CHENNAI: As a 90s kid, whenever I see an airplane in a Hindi film, I expect Akshay Kumar to be in it or over it. In Khiladi 420 (2000), Akshay stands atop a mid-air biplane and jumps on to a hot-air balloon to save Mahima Chaudhry. Akshay’s affinity for the aerial has surfaced over the years via Airlift (2015); Bell Bottom (2020). In fact, his cameo appearance in An Action Hero (2022) is also on board a flight. A film about an ex-Airforce officer trying to float a low-cost airline has Akshay’s name written all over it. It also brings another theme the actor always gravitates towards, the social-saviour drama. Although it is nostalgic to see Akshay, aviation, and maybe even social drama, all-together on screen, Sarfira is an unoriginal, woefully predictable experience. An almost shot-by-shot remake of Soorarai Pottru, the film feels force-fitted and inorganic. Its highs feel borrowed and it doesn’t shed the lows of the original.
For the residents of his village, short-tempered, raggedy Veer Mhatre (Akshay) is a visionary. When the film begins, the feisty and independent Rani (Radhikka Madan) has come to see him as a marriage prospect. Later, under the tarpaulin ceiling of his kuccha house, he bluntly declares his bankruptcy to her family. “You have nothing?” she taunts. “Only a business plan,” he says. “India’s first low-cost airline.” She smiles. It’s love at first flight. However, it isn’t going to be a smooth ride. We witness Veer’s desolation as he is turned away from banks and government offices. Now, he has to put down his ego and depend on his wife for finances. The equal companionship between Rani and Veer is a sweet touch. Generally, male-centric ambition dramas have female leads reduced to being allies. Radhikka’s Rani, however, steers clear. She huffs and walks away in a scene when Veer asks her for Rs 15,000 in order to register the company. Apologetically, he goes behind her. She turns and says, “Are you ashamed of taking money from your wife?” It’s a mature take on man-woman relationships and how the roles of provider and nurturer should be fluid. Radhikka’s assured performance also lifts the character.
Back on the work front, Veer takes his proposal to the classist and casteist aviation tycoon Paresh Goswami (Paresh Rawal). He sanitises his hands after shaking Veer’s. The meeting goes sour. The film now becomes a David vs Goliath tale as Goswami tries to sabotage Veer’s operation at every step. It’s amusing to see longtime comedy collaborators Akshay and Paresh take a go at each other, but it is just that, inventive casting. Although Paresh’s character and performance are a carbon copy of the Tamil original, he felt more vile and towering in Soorarai Pottru. Akshay’s Veer also seems less grimy and rooted than Suriya’s Nedumaaran. The actor is especially wobbly in the sentimental scenes and is unable to sell the emotional core of the film. Sarfira tries to be a rousing tale of a man who fought against all odds. It wishes to stir its viewers with hope but templated telling nosedives it. The beats are predictable and if you have seen Soorarai Pottru, the sequel becomes an exercise of “Spot the difference in the images”. Sadly, there are none.
In 2020, Soorarai Pottru landed on OTT owing to the pandemic. The film won five National Awards, including Best Feature and Best Screenplay, however, a theatrical presentation remained elusive. Sarfira seems to be concocted just to satisfy that itch for the big-screen release. A routine exercise to tap into a wider audience. In the film, Veer rebuffs a buyout offer from a certain Walia, an aviation honcho with a penchant for the good times. “We won’t do a deal with those kinds of people,” he says. A matter of principle. The carrier Air Deccan, on whose rise the film is based, merged with Kingfisher Airlines in 2007. It’s all business, I guess.
Film: Sarfira
Director: Sudha Kongara
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Radhikka Madan, Paresh Rawal, Seema Biswas
Rating: 2.5/5 stars