Raayan (2024) Review: Dhanush Shines, Plot Falters

In Raayan, Dhanush proves he is a director of class. However, his skills as a story writer do not shine as brightly, given the film’s age-old gangster rivalry plot, which is interwoven with sibling emotions. The first half is a high-paced adrenaline rush, but the second half falls short. For these reasons, Mangoidiots can only give it a Raw rating.

The story follows three brothers and their infant sister, who are orphaned for unknown reasons. The eldest, Raayan, played by Dhanush, raises the other three, portrayed by Sundeep Kishan, Kalidas Jayaram, and Dushara Vijayan. A well-wisher, played by Selvaraghavan, a police officer played by Prakash Raj, and two local gangsters played by Saravanan and S J Suryah, add to the mix. Aparna Balamurali plays the love interest of Sundeep‘s character. With this character map, you can more or less imagine the story, and you will probably be correct.

A.R. Rahman‘s background score is outstanding, adding a new dimension to the overall plot. It goes without saying that Dhanush and S J Suryah deliver brilliant performances. Dhanush’s siblings all get a fair amount of screen time, but we are particularly impressed with Sundeep Kishan and Dushara Vijayan, both of whom have very well especially in the action sequences, and this film will be a big break for them. Prakash Raj‘s character is a disappointment, robbing the audience of any thrills.

Visualizing Raayan as the demon-king Ravanan and his sister’s character as the goddess Durga offers a simplistic narration of their plight, which highlights the main issue with the story of “Raayan.” Lastly, the rumors of the movie being filled with blood are true, making it an Adults-only film.