An arresting drama about cops, choices, and consequences

SHACKLES. In a hugely divided society, even the slightest semblance of order has to be forced.

- AVINASH RAMACHANDRAN

Every aspect of society is forcibly shackled to each other, and these disjointed links are the bedrock of this orderly chaos. The dreamers believe that all it takes for the chaos to right itself is one link that finds a conscience, and the pragmatists know that the system will always find a way to replace this conscientious link. Debut director Suresh Rajakumari's Sirai lays bare the harsh truths of this world and proclaims to the world that empathy might just be the biggest heroism of a person.

Kathiravan (a terrific Vikram Prabhu) is part of the Armed Reserves, who are allotted the duty of escorting undertrials from the prison to the court and back. Abdul Rauf (Akshay Kumar, in a solid debut) is one such undertrial who has been fleeting in and out of the prison and court steps for over five years because he can't afford representation, and more importantly, he is a Muslim.

The film is set in 2003, and goes back in time to 1997 and back. It is right after the Coimbatore bomb blasts, and Sirai actually points out the rampant hatred against Muslims that was sown by that act of terror. But writer Tamizh and director Suresh aren't interested in blaming the people, but just place a mirror in front of the audience to come to terms with their own prejudices. Once again, they don't go deep into the nuances of that conversation simply because the film is about Abdul and his undying love for Kalai (an arresting Anishma Anilkumar). It is about a love that is never allowed to blossom into something beautiful because the ugly head of hatred, the ill-effects of alcohol, and a false sense of superiority play havoc in their lives.