Dhanush
deserves
credit
for
imagining
a
visually
rich,
edgy
action
thriller
which
is
enhanced
by
a
fascinating
background
score
from
A
R
Rahman,
observes
Divya
Nair.
The
8.45
pm
show
on
Friday
at
a
theatre
in
Thane
saw
a
euphoric
crowd
celebrate
Dhanush’s
50th
film,
Raayan.
Even
the
incessant
rains
and
lack
of
transportation
didn’t
deter
the
spirit
of
the
audience.
This
was
the
first
time
I
watched
a
Tamil
film
in
Thane
with
a
crowd
that
hooted
and
celebrated
this
milestone
movie.
I
didn’t
see
such
euphoria
for
Thalaivar,
Ulagayanayagan
or
Vijay’s
films!
Dhanush
plays
Kaathavarayan,
aka
Raayan,
the
eldest
of
four
siblings,
including
the
troublemaker
Muthuvel
(Sundeep
Kishan),
the
studious
Manickavel
(Kalidas)
and
the
one
he
dotes
on,
Durga
(Dushara
Vijayan).
When
Durga
is
a
few
months
old,
the
parents
leave
home
to
attend
some
work
but
never
return.
A
surprising
turn
of
events
forces
Raayan
to
slay
a
neighbour,
who
is
a
priest,
to
protect
his
sister
and
family.
Circumstances
force
the
siblings
to
flee
to
Chennai
the
same
night
where
they
meet
Sekhar
Anna
(Selvaraghavan)
who
decides
to
help
them.
Fast
forward
to
the
present
day,
Raayan
and
his
siblings
operate
a
successful
food
truck.
The
responsible
and
peace-loving
Raayan
takes
care
of
his
family,
while
averting
trouble
of
all
kinds.
While
Muthuvel
gets
into
petty
fights,
Manickavel
challenges
a
minister’s
son,
hoping
to
win
the
college
election
and
change
his
future.
Meanwhile,
there
is
a
gang
war
angle
brewing
Durai
(Saravanan)
and
Sethu
(SJ
Suryah)
which
is
triggered
by
the
entry
of
the
city’s
new
police
commissioner
Sargunam
(Prakash
Raj)
who
is
on
a
mission
to
clean
the
city
and
wipe
off
criminals.
Just
like
you
would
guess,
Muthuvel
accidentally
kills
Durai’s
son
and
all
hell
breaks
loose.
When
Durai
asks
Raayan
to
surrender
Muthuvel,
Raayan
is
forced
to
take
up
weapons
to
protect
his
family.
What
ensues
is
a
web
of
violence
and
action
scenes
that
keep
you
busy
for
the
next
two
hours.
I
particularly
liked
the
scene
when
Durai,
after
threatening
Raayan,
is
comforting
his
mourning
wife
while
being
guarded
by
an
army
of
burly
men.
Suddenly,
the
power
goes
off.
While
Durai
is
confidently
seated
in
the
centre
of
his
house,
we
only
hear
noises
of
attack
advancing
and
finishing
off
his
men.
While
we
know
what
is
coming,
the
anticipation
of
the
moment
is
treated
so
well.
The
scene
introducing
the
calm
yet
menacing
Raayan,
backed
by
his
brothers,
is
your
paisa
vasool
moment.
Even
in
that
moment
of
rage,
the
banter
between
the
quintessential
villain
Durai
and
our
hero
Raayan
is
the
stuff
that
makes
Tamil
cinema
so
stylish
and
worth
an
encore.
As
a
director,
Dhanush
knows
how
to
play
to
the
theatre
audience.
The
scene
where
his
character
visits
the
injured
landshark
and
casually
threatens
him
to
withdraw
his
complaint
against
his
brother,
and
the
sequence
when
an
eager
Sethu
is
curious
to
know
how
Raayan
finished
off
his
opponent
Durai
are
some
of
the
whistle-worthy
moments
in
the
film.
The
makeshift
hospital
scene
is
flawed
but
has
its
high
points
too.
Dhanush
deserves
credit
for
imagining
a
visually
rich,
edgy
action
thriller
which
is
enhanced
by
a
fascinating
background
score
from
A
R
Rahman.
Even
with
a
basic
storyline,
Raayan
attempts
to
engage
you
with
ample
twists
and
trickery.
Like
in
Karnan,
Dhanush
has
used
some
metaphors
that
are
quite
intelligent
and
important
to
this
story.
While
on
the
run,
a
young
Manickavel,
unaware
of
the
danger
they
just
averted,
asks
Muthu,
what
happened
to
the
poojari
(the
priest),
at
whose
house
they
were
staying
in.
Muthu
explains
that
Swami
has
passed
away
and
Manickavel
innocently,
reasons
‘Poosari
la,
adhan
kadavul
kitta
poitaru
(Since
he
is
a
priest,
he
went
to
God/heaven).’
Dhanush,
donning
black,
is
probably
another
metaphor
for
the
darkness
or
the
lack
of
answers
inside
him.
Also,
the
way
Raavan
is
imagined
and
presented
in
the
film
will
make
you
wonder
if
this
film
could
have
been
a
lot
more
magical
than
what
you
actually
see.
You
think
about
the
priest
who
wanted
to
harm
the
girl
child
and
as
the
audience,
you
want
to
know
what
made
him
such
a
monster.
Raayan
gets
the
emotional
aspect
right
in
the
first
half
when
he
finds
the
means
to
provide
for
his
siblings
but
fails
to
recreate
that
magic
in
the
second
half.
What
also
lets
down
Raayan
is
the
failure
to
turn
an
ordinary
revenge
story
into
something
extraordinary
that
we
haven’t
seen
before.
Dhanush’s
calm
demeanour
gives
you
Vada
Chennai
vibes
while
Kalidas
and
the
promising
Sundeep
Kishan
are
reduced
to
mere
props.
Dushara
Vijayan
gets
a
meaty
role
but
Keerthy
Suresh,
you
would
agree,
did
it
better
in
Saani
Kaayidham.
Although
Durai
looked
more
worthy
of
a
villain,
we
sadly
don’t
get
enough
of
SJ
Suryah’s
cunning,
although
he
does
bring
in
comic
relief.
When
Sekhar
Anna
warns
Sethu
what
Raayan
is
capable
of,
you
expect
something
extraordinary
to
happen,
but
you
are
disappointed
when
the
anticipation
is
reduced
to
a
regular
fight
scene.
Whether
it
was
deliberate
or
not,
I
felt
there
were
too
many
loose
ends
that
took
the
focus
off
the
main
story.
Like
what
happened
to
the
parents?
Raayan
never
even
discusses
the
event
with
his
siblings.
Or
why
did
Durai
warn
one
of
his
new
boys
against
Raayan?
What
does
he
know?
Or
what
makes
Raayan
such
a
natural
in
combat
scenes?
What
does
he
think
and
believe
in?
Overall,
Raayan
is
an
interesting
one-time
watch
written
for
the
masses
with
a
little
meat
here
and
there
for
the
critics
to
bite
on.
Raayan
Review
Rediff
Rating:
