“Sarfira,” released on July 12, 2024, directed by Sudha Kongara and starring Akshay Kumar, is the Hindi remake of the National Award-winning Tamil film “Soorarai Pottru” (2020), which itself was inspired by G.R. Gopinath’s memoir Simply Fly: A Deccan Odyssey. Produced by 2D Entertainment, Abundantia Entertainment, and Cape of Good Films, the film follows Vir Mhatre (Kumar), a man with a audacious dream to launch a low-cost airline for India’s masses, battling systemic odds and a ruthless aviation tycoon, Paresh Goswami (Paresh Rawal). Despite its predecessor’s critical and emotional triumph, “Sarfira” nosedived at the box office, grossing a mere ₹30.02 crore worldwide against an ₹85 crore budget—a stark contrast to the Tamil original’s acclaim and cultural resonance. So, what went wrong with this ambitious adaptation?

On paper, “Sarfira” had the ingredients for success: a proven story, a director remaking her own hit, and a bankable star in Akshay Kumar, marking his 150th lead role. The film retains the emotional core of “Soorarai Pottru”—a tale of grit, jugaad, and an underdog’s defiance against a classist system. Kumar plays Vir with earnestness, channeling a raw, everyman energy that recalls his standout roles in Airlift or Baby. His physical transformation and emotional scenes—like crying before his mother (Seema Biswas)—are genuine highlights, proving he can still deliver when given meaty material. Paresh Rawal reprises his role as the antagonist with relish, his smug arrogance a perfect foil to Vir’s idealism, while Radhika Madan, as Vir’s fiery wife Rani, brings spunk and a Maharashtrian flair that briefly enlivens the narrative.

Yet, “Sarfira” stumbles where “Soorarai Pottru” soared, and the reasons are manifold. First, the remake lacks originality and fails to justify its existence. The Tamil film, led by Suriya’s intense, lived-in performance, was steeped in regional texture—its Madurai-Chennai setting and socio-political undertones gave it a distinct identity. “Sarfira” shifts the story to Maharashtra and Mumbai, but this transposition feels cosmetic rather than transformative. The cultural specificity that made the original a visceral experience—Suriya’s funeral dance, the socialist heft of his father’s legacy—is diluted into generic Bollywood beats. Critics, like Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express (2.5/5), noted that Kumar “doesn’t do anything he hasn’t done before,” and the film becomes an Akshay showcase at the expense of a richer ensemble, sidelining key supporting characters who had more heft in the original.

Second, the execution falters under the weight of Bollywood conventions. Kongara, co-writing with Shalini Ushadevi and Pooja Tolani, retains a scene-for-scene fidelity to her Tamil script, but the Hindi version amplifies the melodrama with blaring background music and over-the-top emotional outbursts that feel dated—like a “60s weepie,” as Gupta put it. The pacing drags in the first half, with repetitive setbacks and a runtime (155 minutes) that could’ve been trimmed by 20 minutes. Songs like “Maar Udi” and “Khudaya” add little beyond commercial padding, disrupting the narrative flow—a stark contrast to the Tamil film’s tighter focus. This overindulgence alienates viewers expecting a leaner, modern retelling.

The box office failure—opening at a dismal ₹2.4 crore, Akshay’s lowest in 15 years—points to broader issues. Timing was a fatal blow: “Sarfira” clashed with Shankar’s Indian 2 and competed with the lingering buzz of Kalki 2898 AD, leaving it little room to breathe. More crucially, it fell victim to remake fatigue. With “Soorarai Pottru” available on OTT in Hindi (Udaan), audiences saw no urgency to catch a reheated version in theaters, especially when Suriya’s raw intensity outshone Kumar’s more polished take. Posts on X echoed this sentiment, with users calling it a “waste of money” and lamenting Bollywood’s reliance on South Indian remakes over original ideas.

Marketing missteps didn’t help. Despite a trailer that topped YouTube views, the film launched with minimal hype, overshadowed by Akshay’s recent flops (Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Selfiee). His post-pandemic slump—barring OMG 2—has dented his once-unassailable star power, and “Sarfira” couldn’t buck the trend. Critics gave it mixed reviews—ranging from News18’s 4.5/5 for its “sublime retelling” to Rediff’s 2/5 for its “blaring melodrama”—but the 42% Rotten Tomatoes score reflects a lukewarm consensus that failed to ignite word-of-mouth.

Ultimately, “Sarfira” is a noble misfire. It’s not a bad film—Kumar’s sincerity, Rawal’s menace, and Kongara’s knack for emotional stakes keep it watchable (it later found love on Disney+ Hotstar, hitting No. 1 in India). But it’s a shadow of its source, lacking the freshness, cultural rooting, and narrative sharpness that made “Soorarai Pottru” a phenomenon. Bollywood’s obsession with remakes, coupled with an inability to adapt rather than replicate, doomed it commercially. “Sarfira” proves that even a solid story and a committed star can’t soar when weighed down by creative inertia and poor timing.

Rating: 3/5

A grounded effort that never takes flight— “Sarfira” is a reminder that remakes need reinvention, not just relocation, to win over audiences.