Actor Akshay Kumar is back in 'Sarfira', a remake of Kongara's Tamil film 'Soorarai Pottru' that released in 2020, which itself was an adaptation of G R Gopinath's memoir 'Simply Fly: A Deccan Odyssey'. The 155-minute film follows a man who sets out to make affordable airlines for low-income people, even as several enemies try to impede him.
The film moves sequentially to outline Vir Mhatre’s (Akshay Kumar) life. He is a former Indian Air Force pilot and dreams of starting a low-cost carrier airline. There are several obstacles that block Vir from achieving his goal. Each time he fails, he loses his cool but rises to fight again.
Like the character he plays, Akshay Kumar, it seems is also determined to not let umpteen flops kill his never-say-die spirit and gets all the more resolute with a dogged perseverance to carry on. Here, he ticks all the boxes to guarantee a box office success with as many ingredients into the narrative as one can possibly include: he is smart, defiant against wrongdoing, has a personal goal, and never bends his principles to compromise. On top of that, he can do an impromptu jig at the drop of a hat, and fight off the might of any corrupt or unfair authority.
He hogs every frame and runs the show as a one-man Army. In many scenes, he sheds copious tears and looks more laughable as his full-blown mug flashes on the screen. In all her earlier films, Radhika Madan seldom gets into the skin of her character like a professional actor, though to be fair to her, she as Rani, does leave a mark.
As a scheming businessman, actor Paresh Rawal is a good watch. He has played such evil-minded roles many times earlier. Even getting into a much familiar territory, he has a commanding presence and walks away with creating an impact.
The film is too long with sentimentality running all through, and makes you wonder if subtlety could have saved us the torture of enduring the high-decibel attack. There are melodramatic scenes that add little value to the dramatic effect they set out to achieve. The cinematography by Niketh Bommireddy is fine. A special appearance by Surya who played the lead in the original is an added treat to his fans. (Courtesy: Arnab Banerjee/IANS)
