Sarfira | Movie Review

Bollywood

Movie: Sarfira

Screenwriters: Sudha Kongara, Shalini Ushadevi, Pooja Tolani and G. R. Gopinath

Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad

Producers: Suriya, Aruna Bhatia, Vikram Malhotra, and Jyothika

Production Houses: 2D Entertainment, Abundantia Entertainment, and Cape of Good Films

I go crazy when I see birds. I go crazy when I see airplanes. To me, both represent the same thing: the sky is the limit.

Story Plot

A story about G. R. Gopinath, the founder of Deccan Air, who wished to bring a low-cost air travel experience to middle-class people. History is proof that whenever a good man wants to bring about serious change for humanity through his ideas, he has to face resistance especially in business.

The film showcases the hard work, insanity, ideas, execution, meetings, venture capital, boardrooms, government, politics, failures, rivalry, risk, trust, hope, and overall stubbornness it takes to turn an idea into reality. And of course, a cute love story.

Best Dialogue

The conversation between Vir and Paresh Goswami (founder of Jet Airways):

Paresh: "I have a business proposal for you. Mein secretary se kehta hoon ek appointment fix kare."

Vir: "Tu hota kaun hai mujhe business proposal dene wala?"

Paresh: "What?"

Vir: "Mein rahoon ya na rahoon, tu kuch bhi kar le, kitni bhi taqat laga le. Ab tu nahi rok sakta. Aaj ek aam aadmi ne udna seekh liya hai, ab woh aur uncha udega. Yaad rakhna, ye aasmaan tere baap ka nahi hai."

Hats off to screenwriters. The film has great dialogues but this one was epic. 

My POV

As an airforcian and an army brat, I cursed myself for not experiencing this film on the big screen. Anyway, the movie was so good and touched the depths of my heart.

The two scenes that really made me emotional:

1. When Vir has to meet his sick father and reach home as early as possible but due to money issues, he couldn't reach on time. However, he wanted to turn that remorse into a vision of fast travel and bringing the airline experience to middle-class people.

When he started looking for partnerships and pitching his ideas to aviation tycoons like Paresh, there was a moment when Paresh said, "Mere passengers five-star hospitality ke paise dete hain. Woh nahi chahte ki itne paise dene ke baad bagal mein koi kaarigar ya koi machliwala aakar baithe."

I have never respected rich people with a shallow mindset, people who earn money just for the sake of having a billionaire/millionaire title instead of thinking about inclusivity. Especially those who mock poor people simply because they have a stack of banknotes to flaunt before the world. I never liked them. 

2. After the failure of Deccan Air's first flight on its launch day, Vir had to earn the trust of people across the country. So, he stated that his own family would travel with him this time, including his mother, wife, and newborn daughter.

This is something about business that really stood out to me: you have to gain people's trust, and if you lack it, you will fall. And those who are honest can never step back because they know they are doing things with a purpose, not just for the sake of becoming rich.

Deccan Air was India's first low-cost airline, which started with a motto and gave more than 20 million people a chance to experience budget air travel. However, amid financial difficulties and what many described as the sabotaging tactics of other large established airlines, Deccan Air was eventually acquired by Vijay Mallya, who later rebranded it as Kingfisher Airlines. And that’s where the name Mallya enters the story, you probably know the rest.

This reminds me of our school days when we would watch airplanes take off and land on the runway. I still remember one time when we saw Kingfisher aircraft on the runway, and one of our seniors casually told us that the airline was going to crash soon. I was too young to understand what he meant back then, but looking back now, I can really resonate with those days.

Even though the airline no longer exists, there may still be a quiet sense of peace within the person who once dreamed of it and turned that dream into reality. He may have lived that dream for only a few years, but he lived it and yet achieved something many only dream of.

Today, the low-cost carrier model is followed by IndiGo, which you all might know, and it was inspired by the idea behind Deccan Air. That's something about business: ideas can be copied, but the purpose behind them can change lives.

Conclusion

I absolutely loved the film. It was based on the book Simply Fly: A Deccan Odyssey and is a remake of the Tamil film Soorarai Pottru.

Amazing direction and acting. When it comes to biopics, no one can beat Akshay Kumar. Although I liked Radhika Madan's acting as well. She was too good. And how can I forget the gem Paresh Rawal. Such a great cast.

I definitely recommend watching this one. A great watch.