At a time when the doors of the theatres are left slightly ajar, one of the much awaited OTT release of the year is here.
Right from the opening sequence, the film keeps one on the edge of the seat. It starts off with a ferocious Maara screaming off in the Aviation Control Room mic ordering his flight pilot to land on an unused strip in Tambaram, after his flight was not allowed to land in the Chennai airport. The control room officer asks – “Who the hell are you to give instructions”, to which Maara gives a savage reply – “Andha flight oda owner da!!”. Surely, Maara is not just the owner of the flights but has also owned the film as he shoulders the character bestowed upon him.
The crux of the movie is simple – A man who decides his own destiny is destined to decide his own fate. Such a man is this Nedumaaran Rajangam (Suriya Sivakumar), who decides to make the impossible come true. A small idea yet a powerful one dawns upon him during a very unfortunate time, he decides to do whatever it takes to achieve that.
Maara’s father is a docile teacher but has been vocal in getting all the amenities to his village in a way that does not disrupt anyone. He is a man bounded by principles with a non-violent mindset. He had been vocal in obtaining electricity to his village and is now striving very hard to request an express train to stop in their village. All his petitions go in vain. Amidst this arises a rebel, a fierce, amateurish man who wages a war against an incoming express train, who would go on to change the fate of the whole country by challenging the aviation giants.
This will definitely be one of the movies that Suriya would be immensely proud of. It is a well known fact that his eyes are laser sharp and can penetrate into any object within matter of seconds. The scenes involving him being a fierce rebel Maara come like an icing on the cake. He diffuses into whatever situation he is being put in, be it a fierce young man, an Air Force officer, a rugged lover boy, a disappointed son, victorious or a destined leader, he just naturally moulds into the man the situation demands him to be. An actor who oozes with talent once again has unleashed his best in Soorarai Pottru that would make himself look at the end of the movie and say – “Well done, Maara!”.
There is no doubt that there is no role in the world that Urvashi cannot do and she as Pechi, Maara’s mother, is no exception. A mother is always someone who prays and believes deep inside for her children to succeed. Pechi is that mother who lives to see her son achieve his dreams, that mother who yearns to see her son realize that his father had not given up on him. There are a couple of unforgettable scenes involving Maara and his mother, a situation that actually becomes responsible for the transformation of Maara into a man who sets out to reach the skies is just outstanding. The sequence leading to this earlier Urvashi sequence shows how the rich have been looking down on the lower classes with distaste, even if it was someone who has served his country.
Aparna Balamurali as Sundari/Bommi was terrific with her attitude throughout the movie. With someone like Suriya opposite her, it may have been okay to just be there on screen for her to shine, but even then, she probably pulls off one of the best performances of her career. A woman who has been rejected by 20 grooms for being ambitious is matched up against a man who has been rejected by 24 banks for being ambitious. This may be a story of a man who chased his dreams, but there is a very silent story of a woman who chased her dreams as well but never sacrificed them for the sake of family. In fact, her business takes off well ahead than Maara’s which becomes a strong support to sustain the family at times of need.
There definitely needs to be a mention of Kaali Venkat, who played Maara’s friend from the village. He may be seen only in very small roles, but there is so much substance in his characters that most of the times, they come out as someone who has been living as that character for years now.
It seems to us that whatever Sudha Kongara touches turns into gold, but there is so much of planning that goes into her movies. Irudhi Sutru took her six years to materialize and we knew what it turned out to be for her and the movie industry. Soorarai Pottru makes things more concrete, tells us that she is here to stay even if her movies take sometime to come out. Terrific writing and screenplay to make the movie interesting even if it was a biopic. GV Prakash is terrific with his background score. Probably, the best thing about the score and the songs was that it feels raw and earthy.
Even though, the movie remains quite engaging throughout, it lacked certain coherence in the beginning. Just like how a buzzing bee keeps moving until it finds a juicy flower to sit on, the screenplay kept jumping here and there, rather quickly, for things to get a grip on. The non-linear screenplay worked in a few places, didn’t work in a few, but the problem here was the unwanted cuts before sequences coming to an end, sometimes looking a little chopped. The flashback scenes looked a little forced from where it jumped off. Once the story kicks in with Maara getting into the act, things settle down.
A special mention has to be made on the end credits sequence which shows the happiness and cute fear of each and every person travelling on an airplane for the first time. Obviously, this movie was taken before the COVID took over the world. It gives us all a respite to watch a full-fledged movie after all these “limited edition” ones.
“All the world’s a stage. And all the men and women merely players.” But what if we decide to go above the one who is conducting the play and become someone who dictates the play?
Soorarai Pottru – all brave should be hailed.
Read the full review here.