Raayan follows the family of a character who is embroiled in the world of gangsters along with his family, while having to deal with his own share of betrayals involving his near and dear ones. The story here is presented in grand fashion although at its core, it is a generic revenge cum survival drama. And while the writing does score with its terrific world building that gave me a distant recall of the other Dhanush starrer Vada Chennai, it falters in the second hour primarily with the equations that it draws up with respect to the characters, something that was intended to lay the foundation for a pay-off at the end, but it didn’t quite sit right with the arcs that were drawn. This is not to say that the drama is a complete miss, it definitely has some intriguing moments at its disposal even as the stakes rise in the drama. My only gripe was the shifting equations of the characters which didn’t quite sit right, even as the drama enters the category of convenience with respect to its screenplay standing at 140 odd minutes.

The drama begins with the introduction of a young protagonist who is tasked with the responsibility of taking care of his siblings, even as his parents leave only never to return. So pretty early on, he has a fatherly connect towards them, almost being overtly protective with each of his moves even as he shifts to the city with them. As a result, he is closest to his youngest sibling, his sister particularly because she has grown up without parents right from the very beginning, with the only parental person around her being Raayan. This is in stark contrast to Raayan’s relationship with his other two brothers, both of whom are close to each other but a little distant to Raayan and his controlling nature. This is reflective in their opening act wherein both their tracks unfold and culninate with fights in the form of a split screen, giving the viewers an impression that both are cut from the same cloth while later on giving an impression of their growing distance with their elder brother.

The proceedings are engaging particularly in the first hour with the entire buildup that transpires even with the setup of the rival gangster gangs with a shrewd cop thrown in the mix. And this is where the first conflict in the drama is introduced, wherein a character finds himself in middle of a cross-fire between members of the rival gangs, thereby triggering a chain of events which would directly impact the protagonist and other members of the family. That is also the turning point in the drama that briefly steps away from the family equations and unleashes the beast of sorts in what was an incredible interval block filled with gore and blood. The issue with the screenplay though begins from this point even as the writing gets more cliched and convenient in the second hour although supremely watchable.

The second hour essentially focuses on the game of one-upmanship featuring a character who is slight insecure with the brief shift in power to his throne. This, even as the second hour unleashes a sort of a blood bath featuring multiple characters, some of whom who also raise the stakes in the drama by switching sides. The issue was not the stakes in the drama that were raised but the justification around them that did not quite sit right. And the subsequent revenge angle too didn’t work partly given the skewed character arcs that were in store. All of this, while the generic gangster template was in play that did not necessarily have something new to offer. This included the final act which was excellent with its staging and presentation but slightly underpar with the intended actions of a few characters, given how the foundation of the issue wasn’t as strong in the first place. This also diluted the overall impact of the drama, reducing it to be watchable but nothing beyond that.