Raayan

''Raayan'' is an upcoming Indian Tamil-language action thriller film written and directed by Dhanush, in his second directorial venture. The film is produced by Kalanithi Maran under Sun Pictures. It stars Dhanush in the titular role, leading an ensemble cast which includes S. J. Suryah, Prakash Raj, Selvaraghavan, Sundeep Kishan, Kalidas Jayaram, Dushara Vijayan, Aparna Balamurali, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar and Saravanan. The film follows Raayan, a young man, who gets led through the criminal underworld after seeking the murderers of his family.

The film was officially announced in January 2023 under the tentative title ''D50,'' as it is Dhanush's 50th film as the lead actor, and the official title was announced in February 2024. Principal photography commenced in July 2023. It was predominantly shot in Chennai and Karaikudi in several legs and wrapped by mid-December. The film has music composed by A. R. Rahman, cinematography handled by Om Prakash and editing by Prasanna GK.

''Raayan'' was scheduled to release on 13 June 2024 in theatres, but was postponed due to unknown reasons. It is now scheduled to release worldwide on 26 July, coinciding the week of Dhanush's birthday.

Premise

Raayan trains himself and goes in search of the killers to avenge the death of his family, where his quest of finding the killers leads him through the criminal underworld.

Cast

Production

Development

On 29 December 2017, Dhanush announced that for his second directorial after ''Pa Paandi'' (2017), he would collaborate with Hema Rukmani and Murali Ramasamy, headers of Thenandal Studio Limited. He further stated that he would play the lead and the production would begin the following year. To which, on 7 September 2018, a muhurat puja was held in Chennai. Touted to be a bilingual film released in Tamil and Telugu-languages, it would feature Nagarjuna, Aditi Rao Hydari, S. J. Suryah, R. Sarathkumar and Srikanth. Music composer Sean Roldan, cinematographer Om Prakash and editor Prasanna GK were brought on board. Rukmani stated "It's an impressive story and is Dhanush's dream project that he's had in mind for a long time. He's very passionate about the film and when we heard the script, we understood why", during the press launch of the venture.

Tentatively titled ''DD2'', the principal photography began the same month. In early March 2019, reporters claimed that the venture was shelved, citing that the venture was only shot in few bits, mainly due to the cast's schedule. Later, it was reported that it was not shelved, but was instead set on hold, as Dhanush was busy filming for ''Asuran'' (2019). In June 2020, Dhanush's elder brother, Selvaraghavan, was reported to have been approached by the actor to direct a part of venture, as Dhanush was busy with his current commitments. The project was later put on stall. However, it was reported that it would begin after the COVID-19 pandemic ends, which was later proved to be false. Following two years, in 2023, it was reported that instead of reviving the script, Dhanush would reportedly a new script, which would be funded by Kalanithi Maran, header of Sun Pictures. The production house publicly announced the project on 18 January, and was tentatively titled as ''D50''. The film's official title, ''Raayan,'' was revealed on 19 February 2024.

Casting

Dhanush would sport a tonsured head and clean-shaven beard with a handlebar mustache for his character. Sundeep Kishan was cast in an important role, collaborating with Dhanush again after they previously had collaborated for ''Captain Miller'' (2024). Kalidas Jayaram was confirmed to play an important role, replacing Vishnu Vishal who was initially approached for the role but had to decline due to busy schedules, including his film with director Ram Kumar and Aishwarya Rajinikanth's ''Lal Salaam'' (2024). Dushara Vijayan also joined the film in an important role, whilst S. J. Suryah was also cast in an important role. He was also cast in the initial second directorial of Dhanush, which was later shelved.

Selvaraghavan, Prakash Raj, Aparna Balamurali, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, and Saravanan would play prominent roles. Varalaxmi would collaborate with Dhanush again after ''Maari 2'' (2018) with this film. All of their inclusion were confirmed by the production house in late-February 2024. Dhanush had approached musician Deva to play the antagonist in the film as he wanted someone speaking the North Chennai dialect, however, Deva declined the role. Nithya Menen, who previously acted with Dhanush in '' Thiruchitrambalam'', was reported to had joined the cast and would be playing the female lead opposite Dhanush.

Filming

Principal photography began with an inaugural puja ceremony on 5 July 2023 at East Coast Road in Chennai with the presence of the film's cast and crew. Filming also went on there for a while, before they moved to a massive set with around 500 houses at Adithya Ram Studios in Chennai, where the rest of the schedule continued to be shot at. The schedule featured scenes involving Suryah and Sundeep. The second schedule commenced in mid-November in Karaikudi, which went on for a week. The filming reached near ending, as stated by Dhanush, on 1 October. On 14 December, Dhanush tweeted that the shooting had wrapped.

Music

The music and background score is composed by A. R. Rahman, in his fourth collaboration with Dhanush after ''Raanjhanaa'' (2013), '' Maryan'' (2013), and ''Atrangi Re'' (2021). The audio rights were acquired by the production house's own music label, which goes by the same name, Sun Pictures. The first single, "Adangadha Asuran", was released on 9 May 2024, and the second single "Water Packet" on 24 May.

Release

Theatrical

''Raayan'' was scheduled to release on 13 June 2024 in theaters, but was postponed due to reasons unknown. It is now scheduled to release on 26 July 2024, coinciding the week of Dhanush's birthday. Apart from the original Tamil language, dubbed versions in the Telugu and Hindi languages are also scheduled to be released. The release date was initially scheduled to release on 11 April, but was postponed to May, due to general elections. Which was followed by it postponing again to June due to unspecified reasons.

Distribution

Asian Suresh Entertainment, which is also funding Dhanush's ''Kubera'', acquired the distribution rights of the film in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for 5 crores. Sree Gokulam Movies bought the distribution rights for Kerala, and AV Media Counsultancy did so for Karnataka. Ayngaran International acquired the overseas distribution rights. Sun Pictures themselves will directly release the film in Tamil Nadu through Red Giant Movies.

Notes

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, tt26233598

Films directed by Dhanush
Films scored by A. R. Rahman
Indian action thriller films
Indian films about revenge
Sun Pictures films
Upcoming films
Upcoming Tamil-language films