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, alongside an ensemble cast of S. J. Suryah, Prakash Raj, Selvaraghavan, Sundeep Kishan, Kalidas Jayaram, Dushara Vijayan, Aparna Balamurali, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar and Saravanan.

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

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

Premise
Raayan, a simple young man, goes in search of the killers to avenge the death of his family, where his quest of finding the killers leads him through the organized crime syndicate.

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 write a new story, to be funded by Kalanithi Maran 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.

Post-production
Sumesh Gopal and Anish Dayanandan are the visual effects supervisors, under Digital Bricks Entertainment PVT LTD, the film's principal visual effects studio. The dubbing began works in late February 2024, and was completed by early March. Rahman concluded the re-recording session on 28 May, which was confirmed by Dhanush through his social media pages.

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 Sun Pictures's own music label. The first single, "Adangaatha Asuran", was released on 9 May 2024, the second single "Water Packet" on 24 May, and the third single, "Raayan Rumble" released on 5 July. The audio launch was held on 6 July 2024 at Sriram Engineering College in Chennai, releasing the album.

Marketing
The film's first look poster was released on 19 February 2024, revealing the film's title. From 21 February to 27 February, a first look character poster of Suryah, Selvaraghavan, Prakash Raj, Dushara, Aparna, Varalaxmi and Saravanan were released by the production house. The film's trailer was released on 16 July.

Theatrical
Raayan was initially 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, two days prior to Dhanush's birthday. Apart from its original Tamil language, dubbed versions in the Telugu and Hindi languages are also scheduled to be released. The release date was also 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. The film received an A-certificate from the CBFC, being the first film of Dhanush receiving so after Vada Chennai (2018).

Distribution
Sun Pictures will release the film in Tamil Nadu themselves through Red Giant Movies. Asian Suresh Entertainment acquired the distribution rights of the film in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana for ₹5 crore. Sree Gokulam Movies bought the distribution rights for Kerala, and AV Media Counsultancy did so for Karnataka. Ayngaran International acquired the overseas distribution rights. Home Screen Entertainment acquired the distribution rights for Singapore and the Middle East, DMY Creations for Malaysia, Prime Media for North America, and MKS Talkies for Australia and New Zealand.