Raayan" is a second-time directorial attempt of Dhanush that tries to elevate a conventionally visioned story through its contemplative setting and telling in measured tones but fails to rise completely to the occasion.
The movie opens with a portentous scene: the naming ceremony of a newborn girl child, Durga, by her elder brother. This sets the tone for a life of terror and despair. Coupled with this, the rumor inquiry-to-Tamil Nadu drama performed to the epic score of A.R. Rahman sets an exciting tone for Raayan's tale as we ensue him and his siblings fleeing to Madras and its 陰れ by the help of Sekar.
Now, Raayan is running a fast-food shop to pay for his younger brother Maanickavel's education and sister Durga's future marriage. Another sibling, Muthuvel, is introduced as an alcoholic nuisance. There's an elaborate setup in this movie with two rival gangs, one headed by Dorai and another by Sethuraman, plus a vengeance-seeking police officer to add to the mess.
First-time director Dhanush shows much promise, especially in the way he sets a measured rhythm and avoids some of the obvious tropes of "mass cinema". As Raayan, his character is shrouded in mystery, with an air of brooding silence that makes him an intrigue. The movie fails to build up on this small promise and falls into familiar paths.
Unlike compelling gangster dramas like "Pudhupettai" or "Vada Chennai," where the protagonists must face overwhelming odds, Raayan seldom faces any of those tortuous predicaments. In fact, there are no serious obstacles that the lead character faces in the screen time which restricts the screenplay to treading into interesting dimensions.
The film tries to compare it with the characters of the Ramayana, pitting Raayan as Ravana, Muthuvel as Kumbhakarna, and Maanickavel as Vibhishana. Durga is said to be like Shurpanakha. While this all sounds exciting in theory, these had no depth-of-feeling relevance for the film's characters, who mostly end up as plot devices.
This takes away much of the established drama into a series of violent confrontations in its second half. The subplots involving supporting characters, including the antagonist SJ Suryah, are just poorly utilised without giving them much flesh or substance to develop.
All these narrative shortcomings aside, the technical features of this film are brilliant. The background score, by A.R. Rahman and cinematography by Om Prakash, keep the audience interested in places where the scenes are not so engrossing. Especially, the neon and warm lighting of the cinematography is great for creating a staple in underlining the characters' fragility against the darkly toned backdrop of their world.
After the gangster drama glut of the last few years, one would imagine something better from a maker like Dhanush. Sadly, "Raayan" doesn't quite live up to the high bar set by Dhanush as an actor in "Asuran" and a director in "Pa Paandi."
Eventually, with a lot of promise in the setup and immediate technical merit, "Raayan" soon gives in to genre clichés and undercooked characters, ultimately translating into a disappointing experience that hardly lives up to its early promise.