Irai review: Sarathkumar’s series is convoluted but offers some genuine moments of thrills

2.5/5

Story: Robert Vasudevan (Sarathkumar), a former cop is summoned to Kodaikanal as a consultant to the local police, who are investigating the disappearance of a minister. Robert and his aids are soon thrown into the world of child abuse and abduction, while the clock slowly ticks down for the minister who is now under captivity. 

Review: When a film/series decides to tell two stories from two different perspectives at the same time, it is important that they are able to pace the two stories so the overall result is not lopsided. Irai starring Sarathkumar, Srikrishna Dayal, Shrisha, and Karuppu Namiyar and directed by Rajesh M Selva, which tells the viewer two stories from two different eras, gets things a bit wrong. 

The investigation thriller, which throws the viewer right into a police operation in the 1980s, soon turns into the story of former policeman Robert Vasudevan (Sarathkumar), who is asked to help the local police at Kodaikanal with the case of a missing minister. The web series, which is streaming on aha Tamil, tells two stories — one is set in the 90’s and focuses on a child abduction gang who provides young girls for abuse, while the other is about Robert’s investigation as he tries to find the minister. In the end, both the stories and people involved are interconnected but the viewer can end up feeling overwhelmed. And the stories from the past also do not help in creating any suspense or thrill for the series, considering that it becomes too obvious at one point. 

Though this is the case, the series is not a poor offering to the fans. The six episode show offers some genuine moments of thrills scattered across its runtime. This is one of the few reasons that the show could keep the audience watching it from the first episode to the last. While there are elaborate scenes such as a gunslinging encounter sequence, more subtle scenes such as a young girl trying to jump a fence seems to give the viewer the thrills. 

Sarathkumar as a former police officer who is now living a happy life with his family delivers a convincing performance. Playing the respected policeman, the actor is given a chance to play a character that is not flashy, and he makes good use of it. He looks the part physically, with his little glares and mannerisms. There are some other good performances in the show as well including that of Srikrishna Dayal as the villainous Ashok Kumar. Most of the performances are also at par. 

Ghibran has composed the music and the background score for Irai, and this is one of the factors that stand out in the show. The background score is powerful and often eerie, aligning itself well with most of the scenes. It just might sound a bit too loud and used out of position but it still remains one of the better positives of the crime thriller. But there are a few instances where the sound design feels amature, from the crunching of fried chicken to people smoking a cigarette. 

The contents that the show explores, which includes child sex trafficking, abuse, pedophilia, torture and murder, can all be a bit triggering to some viewers. However, this very factor gives the show the sharp edge that it needs. Unfortunately, the writing which explores two stories at the same time makes these edges a bit blunt. 

Verdict: Irai is a web show that is appealing because of its genre and the lead. It offers viewers a crime thriller that is worth binging. However, telling two stories simultaneously might throw off the audience a bit. 

All episodes of Irai are available to watch on aha Tamil.