'Soorarai Pottru' review: Welcome back, Suriya

Soorarai Pottru

Tamil

Director: Sudha Kongara

Cast: Suriya, Urvashi, Aparna Balamurali, Paresh Rawal,

Rating: 3.5/5

Streaming on Amazon Prime Video

Sudha Kongara’s fifth flick Soorarai Pottru begins with a note that the 'film is a fictionalised version of a true story'. That’s what all biopics claim and rightly so. If you want full-fledged information on a famous topic, turn to books.

The massive hype around the Suriya-starrer meant that there was overflowing information on the inspiring story of Captain GR Gopinath, the pioneer of low-cost aviation. It’s a rousing tale of a man from a small town who donned multiple hats against all odds.

An Indian Army officer who turned farmer is a tale worthy enough to be explored in popular media. To this, throw in the man’s astounding achievement of flying 70 per cent of Indians for Re 1, you are bound to get an absorbing big-screen experience. If only Covid-19 had relented!

It’s a no-brainer that Soorarai Pottru was planned as a festival release in theatres. The opening scene makes you wish you were in a packed hall (spoiler alert!). A Deccan Air (originally Air Deccan) flight is denied emergency landing by a criminal-minded big shot (Paresh Rawal) and you hear the angry voice of the hero. Nedumaran Rajaangam a.k.a Maara (Suriya), founder of the airlines, orders the pilot for an alternate landing.

You first only see the hero’s back. Then his punch-dialogue gears you up for the set-piece. You see his face as he hops on to a bike to rush to the landing Air Force Station. It’s a riveting scene that deserves whistles.

Sudha humanises the story that consists of technical achievements. The plot isn’t information-heavy as Sudha adopts a layered treatment to the drama, using the beautiful backdrop (Madurai) and atmospheric music of GV Prakash. The high-tension drama is finely mixed into this world to make the movie soaring and gripping.

The writing triumphs in the portions of the entrepreneurship-loving couple. The crackling chemistry of Suriya and Aparna Balamurali is a lesson on weaving in solid relationships even in a fast-moving biopic. Aparna’s character is so real and well-rounded, giving mileage to the notion that women write women better.

Gopinath’s journey is a rollercoaster one, which inspired him to write his autobiography ‘Simply Fly: A Deccan Odyssey’. But the film loses steam a bit in the second-half as conflicts appear to get solved too easily. Gopinath's stint with the Indian Army and farming are just touched on the surface. The editing technique of quick-cut transition in some places is a problem.

Aparna is terrific while Paresh Rawal shows how great actors bring something new to the table even in one-dimensional roles.

Lastly, Soorarai Pottru has allowed Suriya to bounce back. Calls of being a spent force were slowly gaining momentum as the gifted actor’s lengthy lean phase struggled to see an end. Apart from the incredible physical transformation, it’s his performance that stands out.

Like a hungry animal, he pounces on the several shades of the character. He mixes the anger and intensity of Kaakha Kaakha, the swag of Aayutha Ezhuthu, the style of Ghajini, and the rawness of Nandha to give his fans a cracking Diwali gift.

Watch out for the scenes where he begs for money in front of a crowd and breaks down in an airport. Take the scene and draw a parallel to his career and it feels like he was desperately seeking good roles.

Like the protagonist’s story, Suriya has survived setbacks -- his poor choice of scripts and unsuccessful collaborations -- to rise again. It’s a shame that for an actor of his caliber a quality film was a distant memory until Soorarai Pottru. Welcome back, Suriya! Time to fly higher.