Development On 29 December 2017,
Dhanush announced that for his second directorial after
Pa. Pandi (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,
principal photography began the same month. In early March 2019, some reporters claimed that the venture was shelved, saying it was only shot in few bits, mainly due to the cast's schedule. Others reported that it was not shelved, but was instead put 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 other commitments. The project was later put on hold. However, it was reported that it would begin after the
COVID-19 pandemic ends, which was later proven false. In January 2023, it was reported that instead of reviving the script, Dhanush would write a new script, to be funded by
Kalanithi Maran of
Sun Pictures. The production house officially announced the project on 18 January, and was tentatively titled
D50. The film's official title,
Raayan, was revealed on 19 February 2024.
Casting Dhanush would sport a tonsured head and stubble with a thick handlebar mustache for his character.
Vishnu Vishal was initially attached to act in the film but was unable to commit due to scheduling conflicts; the role went to
Sundeep Kishan, reuniting with Dhanush after
Captain Miller (2024).
Kalidas Jayaram learned the
North Chennai dialect for his role, and also trained in
Madras Bashai under Dhanush.
G. V. Prakash Kumar stated that he was offered to play one of Dhanush's brothers, but declined because of his friendship with Dhanush, and the fact that the character betrays Dhanush's character. Prakash Kumar did not reveal if the role offered was eventually played by Kishan or Kalidas. S. J. Suryah, who was part of Dhanush's shelved venture, was retained for this project.
Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, who acted with Dhanush in
Maari 2 (2018), reunited with him for this film. Selvaraghavan had previously written or directed many films starring Dhanush, and
Raayan is the first film where he appeared under his brother's direction. He also dismissed rumours of being part of the writing team.
Dushara Vijayan called being part of the film a "goal come true moment" as Dhanush was a major inspiration for her to pursue an acting career. Since
Aparna Balamurali could not read Tamil, Dhanush wrote her Tamil dialogues in English. Dhanush had initially approached musician
Deva to play the antagonist due to his proficiency in the North Chennai dialect; Deva declined due to his lack of interest in acting.
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 ECR, 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 team had invested in the sets of the backdrop of
Royapuram, where the events in the film would mostly take place at. The filming reached near ending, as stated by Dhanush, on 1 October. On 14 December, Dhanush tweeted that filming 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 ==