Vikram Prabhu's upcoming film Sirai, which marks his 25th, is the directorial debut of Suresh Rajakumari, an erstwhile assistant to filmmaker Vetri Maaran. The director, in an exclusive conversation with CE, has opened up about the valuable lessons he picked up from the Vada Chennai director.

"Vetri Maaran sir has always been clear about choosing stories rooted in reality, and that’s something I’ve learnt from him. No matter how a character is portrayed in his films, he always gives a justification for why they are the way they are. That’s something I find fascinating," he explained.

Further, on Vetri Maaran's dedication, he added, "Behind the scenes, he’s someone who works round the clock and is available to his team at all times. Even today, despite being in such a remarkable position, he continues to put in that level of hard work. That dedication is something that truly inspires me."

Sirai has a story from Taanakkaran fame Tamizh, also a former assistant of Vetri Maaran. Tamizh and Suresh have penned the script for the film. Alongside Vikram Prabhu, the film also stars LK Akshay Kumar, who is producer SS Lalit Kumar's son. The rest of the cast includes Anishma Anilkumar, making her Tamil debut, and Anantha. Justin Prabhakaran is composing the music for Sirai. The rest of the crew of the film consists of Madhesh Manickam as the director of photography, Philomin Raj as the editor, and Raghava Sanjivi as the production designer.

SS Lalit Kumar is producing Sirai under his 7 Screen Studios banner. LK Vishnu Kumar is serving as the co-producer for the film, with Arun K and Manikandan serving as the executive producers and Arosam serving as the creative producer. The film is all set to hit theatres on December 25, coinciding with the release of Arun Vijay's Retta Thala.