In his sophomore directorial, Dhanush attempts to turn an ordinary story into something more with a well-written setting and measured storytelling, but falls disappointingly short

Droplets of water fall on the cheek of a newborn girl, lying on a priest’s lap, as her lanky elder brother, dripping water from head to toe, names her ‘Durga.’ In mere days, she would witness him spill blood, forced to shed the boy in him, be smeared of a sin he would never cleanse himself of, and lead a life amongst fire and death.

Raayan, actor-director Dhanush’s second directorial, begins with this well-conceived sequence that sets the tone right. Composer AR Rahman tugs at your heart as you see Kathavarayan a.k.a Raayan, his two young brothers, and an infant sister, flee their town and arrive in Madras. With the help of Sekar (Selvaraghavan), they find refuge and means of survival. Is Sekar just a gentle-hearted stranger, or did he see something in Raayan’s eyes and wish he better be on his side? We are never told, but our guesses might align with the latter.