Sudha Kongara’s ‘Sarfira’ is a solid remake that has its own flavour, both in terms of moments and performances

The film stars Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal. Despite some turbulence in the writing, this is a feel-good story where the woman is as important as the man.

Sudha Kongara’s biggest strength as a director may be her ability to lock on to the wavelength of an actor. By the time Soorarai Pottru came out, Suriya had long established himself as a good actor, especially under filmmakers with a unique sensibility. (NGK, for instance: the film may not have come together, but Suriya was fantastically intense.) But in Soorarai Pottru – in his National Award-winning portrayal of a small man with big dreams of building a low-cost airline – Suriya tapped into zones we’d never seen him in. It’s the same with Akshay Kumar in the Hindi remake, Sarfira. His character is named Vir, and he has rarely seemed so vulnerable on screen. (We may have to go back to something like Waqt: A Race Against Time to see Akshay’s spirit so repeatedly bruised and beaten.) At one point, when Vir’s dreams are dashed yet again, the camera moves in close. Vir is weeping, and the salt-and-pepper beard makes the man look even more defeated, as though even age is not on his side. Then, in a flash, Vir sees the man responsible for his plight (Paresh Rawal, standing in for the classist System), and his sadness turns to anger. The instant change of emotion is powerful. This is a committed, charismatic performance.

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