Janani K

‘Raayan’ is a special milestone in Dhanush’s career. It marks his 50th film as an actor and his second film as a director (after ‘Pa Paandi’). For his 50th film, he donned the hat of a director, actor and writer. Has he exceeded the second time as a filmmaker with ‘Raayan’? Let’s find out! Kathavarayan aka Raayan is forced to take care of his two brothers and toddler sister after their parents vanish for two days. This marks the beginning of Raayan’s struggle. His motto is to survive in this cruel world. He fears no one, not even death. Raayan, along with his siblings, escape grave danger from their village and land in North Madras, where they find a home.

28 years ago, director Shankar and Kamal Haasan gifted ‘Indian’ to the Tamil audience, who still celebrate it like it’s their own. Almost three decades later, the film (read: corruption) still remains relevant. But, Kamal Haasan and Shankar wanted to bring back Indian thatha (grandfather) aka Senapathy to brush up on all the corrupt activities that we’ve seen so far in umpteen movies, not just in Tamil cinema but across other languages. Chitra Aravindan (Siddharth) and his three friends run a YouTube channel called ‘Barking Dogs,’ which focuses on parodies and political satire. They end their calls with ‘Let’s bark!’ (If you think this is absurd, hold your horses). After realising that their videos, despite receiving lakhs of views, had little impact on the audience, the team starts a campaign called ‘Come Back Indian.’ According to them, only Indian Thatha, aka Senapathy, could put an end to corruption.

It was 2015 when SS Rajamouli’s ‘Baahubali’ was released and blew everyone’s mind. To this day, the two ‘Baahubali’ films not only shattered box office records but also set a benchmark for films of the same ilk. Nealy a decade later, director Nag Ashwin, with monumental ambitions, gifted ‘Kalki 2898 AD’, set in a dystopian world. With futuristic ideas coupled with Hindu mythology, the film will surely blow your mind, just like ‘Baahubali’ did. Thousands of years after the Mahabharata war, Kashi became the last city of the world. And the world is ruled by Supreme Yaskin (Kamal Haasan), who is waiting for a magical serum to gain powers. The poor suffer in the city, while the rich enjoy their lives in the Complex, a place built for the privileged. It is Bhairava’s (Prabhas) dream to make it to the Complex. He is a bounty hunter doing petty jobs to earn the units that will enable him to earn his place in the Complex.