Raayan review: Dhanush leads a largely entertaining tale of duty, sacrifice, and family

Die, selfish gene, die!

Dhanush's latest movie, Raayan, is the 50th movie in his career. This milestone was the main factor behind his decision to write, direct, and play the lead role in it. It's no small feat to wear all three hats at the same time and deliver a movie of this scale that has so much to offer.

At its core, Raayan is a very simple story about an all-sacrificing elder brother. He's obsessed with single-handedly providing for his two younger brothers and a kid sister. So much so that he's forgotten how to smile in his constant search for the next meal for three hungry stomachs that solely depend on him.

The story of the Raayan siblings begins in a remote village in Tamil Nadu. The parents ask Raayan, the oldest of four, to take care of his siblings until they return. The parents don't come back, and Raayan devotes his life to feeding and protecting his siblings, played by Sundeep Kishan, Kalidas Jayaram, and Dushara Vijayan.

Sundeep plays the second oldest, Kalidas Jayaram the third brother, and Dushara Vijayan the youngest of them all, which makes her the sweetheart of the family.

Raayan begins to kill people to protect his siblings from a very young age. He's built for war, but he fights every fibre and instinct in his body to steer clear of problems, very well knowing the scale of destruction that the asura (demon) in him can bring about. Raayan is a very old-school hero with a poker face that never betrays his emotions. With a lean physique and the menacing demeanour of the protagonist in a Western, Raayan is not a complex character. He kills anything that threatens his existence or those whose existence gives him a purpose to endure the drudgery of life.

If Raayan was just about Raayan, it might have been a big dud because we have seen this story a million times. Dhanush knows it, and he cleverly overcomes the fatigue of familiarity in the narrative by simply giving more screen time to other characters.

In Raayan, Dhanush challenges many conventional notions of masculinity, femininity, the idea of attraction, beauty, and romance. Aparna Balamurali plays the plus-sized lover of Sundeep's character. The way Dhanush presents her character defies conventional beauty standards and underlines the importance of emotional compatibility for a happy and fulfilling relationship.

Dushara Vijayan also gets her fair share of moments to shine. She makes the switch to a frenzied killer from a girl who was gearing up to settle into married life at a moment's notice. At one point, she gets the task of protecting Raayan, and she does everything to accomplish it. In another film, a star might have an image problem allowing the kid sister to save the hero. But Dhanush puts the narrative above himself and lets his character take a backseat while supporting characters drive the action.

Dhanush is forced to make several contrived choices to contain the running time of the movie. However, he makes up for this with beautifully shot and well-choreographed action sequences. Watch out for the interval action block. It's short but leaves a lasting impression on the mind. There are also many comedic moments, especially when SJ Suryah expresses great eagerness to learn how Raayan carried out a high-profile murder. Dhanush knows what the audience wants, and he delivers.

Dhanush seems to have plans to continue the story of the Raayan clan.

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