‘Sarfira’, based on Capt Gopinath’s life, takes off well but doesn’t fly high

Director Sudha Kongara returns with yet another adaptation based on the story of Captain G R Gopinath, the visionary entrepreneur known as the ‘father of low-cost aviation in India’. The Hindi remake of Soorarai Pottru, Sarfira stars Akshay Kumar as the headstrong Indian man Vir Mhatre who is adamant on making flights affordable for the middle-class commoner. He embarks on manoeuvring challenges of all sorts to turn his dream into a reality, facing a multitude of hurdles at every turn, but perseveres in the spirit of the true Indian hero. Akshay Kumar surely succeeds in delivering a convincing job of portraying the hero you will find yourself rooting for till the very end.

Paresh Rawal returns as the cunning megalomaniac businessman Paresh Goswami, who runs the biggest airlines in the country. The experienced actor plays a commendable antagonist who cunningly deploys his power and means to jeopardise Vir’s plans. Rani (Raddhika Madan) is the supportive wife who has her own quirks as the feisty Maharashtrian young woman. Her moderately witty humour and endearing acts of encouragement add the needed glimmers of hope in the bleakest of times. The plot has its highs and lows, with dialogues that are not the most original and occasionally end up sounding a tad too moralistic. The exaggerated idealism could have been toned down, along with the melodramatic songs and montages which seem redundant at times. However, the story does expose the perpetuation of the hegemony of the rich, as the poor are left struggling with corrupt systems and red-tapism. The social and political commentary is neither overtly critical nor particularly erudite, but is relayed in plain and simple terms that gets the inspirational message across. Overall a mediocre watch, Sarfira manages to neither disappoint nor soar to heights hitherto unachieved.