Sarfira seems to be scene-to-scene copy of the original, which begs the question: Why re-do a film if there's nothing new to add, asks Mayur Sanap.
After witnessing the trailer of Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha last week, I giddily anticipated more such age appropriate romance in Bollywood.
Then comes Sarfira, in which soon-to-be-57 Akshay Kumar is paired opposite 29-year-old Radhika Madan, playing his wife.
This jarring aspect paints the sorry picture of this Hindi remake of Suriya's Tamil film, Soorarai Pottru.
The Tamil feature was awashed with crowd-pleasing moments and the kind of emotional manipulation that would fill a river with tears.
But it benefitted from Suriya's strong lead in an inspirational real-life tale.
This is a sprawling premise that puts Akshay back to his man-on-mission endeavour, a familiar territory, for both the star as well as audiences who have seen him in this zone before. Mission Raniganj was the most recent example of his humdrum efforts.
Sarfira is too loyal to the subject matter of its Tamil counterpart.
The trailer introduces the underdog story of the protagonist (Tamil Maara Rajangam is Marathi Vir Mhatre) who harbours the dream of starting a low-cost aviation company for the lowest common denominator of the society.
'Main aam aadmi ke liye cost nahi, caste barrier bhi todna chahta hoon,' a determined Akshay says in his aim to quell monetary and societal barriers.
His impossible dream is then pitted against the high and mighty (Paresh Rawal reprising his role) of the aviation business.
As most generic remakes go, Sarfira seems to be scene-to-scene copy of the original, which begs the question: Why re-do a film if there's nothing new to add?
I sincerely hope Suriya's blink-and-you-miss-it appearance in the trailer is not that answer.
Sudha Kongara, who also helmed the original, had the potential to do something a little different especially with the weary melodrama but that one scene featuring Seema Biswas indicates that the film didn't take the opportunity.
So just a retread of an old formula, then? Lazy.
Sarfira arrives in cinemas on July 12.
