What does an innocent man do when he goes to jail for murder? Well, he learns different methods of murder from actual murderers. Anthony Bhagyaraj’s Siren is a tribute to all the innocent people who have been put behind bars. Jayam Ravi is Thilagan, a former ambulance driver sentenced to life imprisonment who gets out on parole after 14 long years.
Spoilers Ahead
What happens in the movie?
Thilagan is a murder convict, and after several refusals to go out on parole, he finally gets out because his father is sick. His daughter, Malar, is a bright teenager who absolutely hates him and is terrified when she hears about Thilagan’s return. She moves out of the house just to not have to deal with the man. Soon, it’s clear that Thilagan is not a murderer, especially not of his wife’s. Thilagan fights against the reputation he’s been given and tries to reconnect with his daughter at the same time. A conspiracy brews up at the same time as his parole, and a local minister is found dead. In a movie with several plotlines, Thilagan is at the center of it all, taking his vengeance in silence?
Who is Velankani?
Velankani is Thilagan’s parole officer, and you know it’s not a serious role when you see Yogi Babu walking in. Velankani is more interested in enjoying a good meal than keeping a watch on Velankani, and the two soon become friends.
Does Nandhini resume her duties?
Inspector Nandhini is an officer who’s suspended for killing a man during interrogation. Her fiancé’s family cuts ties with her, and she’s completely alone until she’s proven innocent. The lack of evidence against her saves the day, and she decides to rejoin her post at the same station where she was posted before. Notably, this is the same station where Thilagan is supposed to come and sign in every day to maintain his time on parole.
When does the minister get killed?
Manickam is a local minister who’s planning to continue the legacy by giving his son a ticket for the next elections. Manickam’s trusted right-hand man, Anbi, is furious, and he believes it’s him who should be the face of the party. Desperate for power, Anbi plans to kill Manickam and take over the party. Anbi gives the job to his assistant, Manikandan, who plans Manickam’s murder. Thilagan asks Velankani if they should drink at a bar nearby, and Velankani is delighted by the idea. He asks Thilagan to think of him as a pal and not a cop. The two head to a bar to buy liquor, and Manickam arrives with Anbi at the same bar. Anbi takes his boss’ leave, and Manickam settles himself in to drink in peace. Soon Manikandan arrives to stab the minister, who looks like he’s already dead, and the rat is just happy to have killed him.
Does Thilagan kill Anbi?
Anbi had asked Manikandan to surrender himself in exchange for fifty lakh rupees, and he sends men to look for Manikandan when there’s no news of him. Thilagan comes to Anbi’s house with Velankani, apparently to sell his land. Velankani is sent outside when Thilagan asks him to fetch some papers for him, and Thilagan catches Anbi off guard. It’s evident that the two have history, and a quick flashback reveals that Thilagan is the reason that Anbi has a huge scar on his face. Thilagan beats Anbi up, and when he’s gasping for breath, Thilagan gives him his inhaler back. Little did Anbi know, the inhaler was poisoned, and he soon chokes to death. Inspector Nandhini figures that Anbi is a key player in the Manickam case, and she comes to visit him in the farmhouse. Seeing her arrival, Velankani sneaks Thilagan out of the house just in time, and Nandhini finds Anbi’s corpse sitting on a bench.
How do the murders link up together?
Nandhini gets 48 hours to find the suspect who’s responsible for Manickam and Anbi’s murder. Manickam was dead before he was stabbed, and the postmortem report shows that he died because his eardrums burst. Anbi was killed with hydrogen cyanide injected into his inhaler. Nandhini notices the killing methods resemble those of some old killers who have been biding their time in the same jail as Thilagan. The guy from the bar recognizes Velankani, and Nandhini is certain that it was Thilagan who’s behind the murders. Nandhini arrests Thilagan and presents him in front of a judge in the middle of the night, accusing him of both murders. Thilagan proves that the killing methods matching his jail mates means nothing, as the same pattern was followed two days before he was out of jail. The judge lets Thilagan go for lack of evidence, and Nandhini is told to bring proper evidence before she accuses a man on parole of murder.
Is Manikandan behind the murders?
A woman comes to the station every day, begging the police to find her son. It finally gets out of hand when she breaks down in front of Nandhini. The missing person is Vicky, a small-time thief who Thilagan beat up days ago for teasing his daughter. Nandhini gets to know about it, and she thinks he’s behind the disappearance of Vicky. Police find out that an auto driver dropped Vicky near a plot that Thilagan owns, and soon they find the body. Vicky’s fingerprints match the fingerprints that were found in Manickam’s murder. Further digging into it, Nandhini finds out it was Manikandan who signed for Vicky’s release the last time he was put in lockup. The cops beat Manikandan to pulp, and he confesses that Vicky was working with him. When Vicky got greedy and asked for more money, things got heated between them. Vicky claimed that Manikandan stabbed a dead body, and Manickam was already dead by the time they went to kill him. Manikandan killed Vicky and buried him on the spot, and the police still don’t know who actually killed Manickam and Anbi.
How was Thilagan framed for murdering his wife?
Nandhini goes to Puzhal jail, where Thilagan was sentenced to spend his lifetime. She wants to investigate the four deaf and mute killers whose methods were getting used to murder people outside the jail. The prisoners refuse to say anything, and soon Nandhini finds out that they consider Thilagan their god. He’s their translator, and they know his entire story. Thilagan was an ambulance driver who had a record of never letting a patient die in his ambulance. Always ready to serve the people, Thilagan met Jenny, a nurse who couldn’t speak or hear. They fell in love and got married soon after, and Malar blessed their lives even more. When a medical student named Kathir fell in love with Inspector Nagalingam’s sister, Nagalingam threatened to kill him with help from Manickam and Anbi. Kathir knew Thilagan, and he called him when Anbi and his men were out to kill him. Thilagan beat up Anbi and his group of goons to save Kathir’s life. When Nagalingam approached Thilagan to make him understand that Kathir is from a different caste and a lowlife, Thilagan refused to budge and explained that only a man’s profession can decide his worth, not his caste. Thilagan wasn’t scared of Nagalingam, but tragedy was soon to follow. Nagalingam and Manickam stabbed Jenny, and Thilagan, despite his best attempt, couldn’t get her to the hospital in time. The fingerprints on the knife matched Thilagan’s fingerprints as he’d pulled it out before taking Jenny to the hospital. Thilagan got sentenced to life imprisonment and lost his wife just because he did the right thing. In jail, he met Kalimutthu. Kalimutthu is a man who taught Thilagan the ways a killer should work, and when he got released, Thilagan was promised that Kalimutthu would kill anyone without a question if he asked him to. Before getting out on parole, Thilagan contacted Kalimutthu to stab a random corpse in a manner that resembles a signature method of one of the inmates, and Kalimutthu carried out the plan. That’s how Thilagan proved his innocence to the judge and still roamed free. Nandhini hears everything, but she’s still convinced that Thilagan is out for revenge, and his innocence 14 years ago doesn’t matter to her much.
Can Thilagan get his revenge on Nagalingam?
There’s only one day left of Thilagan’s parole, and Nandhini ensures that he isn’t going to take the final revenge by killing DSP Nagalingam. Nandhini puts cops all around Thilagan’s house and warns Nagalingam of the threat. A festival in the town meant Nagalingam couldn’t leave his duties and had to be in the middle of a crowd at all times. He calls one of the cops who is guarding Thilagan and orders him to send the other cops away and shoot Thilagan right there. While all of this happens, Thilagan manages to escape from the house, pretending to play hide and seek with the kids in his house. Evading all the security cameras, Thilagan gets to Nagalingam. Nandhini notices Nagalingam is missing and searches for him desperately. Thilagan beats Nagalingam to a pulp. When an ambulance is called, Thilagan is driving the ambulance where the cops put Nagalingam, a classic callback to his days as an ambulance driver. Thilagan kills Nagalingam, justice is finally served, and he manages to get back to his house just in time. When Nandhini knocks, he answers the door, playing innocent. Nagalingam dies after the severe beating, and Nandhini can’t pin Thilagan for any crimes. Months later, Nandhini brings Malar to jail, and she’s told Malar that her father is innocent. The father, who had to sacrifice his little girl, finally got her back. All these years didn’t change a thing, as Malar cries her heart out when she sees an innocent man behind bars.
Siren is a movie that acknowledges that many people who can’t fight the system and sit in a lower position in the hierarchy of influence can end up in jail without committing any crimes. Thilagan’s life shattered in front of his eyes, and he couldn’t do anything to change the outcome. It’s a film that might feel unreasonably long, but good stories take time to unfold, no?
