Cape Of Good Films, Abundantia Entertainment and 2D Entertainment’s Sarfira is based on Captain G.R. Gopinath’s memoir, Simply Fly: A Deccan Odyssey. Gopinath founded India’s first low-cost airline, Deccan Air. It is a remake of Tamil film Soorarai Pottru. The film traces the journey of a man to start a low-cost airline for the lesser privileged people in society and the obstacles he has to surmount in the way.
Air Force pilot Vir Mhatre (Akshay Kumar) dreams of starting his own low-cost airline. Two of his colleagues join him in his dream which looks impossible to realise. But their perseverance and resolve make the seemingly impossible mission possible. However, to reach his goal, Vir has to go through a lot.
Sudha Kongara has written a heartfelt story of an underdog who, by sheer dint of hard work and determination realises his long-cherished dream of standing up to owners of the successful running airlines companies and starting his own low-cost airline so that travelling by air doesn’t remain a luxury to which only the rich have access. The screenplay, penned by Sudha Kongara and Shalini Ushadevi, is fairly good but it never becomes one which has a lasting impact on the audience. There are a couple of reasons why the drama, although reasonably well-written, never makes the script memorable. For one, Air Deccan, about which the screenplay talks, has seized operations and this fact is known to all, which, in a way, makes the drama less inspiring than it ought to have been. For, the interpretation is that the drama talks about a person who failed after succeeding. Whether Captain Gopinath could be said to have failed or not is not the question here, but the fact is that the layman’s interpretation of the airline’s closure is that he ultimately failed. Secondly, Vir keeps talking about low-cost airlines being necessary for the progress of the country but the writers have not been able to establish how Air Deccan actually contributed to the growth of the country. What comes across is that Vir Mhatre brought a hitherto luxury mode of transportation to the doorsteps of the economically backward classes of India but how it changed lives does not come through. In other words, the climax (of members of the financially weaker strata of society alighting Air Deccan aeroplanes) does not match the build-up to the launch which had Vir insisting that the low-cost airline would help India progress. Of course, in the story, Vir’s airline must’ve helped business develop faster but the writers should’ve shown this to the audience in an underlined manner.
Besides, the drama lacks light moments as the few that are there pale into insignificance when compared with the tension-ridden moments. Also, since Vir’s character is played by Akshay Kumar who has a rough-and-tough image or, at best, a funster’s image, making Vir cry so many times in the course the drama will not appeal to a lot of his fans. This is not to say that the emotional scenes lack merit. They, in fact, will draw tears from the eyes of the weak-hearted but it is also certain that Akshay Kumar’s fans will feel let down.
Some scenes are beautifully written. For instance, the scene in which Vir asks his wife for a loan of Rs. 15,000, the scene in which Vir talks over telephone to his father who can’t hear him due to hearing loss, the scene in which he begs of passengers for a loan, the scene in which he arrives home after his father has passed away… there are many such scenes which tug at the heart strings. However, despite such powerful scenes, the impact in the final tally is not one of exhilaration if only because the large mass base would not find Vir’s contribution as path-breaking or life-altering.
Pooja Tolani’s dialogues are very good and often touch the heart.
Akshay Kumar shines as Vir Mhatre. But how one wishes he had been shown to be more handsome and less unkempt. After all, who doesn’t like to see good-looking faces? His stubble, unkempt hair (in the initial reels), etc. do more harm than good, never mind if they make him look the character. Radhika Madan does a splendid job as Vir’s wife, Rani. Paresh Rawal is superb as airlines owner Paresh Goswami. Seema Biswas lives the role of Vir’s mother. Her voice modulation, besides her acting, deserves cent per cent marks. Ravi Khanwilkar is first-rate as Vir’s father. R. Sarath Kumar lives the role of Nedumaaran, Vir’s commanding officer in the Air Force. Saurabh Goyal lives the role of Vir’s partner, Samuel Braganza. Krishnakumar Balasubramanian is natural as Vir’s partner, Che. Anil Charanjeet is extremely endearing as Vir’s bosom pal, Mandar. Prakash Belawadi makes his mark as the venture capitalist. Iravati Harshe Mayadev has her moments as the journalist. Rahul Vohra leaves a fine mark as Deshmukh, the officer working in the airlines ministry. Ashok Lokhande (as Ganeshbhau Divekar), Purva Parag (as Sarika Divekar), Shivam Ramaji (as Rani’s brother), Jay Upadhyay (as Rani’s maternal uncle), Swapneel Wakankar (as the marriage broker), Ashish Kaul (as the Gramin bank manager), Neha Bhosale (as Rani’s friend), Avinash R. Kunte (as Samuel’s father-in-law), Prem Verma (as the President of India), Alysha Murtazaali Melani (as the ticketing clerk), Dan Dhanoa (as Jeet Walia), and Madhusudan Naik (as the bank manager) provide nice support. Shivraj D. Walvekar is good as the civil aviation minister. Suriya adds star value in a tiny guest appearance. Others are adequate.
Sudha Kongara’s direction is mature. She adopts an easy-going style of narration, which appeals to the audience. Music (G.V. Prakash Kumar, Tanishk Bagchi and Suhit Abhyankar) may be quite melodious but none of the songs is of the popular variety. This is a minus point as the film needed relief which could’ve come in the form of hit songs. Lyrics (Manoj Muntashir Shukla, Shloke Lal (De taali) and Tanishk Bagchi (Saare ki)) are so-so. Song picturisations (by Ganesh Acharya and Uma-Gaiti) are appealing and have a rustic feel. G.V. Prakash Kumar’s background music is quite nice. Niketh Bommireddy’s cinematography is very good. Action and stunt scenes (by ANL Arasu and Parvez Shaikh) afford thrill. Arvind Ashok Kumar and Bindiya Chhabria’s production designing is appropriate. Sathish Suriya’s editing is reasonably sharp.
On the whole, Sarfira is an average entertainer but its box-office prospects are not even average but rather bleak because of the following reasons: promotion and, therefore, awareness about the film and its release this week are low; the Hindi dubbed version of the original Tamil film (titled Udaan) is available on Netflix and has already been seen by lakhs of people; and the audience doesn’t feel the elation and exhilaration they need to feel after the film is complete, due to the flaws in the script, mentioned above.
Released on 12-7-’24 at Inox (daily 7 shows) and other cinemas of Bombay thru PEN Marudhar Cine Entertainment. Publicity: good but not impactful. Opening: below the mark. …….Also released all over. Opening was less than warranted for a film of this canvas and star cast.