At 3.30 p.m. on Thursday, the skies came alive with music. Taking inspiration from the subject of their movie, the team of Suriya’s upcoming Soorarai Pottru released the first song of the movie titled Veyyon Silli mid-air, aboard a SpiceJet Boeing 737 flight in a first-of-its-kind event.
The flight was a special one for more than one reason. Among the passengers which comprised the team behind the film and journalists were also 70 children from the Agaram foundation who were given the opportunity to go on a flight for the first time.
Kids from Agaram Foundation at the ‘Soorarai Pottru’ event
“We chose students from government schools across the state based on an essay writing competition. We had asked them about what they would do if they were given a chance to travel on a plane and many had written that they would like for their parents or siblings to have that opportunity instead,” said actor Suriya, about the heart-warming responses they had received.
“Whatever inventions are introduced, it is meaningless if not made affordable and accessible. In 2000, less than one percent of the population was able to fly. Captain Gopinath changed the whole industry and took the common man to the skies,” the actor said, speaking about the film. Stating that G.R. Gopinath had revolutionised the aviation industry, Suriya said that the film was a tribute to him and heaped praises on director Sudha Kongara for her vision and decade-long work on the project.
Soorarai Pottru is based on the life of Captain G.R. Gopinath who founded Air Deccan.
Ajay Singh, Chairman of SpiceJet who released the song said that they were happy to partner with the film as the film’s theme resonated with their vision of making every Indian fly.
“Suriya promised me creative freedom when I worked on this film and he gave me enough creative freedom which took me higher than this Boeing 737,” said director Sudha Kongara. The actor had earlier said that Kongara had worked on the film for 10 years.
After the release of the single Veyyon Silli mid-air, G.V. Prakash Kumar spoke about the song and said that they had chosen to incorporate folk instruments and lyrics for the song while presenting it in a stylish format. “I’m hoping that after this film, biopics become more popular in Tamil cinema,” he said.
Amidst cheers from the young passengers, the composer sang a few lines from Veyyon Silli as well.
Inside the Chennai airport
For the first-time fliers, their experience in air was made better through announcements by the flight captain who ensured that they got to see stunning ariel views of the Bay of Bengal, Chennai Port and M.A. Chinnaswamy Stadium among other landmarks in the city.
The film is being produced by 2D entertainment and Academy award winner Guneet Monga’s Sikhya Entertainment. Stating that this was her first Tamil film, Ms Monga said that she had cherished the experience of working on this film.