Soorarai Pottru

Once in a blue moon comes along a film that gives you the satisfaction of good movie watching. If Queens Gambit was one in recent times, Soorarai Pottru is another in Indian cinema just in time for Diwali.

My adoration for Surya started in 2006 I suppose and skyrocketed in 2008, when bored in the confines of hotel room in Tel Aviv on weekends I took to watching Tamil movies on youtube. Enter Kaakha kaakha. Your mindset when watching something greatly affects your reaction to it. I attribute my love for Surya to that. This short Coimbatore guy, with melting eyes, thick hair, perfect nose ( I fall for noses, DH had perfect nose when I saw him sitting by the train window 😍 also why I cannot accept Hrithik 😂) a very next door boy look, stole my heart. I don’t care much for style and super stardom, deep inside I want anyone to do justice to their jobs, be it work or acting, and be level headed and sensible and a good person in real life. All of which Surya turned out to be.

The way he encourages his fans to do good and to be ambitious etc is straight from his heart, so down to earth, humble, yet striving to get better and better.

The past few movies have been commercial flicks. In fact in India I ended up watching some of his old movies as is my habit when alone with too much time. Mayandi, Aadhavan etc. Wanted to watch Perazhagan but only Telugu versions available 🙄 What’s Up with all the dubbings and even Smule has all my favorite Tamil songs in Telugu but not Tamil? such a put off. 😂

Anyhoo. Thanks to a good soul on Instagram who PSAed the release of Soorarai Pottru, I woke up at 12night and decided to watch the movie on the computer.

Here are my thoughts :

– Story line is taut. Fast paced, keeps you at the edge. You know blocks are going to come his way and you wait for it. Sudha Kongara touch in direction, filmography. Maaran as a character is super inspiring. It made me think it made me want to have this burning ambition for which you are ready to throw away everything. Life is not easy for someone with such a dream, to do something big to change the world. It has been portrayed so beautifully. It is the directors job to make the audience invest in their characters. I see that rarely in the masala flicks, it bugs me big time. The movie should engross you in its world, make you root for the protagonists, ache with them, laugh with them. This movie does it beautifully.

– Suriya acting is top class. All his talents are brought to the table. Romance, emotions, anger, happiness, sadness, conflict. He handles it will so much dexterity. He has grown so much from Friends, a true story of hard work and perseverance, my favorite kind. He is aging so gracefully. He truly became Maaran, with dreams in his eyes, the passion and the drive shows.

– Romance between Surya and Aparna is refreshing. Not crass. Not cliche. Beautiful. There is one duet where the picturization and sequences are outstanding. Ha I found it. 55 seconds and 1:25 or so. And did I say I love songs where things happen instead of two people just dancing in exotic places?

Good film making. The married relationship is also very well done. The fights, the ego clashes, the conflict between dream and family. So forward, Sudha gets a modern woman and has shown it in the 12th pass village girl Aparna.

– the character of Aparna. Oh what spunk. What confidence. It shows it is written by a female director. I am sick of name sake heroines in Tamil movies. We have many movies with strong female leads. But this one is realistic. Not over the top extreme. There are Manirathnam shades to their romance. Eyes speak volumes, glances tell stories. Surya is a master there, Aparna was equally amazing. Again love that you don’t have to have plastic surgery and liposuction to look perfect to be in movies. You have to act! So earthly and normal!

– there are small issues with the film, dramatic moments just for the sake of story telling but that’s what Indian movies are about. Stereotypical villains. But these cannot take away from the total experience and the ride you are in for.

– one other thing it made me do. Feel guilty flying for business class 😂

Must watch!!

I say Amazon Prime is better than theater release I can watch it whenever I want. 😂😂😍