Cast: Jayam Ravi, Keerthy Suresh, Anupama Parameswaran, Yogi Babu, Samuthirakani, Azhagam Perumal
Director: Antony Bhagyaraj
Jayam Ravi’s Siren is a curious film. It has a mix of suspense, action, drama, and a whodunit, wrapped around which is a theatrical outer layer. At its core, it’s a revenge story of an ambulance driver who has endured a lot, and this sets him up as a morally ambiguous character.
Thilagan (Jayam Ravi) is an ambulance driver in Kanchipuram, in the early-mid 2000s. His hyper and virtuous persona lands him in trouble. He’s sent to jail for 14 years for an apparent murder, and thus the movie begins with him returning to his home in Kanchipuram district, which coincides with bloodshed in the locality.
There are a couple of key relationships here. Thilagan has a highschool daughter who has disowned him in private, while also maintaining a lie in her school that he lives abroad. It’s understandable, as school politics is often as ugly as actual politics. While on parole for 2 weeks, he gets as much as a glimpse of his daughter as she’s hellbent on avoiding him.
Meanwhile, a series of murders occur at the locality and inspector Nandhini (Keerthy Suresh) suspects Thilagan to be the cause. The authorities assign a daft constable Velankanni (Yogi Babu) to keep watch on Thilagan, but the latter learns that food and booze are the easiest way to tame this parole officer.
Is Thilagan involved in the recent murders? What is his backstory? Is he a moral character or does his actions divide the audience? Is there a way to redeem himself in the eyes of his daughter? These are the questions that Siren asks, and tries to answer.
In Siren, you’re tracking Jayam Ravi as the main character and questioning if Keerthy Suresh’s is just a gimmick or not. Because a lot of her scenes are rather convenient and animated in a not good way. Meanwhile, Tilagan undergoes a panoply of emotions. He has to reckon with his daughter, to his own impulsive bursts of violence, to keeping a cool and collected deadpan when confronted by Nandhini. These are all rather well done, with the transitions flowing neatly into each of the next scenes.
For this, we have Jayam Ravi to thank. His performance is the highlight of the film. When he first returns home, his frantic search for a glimpse of his daughter with the whirlwind of emotions that accompany it is masterfully done. His understated delivery during the interrogations – mixing both dread and deception is spot on. The performance overall is a great exploration of a character that is virtuous yet ruthless and feared.
It’s nice that Keerthy Suresh’s Nandhini isn’t simply a prop. She’s upright and unyielding, which makes for an interesting tussle with Tilagan. Still, there are many scenes in which her character does something just because the writers have decided that they can: such as arresting Tilagan with no evidence, or going into her shell just because her boss told her so. These inconsistencies also expand to other parts of the script, and when interspersed by the melodrama, you’re left peeved.
The film relies on flashbacks to give weight to Ravi’s character. Some of those flashbacks coincide with the songs, where they emphasize the emotional parts. Thankfully, they subside as soon as the song ends.
It doesn’t require saying that Yogi Babu is a great fit for these “I’m dumb but I’m not stupid” comedy roles. There’s always some comic relief with him on screen.
Director Anthony Bhagyaraj has taken a back-and-forth narrative approach. Large parts of the film are flashbacks, explaining why Thilagan is the way he is. There are too many giveaways in the script: it’s fair to say that viewers would have read between the lines if he had withheld key information or the modus operandi of one of the murders. Some of Thilagan’s dialogues like “one angel being born for him, and another being born to him” (referring to his wife and daughter – I’m paraphrasing here from the trailer) are rather trite and make your eyes roll. Still, these shortcomings aside, the director is smart enough to realize when he has gone too far and bring it back to the present moment. The annoyances are short-lived.
Overall, Siren showcases some of Jayam Ravi’s best acting prowess, although patience is required during certain dull moments.