Review: Raayan
Raayan is a film of two halves. The first half is a perfect, gripping thriller that has you on the edge-of-your-seat and the next is a grim drama that is full of explosive action sequences, betrayals and bloodshed. In all, Raayan is a highly enjoyable action thriller that is worth both your time and money.

Film: Raayan
Director: Dhanush K Raja
Cast: Dhanush, Sundeep Kishen, Kalidas Jayaram, Dushara Vijayan, S J Suryah, Saravanan, Selvaraghavan, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar and others
Music: A R Rahman
Cinematographer: Om Prakash
Editor: Prasanna
Producer: Kalanithi Maran for Sun Pictures
Rating : 3.5 Stars
Dhanush, who has directed his 50th film, seems to have outdone himself – both as an actor and as a director. Raayan is a brilliant film in more ways than one. While the first half of the film is gripping, the second half turns grim with betrayals and bloodshed dominating the proceedings. That Dhanush is an actor par excellence is an established fact. What he does through Raayan is that he proves that he can be an equally impressive director.
The story in brief…
The film revolves around Kaathavarayan, better known as Raayan (Dhanush), who runs a fast-food joint along with his brothers Muthuvel Raayan (Sundeep Kishen) and Manickavel Raayan (Kalidas Jayaram). Kaathavarayan is fiercely protective of his younger brothers but more than them, it is his younger sister Durga (Dushara Vijayan), who has his heart.
From the time, they were children and he was a mere boy, Raayan has had to take care of all three of them. So, the siblings treat him more like a father than an elder brother. Meanwhile, two notorious arch rivals – Sethu (S J Suryah) and Durai (Saravanan) – are waiting for an opportunity to wipe each other out. The two gangsters have bought a temporary and uneasy peace. While Sethu is on the lookout for revenge for his father’s death caused by Durai, Durai is just waiting for Sethu to give him a reason to wipe him out. Waiting for the peace between the two to end and hoping to make the gang war resume is a ruthless cop (Prakash Raj).
At one point, Raayan and his brothers unwittingly enter into this complicated equation between the gangsters. What happens then is what Raayan is all about.
Performances:
Dhanush delivers an outstanding performance as Raayan. He is intense and slow but his lines are deep. His body language is that of a battle-hardened character that full of resilience and determination. Sundeep Kishen plays the character of the second brother Muthuvel Raayan with flair. The actor, who impressed with his performance in Maanagaram, seems to have relished playing the whimsical, irresponsible, alcoholic and short tempered Muthu in the film.
Kalidas Jayaram as the third brother Manickavel Raayan too is impressive. Togther, the trio pack a punch and have the first half of the film blazing its way into audience’s hearts.
This apart, there are commendable performances from S J Suryah, Selvaraghavan, Prakash Raj and Dushara Vijayan as well.
On the technical front, Om Prakash delivers some fantastic visuals and A R Rahman’s background score is impressive. The opening sequence in particular is just phenomenal and sets the tone for the entire movie.
While the first half is absolutely perfect, the second half has some drawbacks. For a start, the story comes across as being a tad too long in the second half. Next, the second half has too much of blood and violence. Also, Aparna Balamurali doesn’t seem to fit the bill of the character she plays. Other than these minimal issues, Raayan has no other problems.
Excellent script, outstanding dialogues!
Apart from outstanding performances ( almost everybody in the film delivers a fantastic performance), the film has an excellent script with some well etched out characters and some hard-hitting dialogues.
One such dialogue is Dhanush explaining about an invisible world of power that is in operation to his younger brother Kalidas when he wants to contest the college elections and warning him to stay away from it. Similarly, the dialogue exchange that happens when Raayan (Dhanush) meets Sethu (S J Suryah) for the first time is highly enjoyable.
Recommendation:
Raayan is a film of two halves. The first half is a perfect, gripping thriller that has you on the edge-of-your-seat and the next is a grim drama that is full of explosive action sequences, betrayals and bloodshed. In all, Raayan is a highly enjoyable action thriller that is worth both your time and money.