Tamil movie Dragon is the sleeper hit of the season. After a successful run in cinemas, it is now drawing crowds on OTT. Dragon is just another popular Tamil film. The situations are predictable, even corny. The characters are often stereotypical. Cheese is always lurking and butts in from time to time.
The lead character is not really a hero. He is a goofball and teeters on right and wrong. His redemption in the climax doesn’t come from success but in doing the right thing.
The plot
Dragon is old-fashioned though entirely Gen-Z in appearance. The lead character is D. Raghavan who, when dumped by his girlfriend for not being cool enough in Class 12, renames himself Dragon to rhyme with his original name. Two films old, Pradeep Ranganathan brings a certain freshness though the supporting cast consists of tried and tested names: Anupama Parameswaran, Mysskin, Gautam Vasudevan Menon, K. S. Ravikumar, Kayadu Lohar and George Maryan.
As a diligent student in Class 12, Ragavan secures 92% in his exams and gains admission to A.G.S. Engineering College. In college, Ragavan engages in reckless activities, including fights, smoking, and drinking, all of which place him in the bad books of his principal, Mayilvahanan, and his teachers. Despite accumulating 48 arrears, the principal was still willing to give him another chance, which Ragavan refuses.
Six years later, while his friends are all working, Ragavan is seen enjoying his life and wasting his time. He keeps lying to his parents about his job.
Raghavan’s coming of age
The turning point comes when his girlfriend, Keerthi, breaks up with him, calling him a failure for not clearing his arrears. This causes Ragavan to reassess his life. He decides to become a successful man, aiming to earn a higher salary than Keerthi’s prospective groom. However, the path he chooses leads to more trouble.
Ragavan, through a friend, Gowtham, secures a high-paying job at a U.S.-based company, Lateral View, by forging his college. He even convinces his father to sell land to raise money for the forging the degree. Ragavan cheats in his interview but works hard at his job, securing a great position and getting a transfer to the U.S. — one of his dreams since Class 12. He also gets engaged to Pallavi, the daughter of a businessman.
Things take a dark turn when Principal Mayilvahanan confronts Ragavan and threatens to expose his fraudulent activities. Mayilvahanan tells him he won’t report it if Ragavan comes back to college for three months, attends classes and clears his arrears. Ragavan lies to everyone, telling them he is going on a work trip to Mumbai, while secretly returning to college to clear his exams.
It is during this return to college that Ragavan begins his transformation. He meets a student who looks up to him, calling himself Kutty Dragon or little dragon. This interaction forces Ragavan to reflect on his past behaviour, realising that keeping arrears, drinking, smoking, and wasting time in college is not cool. He is further disturbed when he sees his former partner Keerthi taking classes for him. At first, Ragavan refuses to write the exams, but after receiving calls that Gowtham, who advised him to forge his degree, has been arrested, he decides to make things right.
Keerthi, feeling guilty for leaving Ragavan, decides to help him clear his exams. Ragavan and Kutty Dragon study intensely for the exams without sleep. Despite clearing most of his papers, Ragavan fails one exam because of lack of sleep having driven all night to meet Pallavi for his birthday. Afterward, he contacts the company that forged his degrees to take care of the issue.
Meanwhile, as the results were being announced, Ragavan’s profile is the only one not checked during a background check at his company. Just as his manager calls the principal to verify his credentials, the college announces the result stating that he has passed. Overwhelmed, Ragavan prepares for his wedding.
What is true education
The night before his wedding, Ragavan learns from Kutty Dragon that a classmate attempted suicide after failing a single paper, which had cost him a Google job offer. The classmate comes from a very poor family, and the job was his only chance for a better life. Ragavan realises that his papers had been swapped with the boy’s, ruining his chances. This revelation pricks Ragavan’s conscience.
In a moment of truth, Ragavan confesses to everyone at his wedding, acknowledging that though he is a low-life, he’s not low enough who would ruin another person’s life. He apologises to everyone, including his father, who had always trusted and supported him. Ragavan’s father, however, is proud that his son has finally shown honesty. He encourages Ragavan to start fresh and assures him of his continued support. Ragavan’s journey ends with him becoming a food delivery man and enrolling in an M.E. programme through correspondence.
Ragavan’s transformation, from a man who once took shortcuts to a person who takes responsibility for his actions, demonstrates that education is not just about obtaining a degree, earning money, or securing a job. It is about developing integrity and moral values. Ragavan’s decision to confess the truth and seek a fresh start proves that character growth comes from acknowledging one’s mistakes, learning from them, and striving to make things right. Dragon teaches that true education is the building of character and that it is never too late to change and rebuild one’s life with sincerity.
Published – April 01, 2025 10:25 pm IST