Yes, Soorarai Pottru is based on the life and achievements of Captain G.R. Gopinath, the founder of India’s first low-cost airline, Air Deccan. Soorarai Pottru is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Sudha Kongara. Produced by 2D Entertainment and Sikhya Entertainment, the movie stars Suriya, Aparna Balamurali and Paresh Rawal.
Soorarai Potru draws significantly high inspiration from Gopinath’s autobiography “Simply Fly: A Deccan Odyssey”, which chronicles his journey from a rural background and army career to pioneering affordable air travel in India. While the core plot of the movie is rooted in the real events in the life of Captain Gopinath, the movie takes considerable creative liberties for cinematic purposes.
Plot Summary
Nedumaaran Rajangam aka Maara, a former Indian Airforce pilot, dreams of launching a low-cost airline to make air travel affordable for the common populace. Maara meets a strong-willed woman, Sundari aka Bommi, who wants to start her own bakery. Eventually, they fall in love and marry. Maara and Bommi pool their earnings to help each other.
Maara faces relentless obstacles from the aviation elite, led the arrogant and unscrupulous Paresh Goswami, the powerful owner of Jaz Airlines. Maara gets funding and plans to lease Boeing planes but Paresh manipulates regulations to block him. Betrayed by investors and hit by sabotage, Maara’s dream seems doomed.
However, Maara refuses to give up. He pivots to smaller turboprop aircrafts, uses abandoned airstrips, hires retired air force pilots and sells tickets in an innovative manner at railway stations and petrol pumps. His village rallies behind him by donating for his cause. After surviving smear campaigns, sabotage attempts and emergency landings, Maara is able to launch Deccan Air.
The film is a powerful story of perseverance, community, love and breaking barriers.
Key Inspirations
The protagonist is based on Captain Gopinath, capturing his entrepreneurial spirit, struggles against established airline companies, regulatory hurdles and the dream of democratising aviation.
Director Sudha Kongara has clarified in interviews that the movie is not a direct biopic since many elements, characters and events have been fictionalised and dramatised. Captain Gopinath watched the film and called it heavily fictionalised but outstanding in capturing the true essence of his story.