‘Akshay’s Flop Record Bothers Me’

‘I
remember
AK
came
on
set
one
day;
one
of
his
films
had
released
the
previous
day
and
was
not
doing
well.
He
was
very
attached
to
that
film.’

‘I
felt
he
was
low
and
that
affected
me.’

Director
Sudha
Kongara
is
emphatic
about
her
new
film

Sarfira
being
different
from
the
Tamil
original,

Soorarai
Pottru,
starring
Suriya.

“Everything
is
different,”
she
insists
to

Subhash
K
Jha.

“Since
the
milieu
and
actors
have
changed,
you
saw
a
different
film.
I
hope
the
audience
will
see
Captain
Gopinath’s
and
his
wife’s
lives
through
the
eyes
of
Akshay
Kumar
and
Radhikka
Madan.

“Their
interpretation
is
fresh
even
for
me
after
having
lived
with
this
film
for
years
now!
AK
and
Radhikka
have
hit
the
ball
out
of
the
park.”

Sudha
says
she
is
not
perturbed
by
the
comparisons
between

Sarfira
and

Soorarai
Pottru.

“The
core
is
so
universal,
so
pan-world
that
it
doesn’t
have
to
be
changed
at
all
or
rather,
shouldn’t
be
changed.
But
for
relatability
to
the
different
audiences,
the
situating
of
the
story
is
completely
different.

“I
wanted
it
as
real
and
as
close
to
the
characters’
roots
as
possible.
However
difficult
it
was,
we
shot
in
live
locations,
in
the
deep
interiors
of
Maharashtra
and
the
Deccan
plateau.
I
think
that’s
the
strength
of
this
film.
The
casting
of
even
the
smallest
characters
and
junior
artistes
had
to
be
authentic,”
she
says.

The
experience
of
working
in
the
two
languages
was
different
for
the
director.

“I
worked
with
a
brilliant
first
AD
(assistant
director)
called
Abhishek
Kapoor.
I
was
relaxed
on
my
sets
for
the
first
time
in
my
entire
career.
I
have
never
had
that
down
South.

“Also,
we
more

jugaad
down
south
to
make
things
happen.
It’s
more
streamlined
and
planned
here.

“It
helped
that
Akshay
Kumar
and
I
are
freshest
and
jumping
off
walls
as
early
as
4
am!
We
both
want
to
shoot
early,
so
the
working
style
was
in
perfect
sync.

“I
shoot
in
a
certain
way
and
that
becomes
difficult
if
call
times
are
not
followed.
So
this
was
bliss.
My
actor
and
I
would
do
readings
at
4
am.
My
writer
would
want
to
kill
us
both,”
she
says.

Sudha
admits
she
is
concerned
by
Akshay’s
recent
flop
track
record.

“Of
course,
it
bothers
me
at
one
level,”
she
says.
“I
remember
AK
came
on
set
one
day;
one
of
his
films
had
released
the
previous
day
and
was
not
doing
well.
He
was
very
attached
to
that
film.

“I
felt
he
was
low
and
that
affected
me.
I
am
very
sensitive
to
my
actors’
moods.
I
kept
asking
him
if
he
was
okay.
Then
he
shot
his
best
scene
in
the
film!
The
Udipi
hotel
scene.
He
was
terrific!
That’s
how
it
is
with
professionals.
The
standard
of
their
work
never
falls.

“Friday
to
Friday,
destinies
change
at
the
box
office
but
not
the
talent
of
stars.
He
is
brilliant
and
there
is
powerful
content.
So
there’s
not
even
a
bit
of
worry
for
me.
The
box
office
standing
of
a
star
never
bothers
me.
I
work
with
blinkers.
As
long
as
they
are
giving
me
their
best,
I’m
fine.”

What
made
her
want
to
make
a
film
on
entrepreneur
G
R
Gopinath’s
experiences,
who
was
the
founder
of
Air
Deccan,
India’s
first
low
cost
carrier?

“His
never-say-die
attitude.
His
maverick
attitude.
The
brave
visionary
that
he
is.
The
fact
that
he
was
such
a
disruptor,”
Sudha
answers.

“I
love
disruptors.
Their
grit
and
purpose
and
travails
in
getting
to
their
goals
move
me
like
nothing
else
in
this
world.
To
change
the
face
of
a
country’s
aviation.
That
too,
he
was
a
school
teacher’s
son
from
the
rural
areas
of
India.
The
world
sees
such
people
as
crazy
and
perhaps
foolish
when
they
are
on
their
journey
but
when
they
achieve
it,
it
is
magic.

“I
find
it
easier
to
tell
real
stories.
I
love
real
human
emotions.
Even
though
I
may
fictionalise
and
dramatise
these
stories,
the
core
fascinates
and
guides
me.”

“He
had
told
me,
‘Sudha,
tell
the
youth
of
India
that
when
an
ordinary
person
from
an
ordinary
background
can
start
an
airline,
then
anyone
can
do
anything
if
they
dream
enough
and
the
dream
becomes
them
and
they
become
their
dream.’
This
is
my
takeaway
from
him,”
she
says.