Soorarai Pottru

About the film

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.

Plot

Nedumaaran Rajangam, nicknamed "Maara," is a former Indian Air Force pilot officer who envisions launching a low-cost carrier airline. He idolizes industry tycoon Paresh Goswami, the elitist owner of Jaz Airlines. Maara’s personal life shifts when he meets Sundari "Bommi," a fiery young woman determined to establish her own bakery, whose family is seeking a marriage alliance. Maara is deeply impressed by her independent nature and agrees to the match. He confides in her about his youth, which is marked by a rebellious streak and a highly contentious relationship with his father.

While serving in the Air Force, young Maara's insubordination frequently draws the ire of his superior, M. Naidu. The turning point in Maara's life occurs when his father is on his deathbed; lacking the funds to secure a last-minute plane ticket, Maara desperately pleads with airport passengers for financial aid, but is rejected. By the time he completes the arduous journey via road and rail, his father is already cremated. This trauma fuels Maara's ambition to make air travel affordable for lower-income groups. Though moved by his story, Bommi initially declines the marriage proposal, stating that they are both currently wedded to their respective career ambitions.

Undeterred, Maara requests an ex-serviceman loan from Naidu, who flatly rejects him. Left with no alternative, he boards a flight carrying Paresh Goswami to pitch a partnership for a budget airline. Paresh humiliates Maara, asserting that the poor should not coexist in the skies with the wealthy. However, Prakash Babu, the head of a venture capital firm, overhears the pitch and invites Maara to present his business model to his board. As his professional prospects look up, Maara and Bommi continue to court and eventually marry. Maara secures an affordable lease for Boeing aircraft from an international vendor, PlaneAm. When he faces bureaucratic stagnation from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) while seeking a license, Maara successfully appeals directly to the President of India for intervention.

Production

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.

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.

Music

G. V. Prakash Kumar worked on the film's score and soundtrack; in April 2019, before filming commenced, he recorded a song in collaboration with the band Thaikkudam Bridge for a rock number in the film. Singers Dhee, Senthil Ganesh and Harish Sivaramakrishnan of the band Agam also contributed to the album. Prakash worked on the film's background score in October 2019. The following month, Prakash announced Suriya will perform the rap versions of the film's theme music, which is titled "Maara Theme". The song was released on 24 January 2020. Sony Music India released the film's soundtrack album on 24 July 2020.

Key details