Sarfira Movie Review — Sucharita Tyagi
3 saal pehle yeh Hindi remake jab announce hua tha, socha iski aavyshyakta kya hai? Original release huye tab 1 saal hi hua tha, Tamil film jiska Hindi version Udaan BHI ghar se dekha jaa sakta hai.The need to Akshay Kumari-fy what has already been Suriya’d by the same film maker strikes one as peculiar, if we’re being very critical, even redundant.
Does Sarfira stack up?
GR Gopinath jinhone India ki pehli low cost airline Air Deccan uddai thi 2003 mein, unki life se prerit hokar yeh film likhi gayi jiski research mein writer-director Sudha Kongara ne 10 saal lagaaye. Dhyaan rahe yeh biography nahi hai, despite what the end credit might make you want to believe, with the real life photos showing up alongside helpful text, is film mein, like the original Soorari Pottru, incidents, journey, etc inspired hain kitaab “Simply Fly: A Deccan Odyssey” se, and kaafi kuch historically accurate bhi hai, par for the most part, the one thing this film puts front and center as its main strength, ie the emotional internal journey of the character, is for the most part, made up, its conflicts heightened for effect.
This is not an indictment. Cinematic liberty is a legitimate tool to enhance the impact and reach of stories told via the medium. However, jab yeh effect mostly mid reh jaaye toh, these choices ultimately only serve to make the filmmaker’s job easier.
2020 mein jab pehle lockdown mein dekhi thi original, Suriya entered our homes as saviour from the moroseness that enveloped the world, a welcome distraction from the monstrous circumstances we were living under, ek reminder that good things still happen in the world, people still win. Aparna Balamurali as Bommi was a release for pent-up frustrations and helplessness.
The 2024 retelling might work for you if youre not familiar with the original at all. Sarfira is a traditional, predictable “Bollywood Biography”, in the hands of a skilled filmmaker. And as such, successful hai aapki un emotions tak pohonchne mein jinke liye Bollywood biographies banaayi jaati hain. Boodhe hote maa-baap ka dard, gareebi se nikalne ki jaddojahad, sarkaari offices mein ghanto baithe rehen ki badkismati, aur harr level par corruption ka saamna karet huye aam insaan ki bebasi. Sarfira mein yeh sab hai, aur rote-gaate Akshay Kumar kaabil andaaz mein sab paros bhi rahe hain. 7 gaano se saji ek robust music album bhi hai, Seema Biswas ke kuch powerful scenes aur moder day feminism ki zaroorat poori karta Radhika Madan ka kirdaar bhi. Aaj mein bhi joh emotional release dhoondh rahe hain, usko bhi chho kar nikalti hai film, rage against the machine ka undertone toh poori film mein hai hi.
Yeh sab hone ke baavjood bhi, 2 ya 3 ghante se zyada unfortunately film ka asar rehta nahi closing credits ke baad. Uss kism ka cinema yeh nahi bann paati joh aap apne doston ko recommend karte hain jakar dekhen, kyunki agar is kahaani se avgat aap naa bhi hon, iss kism ki Bollywood film, jismein system se haara hua sa start up founder public gathering mein shor machaakar authority figure se meeting haasil kar leta hai, yeh dekhi hui hain. President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalaam hi pichle 2–3 mahino meion 2 filmon mein dikh gaye hain, pichli waali thi Srikant, ek aur real life story of man winning against unsurmountable odds. Ek parent ki zindagi ki aakhiri ghadiyon mein ghar na pohonch paayi santan ka life mein later catharsis, apne gaanv mein khushhaali laane waala sarve sarva, apni behen ki shaadi se zyada dost ke samman ki parvaah karne waala simplistic best friend, evil se bhi zyada badmaash villain joh apni ameeriyat ko enjoy nahi kar pata kyunki badly ki aag mein jhulas raha hai, yeh Indian cinema ke archetypes, hamaari cinema ne pehle din se perfect kiye huye hain.
Agar kuch iss kahaani mein alag hai, toh norm ko karta hai break, toh woh hai Rani, ek empowered aurat ka portrayal jisko late 90s mein bhi self-actualization ke maayane maaloom they. Radhika Madan apne se umar mein takreeban 30 saal badey Akshay Kumar ke saamne, the young actor holds her own. Sanya Malhotra, Bhoomi Pednekar ki tarah, Radhika exciting talent hain, harr choice pichli se alag, harr performance behtar. Sarfira mein halaanki second half aate aate narrative mein kho hi jaati hai, like all wives do in stories about their great husbands.
Agar life mein motivation ke liye ek kickstart ke intezaar mein hain aap, toh bhi Sarfira aapke liye hai. Co-incidentally haal hi mein 3–4 interviews aise dekh sun liye jinke chalte personally toh bohto energetic mehsoos kar rahi hoon main, Diljit Dosanjh, Kartik Arrya, Trevor Noah….its much easier for men to “manifest” and bring their dreams to life yes, par thodi lethargy se baahar nikalne ke liye kahaaniyaan yeh acchi rehti hain. Bass uss hi list mein yeh film bhi jod lein. Baahar nahi jaana chaah rahe, toh iss hi sarfire ki kahaani streaming par toh dekh hi lein. Prime Video par hai na original?
So, on a scale of 1 to 10, Sarfira is…..3 actors atleast are even same, playing the SAME roles from Soorarai — Paresh Rawal, Prakash Belawadi, KrishnaKumar who plays Che. If you spotted more, comments mein bataao! Before you leave, subscribe to the channel! As always, my name is Sucharita, thank you for stopping by!
