A Ray of hope
IT’S a thrilling start to this fourpart cop drama, which launches straight into racism and a knifewielding man on the loose.
Written by Line of Duty actress and screenwriter Maya Sondhi, and produced by Jed Mercurio, this stars Parminder Nagra in the title role – you’ll recognise her from Bend It Like Beckham and Fortitude.
Set in Birmingham, DI Rachita Ray is a Leicester-born officer who takes on a case that forces her to confront a lifelong personal conflict between her British identity and her South Asian heritage.
Fresh, relevant and thoughtprovoking, it’s clear immediately that the issue of racism will be tackled head-on.
At work, DI Ray is asked ‘What’s your heritage?’ before someone confuses her new photo ID with that of another Asian woman with a completely different name.
She has been given a promotion to join a homicide investigation, but when she realises she’s been assigned to a ‘Culturally Specific Homicide’, her heart sinks.
She suspects she’s a token appointment, chosen for her ethnicity rather than her ability.
Never one to shy away from a challenge, Rachita sticks to the case, determined to both find the killer and call out the obvious biases her colleagues are bringing to the investigation.
But it’s far from easy, involving organised crime, and also stirs up her own identity crisis, being British but made to feel ‘other’. Maya Sondhi says: “This is a project which is deeply personal for me as a British Asian Brummie woman. So much of this show is my story and I hope others from all different backgrounds will relate.”