Soorarai Pottru

Soorarai Pottru (transl. Praise the Brave) is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Sudha Kongara, who wrote the screenplay with Shalini Usha Nair. The film, co-produced by Suriya and Jyothika of 2D Entertainment and Guneet Monga of Sikhya Entertainment, stars Suriya, Aparna Balamurali and Paresh Rawal, while Mohan Babu, Urvashi and Karunas appear in supporting roles. The film was inspired by events from the life of G. R. Gopinath, founder of Indian low-cost airline Simplifly Deccan, as described in his memoir Simply Fly: A Deccan Odyssey.

The project was announced in mid-2018 under the working title Suriya 38, and the official title was announced in April 2019. Principal photography began the same month and ended that September, and filming took place in Madurai, Chennai, and Raigarh. G. V. Prakash Kumar composed the film's music, while Niketh Bommireddy was the cinematographer and Sathish Suriya edited the film.

The theatrical release of the film was affected by post-production delays and the COVID-19 pandemic; it was released through Amazon Prime Video on 12 November 2020, the eve of the Diwali festival, and received critical acclaim. It was selected as one of ten Indian films to be screened in the Best Foreign Film category at the 78th Golden Globe Awards. The film also entered the Panorama Section of the Shanghai International Film Festival. Soorarai Pottru won seven awards at the Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, and earned five awards at the 68th National Film Awards: Best Feature Film, Best Actor (Suriya), Best Actress (Aparna), Best Screenplay (Sudha and Nair) and Best Background Score (G. V. Prakash Kumar). A Hindi remake Sarfira, again directed by Sudha, was released in 2024.

Plot

Nedumaaran Rajangam, nicknamed "Maara," is a former Indian Air Force pilot officer who dreams of starting a low-cost carrier airline. He idolises Paresh Goswami, the owner of Jaz Airlines. One day, Maara is visited by Sundari "Bommi," whose family is looking for a groom for her. Bommi is a fiery young woman who wants to open her own bakery. Maara is impressed by Bommi's nature and agrees to marry her. He tells her that he grew up as a rebellious boy and had a difficult and contentious relationship with his father. Maara joined the Indian Air Force, where he excelled but was often reprimanded by his superior, M. Naidu, due to his rebellious nature. When his father was on his deathbed, Maara tried to book a flight home, but he did not have enough money. He asks several people at the airport to help him out financially, but to no avail. When he reaches his house after a long journey by road and train, he discovers that his father has died and his last rites have occurred. This event sparked Maara's ambition to start a low-cost carrier airline. Bommi, however, rejects him, saying that she and Maara are already married to their respective ambitions.

Maara visits Naidu to ask for the ex-serviceman loan so he can start his airline but Naidu refuses. With no other option, Maara travels on the same flight as Paresh. He proposes that they work together to start a low-cost carrier. Paresh, however, believes the poor should not travel with the rich and humiliates Maara. Prakash Babu, the head of a venture capital firm overhears Maara's conversation with Paresh and asks him to explain his business plan to the firm's board. Meanwhile, Maara and Bommi start meeting each other frequently and eventually get married. He plans to lease Boeing aircraft from PlaneAm, who have agreed to lease it to them at low prices. After his funds get sanctioned, Maara tries to meet with Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials to acquire the license, but they disregard him. Maara then meets the President of India and requests his help in getting the license.

Irked by his progress, Paresh uses his power to pass a law that requires Boeing to submit its airline blueprints to fly in Indian airspace. PlaneAm cancels the lease and demands a penalty fee. Maara requests Prakash to loan him money to pay the penalty but he refuses. Prakash reveals he was working with Paresh, with whom he conspired to bring Maara down, and that Jaz Airlines has acquired the aircraft instead. Infuriated, Maara storms into Paresh's office but is tackled by the guards. He becomes short-tempered and often quarrels with Bommi but later apologises. He realises that he can fly smaller aircraft and strikes a deal with a Turboprop aircraft manufacturer. Paresh, fearing Maara may affect his business, decides to take matters into his own hands. Meanwhile, Maara's entire village helps him by donating as much money as they can. He plans to commence flight operations from airstrips that have been abandoned since the major airports came under Paresh's control. He names his airline Deccan Air, and sells tickets at railway stations and petrol pumps. Retired Air Force pilots are hired to fly the aircraft and Bommi wins the bid for in-flight catering.

On the day of the delivery of the aircraft, Paresh uses his influence to restrict the flight's landing at Chennai, forcing the flight to crash-land at Tambaram Air Force Station due to the lack of fuel. Naidu summons Maara to explain the emergency landing and lets him off with a fine. The airline's maiden flight catches fire and is forced to abort its takeoff. It is revealed that Paresh bribed the captain to sabotage the flight. The captain admits his mistakes in front of the inquiry panel. Vimal Balaiyya, a prominent businessman, offers to buy Deccan Air but Maara refuses, citing differences in their vision. Paresh starts a smear campaign against Deccan Air in the hopes of ending Maara's dreams but Maara assures everyone that his flights are safe and cost-effective. On the day of the start of operations, however, no passengers checked in for one of the flights. Maara is about to give up when he is informed that a technical error resulted in no tickets for that particular flight being booked, whereas all other flights are fully booked. With tears of happiness in his eyes, Maara watches the other flights touch down. Paresh later calls Maara and offers to work with him but Maara rejects the offer, saying farmers have flown and will continue to fly, and that Paresh does not own the sky. Paresh accepts defeat as Deccan Air becomes a success.

In a mid-credits scene, the Civil Aviation Minister of India summons Paresh to Delhi, reprimands him for sabotaging Deccan Air's inaugural flight and threatens to shut down Jaz Airlines. In a restroom, Paresh has an anxiety attack and tries to take his pill but it falls to the floor. A janitor picks up the pill for Paresh, inducing in him a sense of respect for lower-income groups.

Cast

Adapted from the closing credits:

Production

Development

In late 2009, Sudha Kongara conceptualised a film based on Simply Fly: A Deccan Odyssey by Simplifly Deccan founder-and-entrepreneur G. R. Gopinath. She did extensive research for the subject for more than ten years. After the release of her Irudhi Suttru (2016), Sudha met Suriya and narrated the half-complete script; Suriya was impressed, and both began work on the project after completing their respective projects. Suriya chose to produce the film as he wanted no-one to interfere in the budget or to change any sequence. Guneet Monga of Sikhya Entertainment also agreed to produce the film, which became the studio's first in Tamil.

The film was officially announced in April 2018 with the tentative title Suriya 38. Pre-production work on the film began in June 2018. The film's technical crew were cinematographer Niketh Bommireddy, editor Sathish Suriya and production designer Jacki. Sudha confirmed the film is not a biopic of Gopinath, but was inspired by events in his life. Sudha made changes to the script and screenplay to suit the film's real-life events. On 13 April 2019, the title was revealed with a poster release as Soorarai Pottru, named after a line from a poem by Subramania Bharati.

Casting

Suriya played the role of Nedumaaran Rajangam (Maara), an ambitious man from Madurai; the character is loosely based on G. R. Gopinath. He said his character "is prone to anger ... Even in anger, he is able to think of why certain people are coming from a different perspective. He knows how to behave with his wife, his friends and others". Sudha fixed these elements before filming to make the performance look consistent. He also did few physical transformations; For scenes of the character as a young man, Suriya had lost almost 20 kg (44 lb) to gain physique for the role.

Aparna Balamurali was signed to play the female lead, working with Suriya for the first time. Her character Sundari was modelled on Gopinath's wife Bhargavi. Aparna also learnt the Madurai dialect for the film. In June 2019, Telugu actor Mohan Babu was signed to appear in the film. He immediately accepted the role when approached, and dubbed in his own voice. Soorarai Pottru is also the acting debut of Arjunan's son Ilan and daughter Iyal.