'Sarfira' review: Predictable and bland, Akshay's film fails to land

Synopsis of the story 

Inspired by the life of Captain GR Gopinath and "stories from aviation," Sarfira traces the undying entrepreneurial spirit of Veer Mhatre (Akshay Kumar), an ex-Air Force officer. Troubled by his own life experiences, he aims to make airlines affordable for the common man. He falls, stumbles, falters, loses, and then gets up again, finally realizing his dream in the form of Air Deccan.

Negatives: Everything is one-dimensional

A complete disregard for nuance and characters' tendencies to be either black or white and never gray are among the many undoings of Sarfira. The story is thrust upon us sans much context, and it's upto us to make sense of scenes and backstories to fathom the raging, burning passion that defines Mhatre. But, if we can't connect with him, why would we care?

Lead actor overpowers everything and everyone 

This is a story written solely for the lead, so, naturally, Kumar is in every frame. Star-vehicles such as these consequentially mean that everyone has to be sculpted and scissored in a way that the most space remains for Kumar. Resultantly, we meet many supporting characters, but we know none because the movie doesn't care to develop them and they seem like an afterthought.

There's an explanation for age gap, but is it enough?

The film, right off the bat, clarifies that Rani (Radhikka Madan) has no qualms about marrying a man older than her. However, that explanation does nothing to alleviate the cringe that overpowers the screen when 56-year-old Kumar embraces 29-year-old Madan. Perhaps, it would have been better to hire someone closer in age, but still younger, to Kumar. If only.

Lacks profundity, jumps to crucial scenes in a hurry

The film is too desperate to jump to the conflicts that define Mhatre's life, instead of letting the sequences simmer, bubble, and seethe on their own. We hardly know anything about his time in the IAF and his distance from his father is conveyed through just one scene. Instead, the film hurtles from one incident to the next, one event to the other.

Paresh Rawal gets a dated role 

Paresh Rawal, who reprises his role as Paresh Goswami from Soorarai Pottru, is a one-dimensional, caricature who is completely rooted in incorrigible evil, so much so, that he doesn't speak to, or shake hands with, people lower in the social hierarchy. Is this 1980? Such characters are dated and obsolete, and Rawal's run as a villain in numerous pre-2000s films ranks better than this.

Some scenes seem borderline preposterous 

Suspension of disbelief is the first task while entering a theater, but the film is marinated in such a filmy style, that I found myself asking numerous times, "Would that have happened in real life too?" Some scenes are truly the antithesis of logic. Add to it the unnecessarily long runtime, which robs the film of the required sturdiness and gravitas it seriously needs.

Positives: We finally got Kumar-Rawal's reunion!

Coming to its better parts, Kumar and Rawal share only a few scenes, but the way the frequent collaborators (this is reportedly their 12th film) settle into instant ease warms your nostalgic heart. Seeing them perform, it's tough not to be enamored by their iconic partnership; though this film is in a different space than their comedies, their collaboration is one for the ages.

Kumar injects life into the melancholic scenes 

Kumar hands in a committed performance as Mhatre, not letting the pressure of expectations and comparison get the better of him (Suriya won a National Award for Soorarai Pottru). His portrayal of a man marred by the pathos of unfulfilled ambition while pitted against insurmountable odds mounting by the minute demands your attention, the glaring flaws of the movie notwithstanding.

Madan gets a neatly written, believable role

While other supporting characters are reduced to mere crutches, Kongara makes an exception for Madan, who, despite having a relatively shorter runtime than Kumar, has a well-written, author-backed role. She, too, is an entrepreneur, and is initially more successful than her husband, proving to be the wind beneath his wings as he carves his way into the turbulent world of aviation.

Can be missed in theaters; gets 2/5 stars 

Sarfira's biggest pitfall lies in the way everything is so preachy, so predictable, and so formulaic. Right from Kumar's look to the overarching theme, it's redolent of Airlift, though the difference is that Airlift was a better, more engaging movie. Eventually, films based on real characters should encourage you to read more about them, not bore you to death. Skip in theaters. 2/5 stars.