General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Raayan (ராயன்)

Raayan (ராயன்) is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language action crime drama written and directed by Dhanush, who also stars in the title role as Kathavaraayan, a man raising his two brothers and sister in North Chennai who is pulled into a gang war when his family is drawn into a violent feud.¹^•² The film marks Dhanush's 50th film as a lead actor and his second directorial venture after Pa Paandi (2017).¹^•³ It was produced by Kalanithi Maran under Sun Pictures, with music by A. R. Rahman.⁴

Key fact	Detail
Release	26 July 2024, in theaters; originally scheduled for 13 June 2024⁵
Milestone	Dhanush's 50th film as lead actor and second film as director, after Pa Paandi¹
Certification	CBFC "A" (adults only), certificate dated 9 July 2024, certified length 145.12 minutes⁶
Principal cast	Dhanush, S. J. Suryah, Prakash Raj, Selvaraghavan, Sundeep Kishan, Kalidas Jayaram, Dushara Vijayan, Aparna Balamurali⁷
Key crew	Music A. R. Rahman; cinematography Om Prakash; editing Prasanna GK; action Peter Hein⁴^•⁸
Major honor	Best Tamil Film at the 72nd National Film Awards (for films of 2024)³
Streaming	Began streaming on Amazon Prime Video on 23 August 2024⁵

Spoilers

Plot and setting

The story is a gangster drama set in the northern suburbs of Chennai.⁹ After their parents vanish, Kathavaraayan takes charge of his two brothers and toddler sister, and the siblings flee danger in their village for North Madras, where the repairman Sekar (Selvaraghavan) brings them up as his own.¹^•² Years later, Raayan runs a small food business and keeps his family out of trouble: Manickam (Kalidas Jayaram) is a college-going young man, Muthu (Sundeep Kishan) is hot-headed, and the sister Durga (Dushara Vijayan) is the center of the household.²

The quiet life collapses when Muthu's behavior entangles the family in a feud between the crime bosses Sethu (S. J. Suryah) and Durai (Saravanan), while the police commissioner Sargunam (Prakash Raj) arrives with an agenda of manipulating both gangs.²^•¹⁰ Raayan, who has long warned his siblings against the vortex of violence, must protect them and seek vengeance as the gang war escalates.¹^•³

Production and certification

Principal photography began in July 2023, with shooting at East Coast Road in Chennai, Adhitya Ram Studios, and a significant portion in Karaikudi; production concluded by mid-December 2023.⁵ Dhanush wrote the script himself, and the film was the first time he directed his brother, the filmmaker Selvaraghavan; reports that Selvaraghavan had penned the script were denied.⁹

The Central Board of Film Certification granted the film an "A" (adults only) certificate on 9 July 2024, with a certified length of 145.12 minutes; it was the second Dhanush film after Vada Chennai to receive an A certificate.⁶^•⁹ A cut television version, edited for violence, profanity, and intimate scenes, runs 139 minutes with a U/A classification.¹¹ The release date was moved from 13 June to 26 July 2024, aligning the opening with Dhanush's birthday on 28 July.⁵^•¹²

Reception

Critical response was mixed. India Today's Janani K rated it 2.5 out of 5, calling it a riveting but flawed revenge story whose second half lacks emotional depth and leaves questions unresolved.¹ The Indian Express rated it 3 out of 5, praising Dhanush's direction, Om Prakash's cinematography, and Rahman's score while finding the writing choices limiting.¹³ The Times of India gave it 6 out of 10, describing "a violent emotional drama that is engrossing."⁷ TeluguCinema's review called it "a regular action drama," faulting the second half's narrative while praising Dhanush's and Dushara Vijayan's performances and Rahman's background score.⁸

Audience ratings were moderate: IMDb shows 6.5/10 from about 14,000 votes, with the heaviest voting from India, the United States, the United Kingdom, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.¹⁴ BookMyShow recorded 8.2/10 from more than 96,300 votes, with the most common review tags being #SuperDirection (27,916 mentions) and #GreatActing (24,962).⁷

Box office

Reported commercial figures differ substantially between sources. Cinegraph lists a budget of $11.9 million and revenue of $15.0 million.¹⁵ IMDb lists a gross of $453,000 in the United States and Canada and $1,513,558 worldwide.¹¹ By contrast, one trade-oriented account states the film grossed over ₹2 billion (₹200 crore) worldwide.⁵ These figures are not reconcilable, and no single total can be stated with confidence from the available records. A trade analysis of Tamil cinema in 2024 notes that only three Tamil films crossed the ₹1 billion (₹100 crore) mark that year, without naming them individually in the retrieved summary.¹⁶ The Daily Pioneer reported that Raayan "received positive talk and emerged as a winner."¹⁷

Awards

At the 72nd National Film Awards, announced in July 2026 for films of 2024, Raayan won Best Tamil Film. Jury head, the filmmaker Jayaraj, said the film has "raw power" and that the hero "commands the screen with magnetic, brooding ferocity."³ The award was Dhanush's fifth recognition at the national level and his first for a film he directed himself; he had earlier won Best Actor for Aadukalam (2010) and Asuran (2019).³

The film also drew nominations elsewhere: Dushara Vijayan for Best Supporting Actress and A. R. Rahman for Best Music Album at the Filmfare Awards South 2025, and nominations at SIIMA 2025 for Dhanush (Best Actor in a Leading Role), Kalidas Jayaram (Best Supporting Actor), Dushara Vijayan (Best Actress in a Leading Role), Rahman (Best Music Director), and S. J. Suryah (Best Performance by an Actor in a Negative Role).¹⁸

References

Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Tamil films of the 2020s › Tamil films of 2024

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026

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