BOTTOM LINE
All Action, Forced Drama
RATING
2.5/5
CENSOR
A, 2h 25m
What Is the Film About?
Raayan is the story of three brothers and a sister who are caught in the crossfire of an attack between rowdies and police.
Karthava Raayan (Dhanush), Muthuvel Raayan (Sundeep Kishan) and Manikyam Raayan (Kalidas Jayaram) are brothers and Durga is their sister. Karthava Raayan runs a food truck successfully, Muthuvel Raayan the second of the brothers is a hot-headed guy who always lands in trouble. The third one is a college student.
The area is ruled by Dorai and Sethuraman. The movie’s basic plot is what happens when Muthuvel accidentally ends up coming in between the gang wars and the direction the events take due to his actions in the process.
How is the brother’s relationship tested? What happened to the sister form a few of the key subplots.
Performances
There are many characters in the movie and each one of them consistently delivers the goods. Leading the pack is Dhanush, as one expects.
Dhanush plays a calm yet intense part with a lot of heroism and undercurrent elevation. He does a clinical job when it comes to drama and shines in the action scenes. He is clearly relishing those action blocks and it shows. Leaving the action part it’s a walk in part for him.
Sundeep Kishan gets a good role as the wayward brother who brings all the trouble home. He gets a lot of scope to impress among the vast cast and does alright.
Kalidas Jayaraman playing the third brother is okay. It feels that way given his talent as the role doesn’t offer him much to chew on.
Dushara Vijayan playing the firebrand sister is good. She gets to do a lot of emotional moments and nails them perfectly. There is also an action sequence which combines violence and emotion and she is terrific in that block.
Analysis
Dhanush writes and directs Raayan. It’s his second directorial venture and for his sophomore attempt, he has picked action action-filled tale with a brother template.
Dhanush takes his own sweet time in setting up the world initially and the characters that inhabit it.
The brothers and sisters have a brief backstory each offering nothing new. The slow pacing further make the narrative feel like a little drag, initially. Also, the flatness is an issue. The understated quality of the drama and action adds to this feeling.
However, there are small tweaks to the predictable content from time to time which hold things together. The introduction of the gangs and police angle finally brings the much-needed attention and grip to the proceedings.
The pre-interval and interval bangs are good. However, one again feels that things could have been elevated much more considering the potential and scope on offer.
The second half is where the ‘action’ lies literally. After a point one gets a feeling the story is just an excuse to make the gorgeously shot action blocks.
A key twist in the second half to escalate the drama comes across as highly contrived and takes us away from the emotions it intended. A lot is done later to convince it, but it still remains unconvincing.
The good thing is action never stops and despite the issues and drag we get one action setpiece after the other.
The action here is not the over-the-top variety and is done with a lot of grittiness. The one which involves the sister being an example.
The story when we look at it as a whole offers nothing new. The brothers and their drama are all okay. They don’t particularly hit the big highs emotionally. But, nothing is bad at the same time. It serves the purpose and the action delivers.
Overall, Raayan is a predictable tale involving the brothers. What works is the execution involving terrific BGM and action. If you are an action movie lover, give it a try and be patient when it comes to drama.
Performances by Others Actors
SJ Surya has in the recent past gained a tremendous reputation for his roles. When he is present one immediately expects fireworks. Well, Raayan is a bit underwhelming in that aspect. Suryah is definitely competent, but we have seen him do the same. There is hardly anything surprising.
Selva Raghavan, Aparna Balamurali (very energetic) and Prakash Raj play other vital roles. They are dependable as always. The rest of the cast playing bits and pieces roles is also okay.
Music and Other Departments?
Right from the start, the mastery over the technical aspects is visible. The strong technical team has been put to neat use by the man in charge. AR Rahman shows his class with an excellent background score. It is fresh and elevates the proceedings throughout. One can’t imagine the film without his work. Similarly, the cinematography by Om Prakash too is exquisite. The frames ooze quality out and out.
The writing, unfortunately, is weak. It is also another reason for the flatness experienced in the narrative.
Highlights?
BGM
Cinematography
Action Blocks
Drawbacks?
Routine Story
Lengthy Feel
Predictable Drama
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes
Will You Recommend It?
Yes, To those who enjoy action movies with gritty execution accompanied by Pulsating BGM
Raayan Telugu Movie Review by M9
