an important role, whilst S. J. Suryah was also cast in an important role. , , , , and would reportedly play prominent roles. Varalaxmi would collaborate with Dhanush again after (2018) with this film. All of their inclusion were confirmed by the production house in late-February 2024. Dhanush had approached musician to play the antagonist in the film as he wanted someone who could speak the dialect; however, Deva declined the role. began with an inaugural ceremony on 5 July 2023 at in Chennai with the presence of the film’s cast and crew. Filming also went on there for a while, before they moved to a massive set with around 500 houses at Adithya Ram Studios in ECR, Chennai, where the rest of the schedule continued to be shot at. The schedule featured scenes involving Suryah and Sundeep. The second schedule commenced in mid-November in , which went on for a week. The team had invested (US$3.5 million) in the sets of the backdrop of , where the events in the film would mostly take place at. The filming reached near ending, as stated by Dhanush, on 1 October. On 14 December, Dhanush tweeted that the shooting had . Sumesh Gopal and Anish Dayanandan are the , under Digital Bricks Entertainment Pvt Ltd., the film’s principal visual effects studio. The dubbing began works in late February 2024, and was completed by early March. Rahman concluded the session on 28 May, which was confirmed by Dhanush through his social media pages. The music and background score is composed by A. R. Rahman, in his fourth collaboration with Dhanush after ‘’ ’’(2013), (2013) and (2021). The first single, “Adangaatha Asuran”, was released on 9 May 2024, the second single “Water Packet” on 24 May, and the third single, “Raayan Rumble” released on 5 July. The audio launch was held on 6 July 2024 at in , releasing the album. was initially scheduled to release on 13 June 2024 in theatres, but was postponed due to reasons unknown. It was released worldwide on 26 July 2024, two days prior to Dhanush’s birthday, in theatres. Apart from its original Tamil language, dubbed versions in the Telugu and Hindi languages were also released. The release date was also initially scheduled to release on 11 April, but was postponed to May due to general elections. This was followed by it postponing again to June due to unspecified reasons. The film received an from the , being the first Dhanush film since (2018) to do so. The film also received a 15 by the for strong violence and bloody images. Sun Pictures released the film in themselves through . Asian Suresh Entertainment acquired the distribution rights of the film in and for reportedly 5 crore. Sree Gokulam Movies bought the distribution rights for , and AV Media Counsultancy did so for . acquired the overseas distribution rights. The film began streaming on from 23 August 2024 in Tamil, alongside , , and languages. It had its television premiere on 31 October the same year at . grossed (US$2.8 million) worldwide on its opening day, which was the second highest first day gross for a Tamil film, with over (US$1.9 million) from India and behind . The film surpassed (2021) to become the biggest opening for one of Dhanush’s film. It grossed an estimated (US$8.9 million) worldwide on its opening weekend of three days. The film earned (US$15 million) in ten days and (US$15 million) in next two days days. By the third weekend film total collection stands at (US$13 million) in India and (US$18 million) worldwide. grossed an estimated revenue of (US$19 million) in its final run, becoming the highest-grossing Tamil film of the year to that point, and the highest-grossing A-certified Tamil film of all time. received mixed reviews from critics, who praised Dhanush’s performance and Rahman’s soundtrack, while the excessive violence received criticism. Rohit Panikker of gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote ” is a bloodbath that even the most ardent fan of such blood and gore would find exhausting, especially since it falls in the line of a long spate of recent releases that are similarly-conceived.” Divya Nair of gave 3/5 stars and wrote ” is an interesting one-time watch written for the masses with a little meat here and there for the critics to bite on.” M Suganth of gave 3/5 stars and wrote ” has a raw and rage-filled setting, and is populated by characters who are rugged, violent, deceptive and also vulnerable.” S. Devasankar of gave 3/5 stars and wrote “Dhanush as the director brings a flair of the Tamil gangster action flicks from the late 2000s, but with a modern twist, which works out wonderfully on the silver screen. Everything said Raayan passes off as a good one-time-watch, guaranteeing an emotional yet fun ride that one can catch with their friends.” Avinash Ramachandran of gave 3/5 stars and wrote “Dhanush, the actor and director, stands tall in a film powered by AR Rahman’s brilliant music, and top-notch performances only to fall just short of realising its potential.” Anusha Sundar of gave 3/5 stars and wrote “[…] Yes, the writing is bogged down by certain uncertainty and convenience, which does not let many characters to get developed, and in fact get eliminated before they are got to known. But is also a valiant effort of Dhanush’s that lets many departments shine through, and plays out a canvas for a experimentation in commercial cinema.” Janani K of gave 2.5/5 stars and wrote “Dhanush’s 50th film is a simple revenge story. The interval block shows streaks of brilliance of his directorial skills. However, as a writer, ‘Raayan’ lacks emotional depth. For the revenge angle to work, emotions matter.” B. V. S. Prakash of gave 2/5 stars and wrote “Dhanush turned director for this film and relied on gore and violence revolving around a wafer-thin plot. This is truly disappointing since some of his films like and had boasted of bold themes in the past.” Latha Srinivasan of wrote “Dhanush’s totally packs a punch and is a must-watch for its captivating performances and unexpected story twists. It’s a stellar 50th career film for Dhanush.” Bhuvanesh Chandar of wrote “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.”</p>