With the overwhelming response from fans to the supercop universes spun by multiple Indian film industries, including Tamil cinema, there is a quiet emergence of a counter-narrative, featuring flawed and more realistic portrayals of police officers. This alternative universe is shaped by filmmakers like Vetri Maaran and his erstwhile assistant directors, such as Tamil (from Taanakkaran), and now Suresh Rajakumari with his film Sirai.
The film, with a story from Tamil's experience as a police officer, is expected to be an interaction between a cop (Vikram Prabhu) and an accused (LK Akshay Kumar) on their journey from Vellore prison to Sivagangai court. "Sirai is not about a police aspirant who has been inspired by the inflated image given to it by movies. He is a cop who is wary of the system and how ugly it can get, and still fights to stick to his basic human qualities," says Suresh.
A filmmaker usually prefers making their debut with a story close to their heart so that they can work on it with full conviction. However, Suresh believes that one can immerse oneself in the story of others as well, especially if they put their full effort into getting into the head of the writer. "This is one of my learnings from Vetri sir. Yeah, we can write and bring our stories to life, but it is not advisable to spend too much time on it. Other interesting and strong stories need to be told, that are not necessarily yours. Vetri sir has taken inspiration from authors and made a screenplay out of it. Truth be told, things in cinema do not take place the way we wish. It is not ideal to wait. Otherwise, you just have to keep waiting. I discussed the story with Tamil sir a lot; he cleared up my doubts," says Suresh.
Elaborating that it was easier for him to work on someone else's story since the framework for the unfolding of the plot, and how the characters will behave was already in place. "I just had to make some minor changes to the screenplay. The story is a real-life incident of Tamil sir when he was serving in the police department. I just had to change a few things according to the time period, and a few other issues like that. The rest already lies in the story," he explains.
Another part of his job, he says, is to make actors understand their characters sensitively. "That can be achieved purely by just talking to them. They will ask doubts, and I will clarify. It helped that Vikram Prabhu has already starred in Taanakkaran. His role in that film would have been of a disillusioned police aspirant who is forced to kneel and submit to the system. Since Sirai is on the same lines, he too needed less explanation."
While the film will not be a votary for superhuman portrayals of cops, Suresh assures it would also not be devoid of commercial elements. "Sirai has a cop with a conscience as the protagonist; he will neither be a revolutionary flying in the face of the system nor will he be rigid and inhuman. He is a person within the system. He doesn't want to stand out of it, but at the same time refuses to let go of the essential human value of being of service to others, which also applies to police officers," he concludes.
Apart from the male leads, Anantha and Anishma play the female leads. Sirai boasts a technical crew of composer Justin Prabhakaran, cinematographer Madesh Manickam, editor Philomin Raj, and stunt choreographer Prabhu.
The film, produced by S S Lalit Kumar's Seven Screen Studios, is yet to get a release date.