‘Sarfira’ Movie Review: Radhika Madan Outshines Akshay Kumar in This Mawkish Remake of Suriya’s ‘Soorarai Pottru’ (LatestLY Exclusive)

Sarfira Movie Review: It's a weird coincidence that we have had two biopics in Bollywood this year, Srikanth and Sarfira, where both have a scene involving former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, and both also have the protagonists tearfully seeking help from fellow passengers at an airport. Never thought a day would come when even the late President would become a biopic trope, but here we are. Anyway, coming to Sarfira, Akshay Kumar - who I thought would be done with remakes after this one, before I learned his next is a remake of an Italian film - steps into Suriya's shoes as Sudha Kongara remakes her own film in Hindi. Why? I wish I knew the answer to that. Hasn't anyone learnt anything from the failure of Vikram Vedha's remake? ‘Sarfira’ Box Office: Can Akshay Kumar Escape His Poor Form With This ‘Soorarai Pottru’ Remake? Film’s Dull Advances Say Otherwise!

Maara from Soorarai Pottru becomes Vir Mhatre in this Hindi remake, a dramatised and fictionalised adaptation of former airline tycoon GR Gopinath's efforts to start a low-cost airline at a time when air travel was seen as a luxury. It still is, but Air Deccan did break the rules once upon a time before it ultimately folded into what the premium market demanded.

People simply like to end their stories at a high point. Just as many perceive the Mahabharata and Ramayana to end with a battle where the hero vanquishes the villain, only a few know the long, tragic epilogue. Soorarai Pottru and Sarfira are content with stopping their hero's journey at a victory point without delving into what happened later. So, if you are wondering why the underprivileged are still travelling like cattle in overbooked trains and not flying on low-cost airlines, these movies won't give you the answer.

‘Sarfira’ Movie Review - Return to The Skies, Low-Cost!

Anyway, let's get into the plot. Set in the early 2000s, Sarfira centres around Vir Mhatre (Akshay Kumar) and his single-minded ambition of starting a low-cost airline that's affordable for all. Of course, venturing into an arena dominated by the affluent and the privileged often sees stiff and fierce opposition, and Vir faces major roadblocks in fulfilling his goal. The biggest roadblock is Paresh Goswami (Paresh Rawal), the owner of the top airline in the country.

Watch the Trailer of 'Sarfira':

Vir, however, has strong support from his family and friends, particularly his wife Rani (Radhika Madan). How Vir overcomes insurmountable odds to make his dream come true is what the rest of the film is about.

‘Sarfira’ Movie Review - A Remake That Doesn't Do Much

Remaking a very popular film, a movie that is merely a couple of years old and that many saw when they were cooped up in their houses during an enforced lockdown, is a risk. With Soorarai Pottru still fresh in our minds, there are bound to be comparisons, and unless the remake does it better or takes a different approach, you can't help but feel like you're watching an inferior version.

Soorarai Pottru may have a formulaic way of telling Gopinath's story, even if fictionalised, but Suriya's firebrand performance and Aparna Balamurali's solid support made it highly watchable. Not to mention, there was enough earnestness in the storytelling to make you invest in the hero's bumpy journey. The remake here feels money-minded, and that feeling persists throughout, ironically going against what the protagonist of Sarfira believes in.

Sarfira is a nearly beat-by-beat adaptation, but somewhere, the earnestness is lost in translation. The flaws that you try to ignore in the original film now seem more magnified, never helped by the fact that there is an added infusion of melodrama in nearly every scene. Why do filmmakers think that audiences in the North would want more melodrama in the story? If the makers wanted to go with this approach, I wish Sudha Kongara would have gone for a leaner adaptation that snips away the fat and frills. Not only does the pacing feel gruelling at times, but Vir's frequent stumbles into one adversity after another begin to feel repetitive. The tension you need to feel in some of the more gripping scenes, especially in the second half, is impacted as a result.

‘Sarfira’ Movie Review - Where The Remake Worked

Not that Sarfira is without its positives. Even though you cannot ignore their age-gap (even if the film also establishes it), I liked the scenes between Akshay and Radhika. And it has more to do with the latter. It is not easy to replicate what Aparna did in Soorarai Pottru in what is a National Award-winning performance, but Radhika Madan holds her own as the uber-confident Rani. Her performance shines so brightly that you overlook how odd Akshay looks paired opposite her. Be it the scene where they meet for the first time, Vir's roadside proposal to Rani, or Rani's business proposal for her husband, these portions have a very likeable charm that comes more from how Radhika infuses her radiance in those scenes.

While I won't use the adjective 'charming' here, Sarfira is engaging when it gets into Vir's clashes with the OCD-afflicted Goswami. It is a cakewalk role for Mr Rawal, having also gone through similar beats in Soorarai Pottru, but at least the smarminess that his track provides gives Sarfira one mini 'applause' moment when Vir tells Goswami, "Jaa re kutrya". Also, even if it feels synthetic, it feels nice to see a Bollywood protagonist talk about wiping caste barriers and uplifting the underprivileged. So when Vir's first successful flight lands and an old woman walks out of it beaming in joy, it's hard not to feel enraptured by that moment there. It was brief but quite a welcome moment of warmth, far more natural than the inclusion of a Sufi song that felt jarring when played during the hero's low moment. Soorarai Pottru Movie Review: Suriya Flies High in Sudha Kongara’s Well-Told and Immersive Underdog Tale.

As for Akshay, the actor is simply perfunctory here. Like with Radhika, it was a hard task to follow another National Award-winning act from the original. But unlike Radhika, Akshay just couldn't manage to create a more admirable space here. It is an alright performance, nothing outstanding and nothing memorable. And it is hard not to notice Akshay's accent slips when it comes to being a Marathi mulga when the rest of the cast, including the great Seema Biswas (who plays his mother) and Radhika Madan, does a better job at maintaining the dialect.

‘Sarfira’ Movie Review - Final Thoughts

Post-2020, I could say Sarfira is Akshay Kumar's best remake and second-best film after OMG 2. Count out the Akshay parameter, and Sarfira comes across as this by-the-numbers remake of a much better film that, despite retaining the same director, doesn't bring the same zeal or intent in the adaptation process. Perhaps, Sarfira could come across as a decent one-time watch if you haven't seen Soorarai Pottru (even if it is a slog in places). But if you have watched the original, this remake brings nothing new to the table except for weak comparisons.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 12, 2024 09:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).