Sarfira
seems
to
be
scene-to-scene
copy
of
the
original,
which
begs
the
question:
Why
re-do
a
film
if
there’s
nothing
new
to
add,
asks
Mayur
Sanap.
After
witnessing
the
trailer
of
Auron
Mein
Kahan
Dum
Tha
last
week,
I
giddily
anticipated
more
such
age
appropriate
romance
in
Bollywood.
Then
comes
Sarfira,
in
which
soon-to-be-57
Akshay
Kumar
is
paired
opposite
29-year-old
Radhika
Madan,
playing
his
wife.
This
jarring
aspect
paints
the
sorry
picture
of
this
Hindi
remake
of
Suriya’s
Tamil
film,
Soorarai
Pottru.
The
Tamil
feature
was
awashed
with
crowd-pleasing
moments
and
the
kind
of
emotional
manipulation
that
would
fill
a
river
with
tears.
But
it
benefitted
from
Suriya’s
strong
lead
in
an
inspirational
real-life
tale.
This
is
a
sprawling
premise
that
puts
Akshay
back
to
his
man-on-mission
endeavour,
a
familiar
territory,
for
both
the
star
as
well
as
audiences
who
have
seen
him
in
this
zone
before.
Mission
Raniganj
was
the
most
recent
example
of
his
humdrum
efforts.
Sarfira
is
too
loyal
to
the
subject
matter
of
its
Tamil
counterpart.
The
trailer
introduces
the
underdog
story
of
the
protagonist
(Tamil
Maara
Rajangam
is
Marathi
Vir
Mhatre)
who
harbours
the
dream
of
starting
a
low-cost
aviation
company
for
the
lowest
common
denominator
of
the
society.
‘Main
aam
aadmi
ke
liye
cost
nahi,
caste
barrier
bhi
todna
chahta
hoon,’
a
determined
Akshay
says
in
his
aim
to
quell
monetary
and
societal
barriers.
His
impossible
dream
is
then
pitted
against
the
high
and
mighty
(Paresh
Rawal
reprising
his
role)
of
the
aviation
business.
As
most
generic
remakes
go,
Sarfira
seems
to
be
scene-to-scene
copy
of
the
original,
which
begs
the
question:
Why
re-do
a
film
if
there’s
nothing
new
to
add?
I
sincerely
hope
Suriya’s
blink-and-you-miss-it
appearance
in
the
trailer
is
not
that
answer.
Sudha
Kongara,
who
also
helmed
the
original,
had
the
potential
to
do
something
a
little
different
especially
with
the
weary
melodrama
but
that
one
scene
featuring
Seema
Biswas
indicates
that
the
film
didn’t
take
the
opportunity.
So
just
a
retread
of
an
old
formula,
then?
Lazy.
Sarfira
arrives
in
cinemas
on
July
12.
