Throughout
its
155
minutes,
every
scene
is
doused
in
blaring
background
music
and
melodrama.
Disappointment
alone
won’t
do,
it
must
feel
like
a
full
blown
catastrophe,
observes
Sukanya
Verma.
Mission
Mangal,
Mission
Raniganj,
Mission
Ram
Setu,
Mission
Menstruation
and
now
Mission
Deccan
Air,
Akshay
Kumar’s
shed
so
much
blood,
sweat
and
tears
in
rescuing,
rehabilitating
and
restoring
the
nation
in
the
past
few
years,
no
amount
of
amnesia
in
the
world
can
wipe
off
the
monotony
of
this
imagery.
Once
again
his
latest
is
a
remake
of
a
South
Indian
hit
inspired
by
a
true
story
fulfilling
Akshay’s
criteria
to
take
on
a
movie,
preen
in
its
heroics
and
colour
it
in
his
patented
hue
of
patriotism.
Directed
by
Sudha
Kongara,
Sarfira
is
the
Hindi
retelling
of
her
2020
Tamil
drama
Soorarai
Pottru,
which
opted
for
a
direct
Amazon
Prime
Video
release
when
pandemic
clouds
loomed
large
and
takes
loose
inspiration
from
Captain
G
R
Gopinath’s
autobiographical
book,
Simply
Fly.
When
Captain
Gopinath
realised
his
socialist
vision
of
an
airborne
Udipi
hotel
by
setting
up
Air
Deccan,
India’s
first
low-cost
airlines
in
2003,
his
objective
was
to
facilitate
accessible,
affordable
travel
for
people
across
all
budgets
and
do
away
with
economic
barriers
and
snob
value.
Despite
its
well-intentioned
model
of
no
frills
efficiency
designed
to
put
a
dent
on
agent
culture
and
promote
online
booking,
Deccan
couldn’t
keep
the
momentum
going,
resulting
in
its
merger
with
Vijay
Mallya’s
Kingfisher
brand
in
2008.
Everyone
knows
it
wasn’t
‘and-they-lived-happily-ever-after’
for
either.
But
the
fictionalised
take
on
the
pioneer’s
extraordinary
versatility
as
he
shifted
gears
from
army
to
agriculture
to
airline
business
is
dedicated
to
the
highs
where
the
hero
is
a
farmer,
pilot,
MBA,
engineer,
activist
and
proverbial
David
against
Goliath,
all
rolled
in
one,
seizing
the
day
purely
on
the
strength
of
his
charisma
and
can-do
spirit.
Personifying
these
qualities
to
the
hilt,
Suriya’s
simmering
eyes
and
pounding
tenacity
did
all
the
job
in
the
often
overwrought
Soorarai
Pottru.
As
did
Aparna
Balamurali
as
his
spunky
half
equally
equipped
in
the
art
of
entrepreneurship.
Having
watched
Akshay
Kumar
do
the
gig
umpteen
times,
even
his
earnest
attempts
feel
like
they’re
operating
on
autopilot.
It
doesn’t
help
that
Konagra’s
hopes
to
faithfully
adapt
it
for
Hindi
suffers
from
the
same
old
problem
plaguing
most
Bollywood
remakes
—
grammar.
The
indigenous
sur
of
the
Tamil
original
is
completely
lost
in
its
overdramatic
Hindi
translation.
Kongara
shifts
the
action
from
a
village
in
Tamil
Nadu
to
one
in
Maharashtra
as
flashback
within
flashback
within
flashback
document
Veer’s
(Akshay
Kumar)
journey
from
a
man
protesting
on
railway
tracks
looking
like
Sonu
Nigam
on
a
bad
hair
day
to
air
force
officer
rubbing
off
his
senior
in
the
wrong
way
to
a
Bhagat
Singh
supporter
unable
to
mend
ties
with
his
estranged
Gandhian
father
owing
to
shoddy
landline
services,
exorbitant
airfare,
unreliable
Indian
road
transport
prompting
him
to
resign
and
form
his
own
airline.
Between
the
waiting
game,
generating
funds,
bureaucracy
led
hiccups,
sabotage
at
every
step,
Bollywood’s
go-to
Samaritan
A
P
J
Abdul
Kalam’s
cameo
and
Abbas
Mustan-level
twists,
Sarfira
livens
up
a
little
in
the
altercations
between
Veer
and
Paresh
(Paresh
Rawal),
the
blue-collar
allergic
kingpin
of
the
airline
industry.
The
movie
is
at
its
best
when
it
pits
Veer’s
gumption
against
Paresh’s
arrogance.
That’s
what
fuels
the
plot
and
plane,
rest
is
all
hot
air.
Yes,
even
the
romantic
banter
between
Veer
and
Rani
(Radhika
Madan),
the
firebrand
he
marries.
What
was
the
strongest
suit
of
the
original
proves
to
be
a
down
side
in
the
remake.
Creepy
swaps
places
with
charm
every
time
a
56
year
old
and
29
year
old
flirt.
We
are
no
stranger
to
widening
age
gaps
between
leading
men
and
women
but
even
the
oddest
pairings
work
within
fitting
dynamics
or
uncomplicated
chemistry.
Perhaps
Sarfira,
too,
is
mindful
of
it
and
doesn’t
venture
beyond
serviceable
intimacy.
On
her
own
though,
Radhika
does
a
swell
job
of
reiterating
her
command
at
‘pataakha‘
roles.
As
the
mutton
gobbling
Marathi
mulgi,
she’s
far
more
consistent
than
Akshay
Kumar
in
holding
on
to
her
Marathi
accent.
Not
only
the
latter’s
rural
lingo
miraculously
acquired
urban
finesse
but
Onitsuka
Tigers
in
his
shoe
collection
too,
which
wouldn’t
be
such
a
sore
point
if
he
wasn’t
neck
deep
in
debts
and
taking
loans
from
his
wife
and
village.
Sarfira
has
the
depth
of
a
potato
chip.
Rani
is
a
baker
because
there
are
cakes
around
her.
Paresh
suffers
OCD
because
he
wipes
his
hands
in
sanitiser.
Instead
of
the
struggle
gone
in
making
a
low-cost
airline
work
or
the
partners
flanking
Veer
like
props
not
receiving
due
importance,
Sarfira
is
interested
in
pressing
our
emotional
nerves
to
the
point
of
plugging
them
out.
Throughout
its
155
minutes,
every
scene
is
doused
in
blaring
background
music
and
melodrama.
Disappointment
alone
won’t
do,
it
must
feel
like
a
full
blown
catastrophe.
In
her
bid
to
amp
up
the
drama,
Kongara
throws
so
many
glitches
and
oversights
in
the
path,
it’s
no
wonder
no
one
takes
Veer’s
business
model
seriously.
Not
all
‘market
tod‘
ideas
are
practical,
Paresh
tells
him
early
on.
It’s
never
a
good
sign
when
the
villain
starts
making
more
sense
than
the
hero.
And
often
the
nature
of
Veer’s
actions
strike
more
as
sanki
(eccentric)
than
sarfira
(hot-headed).
Sarfira
Review
Rediff
Rating:
