Soorarai Pottru 2020

Nedumaaran Rajangam, nicknamed “Maara,” Suriya is a former Indian Air Force pilot who harbors a dream of launching a low-cost carrier. He idolizes Paresh Goswami, the ambitious owner of Jaz Airlines, and his vision of affordable air travel fuels Maara’s own plans. One day, Maara is visited by Sundari “Bommi” Nedumaaran, a fiery and independent young woman who longs to open her own bakery. Maara is drawn to Bommi’s grit and warmth, and their encounter gradually unfolds into a bond that promises both companionship and a shared sense of purpose. Bommi, Aparna Balamurali, brings a bold perspective to Maara’s world, and their conversations reveal how deeply their paths are intertwined, even as Bommi makes it clear that she and Maara are pursuing two ambitious dreams.

Maara’s past casts a long shadow. He excelled in the Air Force but earned frequent rebukes from his superior, M. Naidu, for his rebellious streak. When his father lay on his deathbed, Maara tried to arrange a flight home but found himself strapped for cash; his plea to friends and associates went unanswered. After a long journey by road and train, he returns home only to learn that his father has died and his last rites have already been performed. This brutal moment crystallizes Maara’s resolve to turn his dream into reality: he would found a low-cost carrier that could connect people who had been priced out of air travel.

Desperation drives Maara to seek an ex-serviceman loan from Naidu, but the request is flatly refused. With no other option, Maara boards a flight with Paresh Rawal and proposes a partnership to launch the airline. Paresh, however, treats the idea with scorn, arguing that the poor should not travel with the rich and subjecting Maara to a humiliating display of contempt. The encounter exposes a divide between two worldviews: Maara’s inclusive dream versus Paresh’s business-first arrogance.

The road to realization broadens when Prakash Babu, the head of a venture capital firm, overhears Maara outlining his plan and invites him to present to the firm’s board. This moment injects new momentum into Maara’s pursuit, while Bommi and Maara deepen their personal connection and eventually marry. Maara envisions leasing Boeing aircraft through PlaneAm at favorable terms, and as funds begin to flow, his optimism grows—until bureaucratic inertia and skepticism from the authorities threaten to throttle the effort. A direct appeal to the powers that be, even a personal appeal to the President of India, underscores Maara’s willingness to go to great lengths to cut through the red tape.

Frustration tightens its grip as Paresh leverages his influence to install a new obstacle: a law that requires Boeing to share detailed blueprints to operate in Indian airspace. PlaneAm retracts its lease and demands a penalty, destabilizing Maara’s nascent operation. When Maara appeals to Prakash for a loan to cover the penalty, he is instead reminded of the treachery at play—Prakash confesses that he and Paresh are conspiring to bring Maara down, and Jaz Airlines has already secured the aircraft. Maara confronts Paresh at his office, only to be restrained by guards; the clash foreshadows the relentless uphill battle ahead. The strain weighs on Maara, and his temper becomes a frequent point of tension with Bommi, though he eventually offers a heartfelt apology, recognizing the danger of letting pride outrun pragmatism.

Yet Maara’s resolve hardens as the entire village bands together to support the venture, donating what they can to help him keep the dream alive. The plan pivots toward using smaller, turboprop aircraft and reactivating airstrips abandoned since the major airports fell under Paresh’s influence. Maara christens the venture Deccan Air, and the community rallies behind the mission: retired Air Force pilots sign on to fly, while Bommi takes charge of in-flight catering, emphasizing quality and value that align with the airline’s mission.

The launch day approaches with a sense of looming risk. Paresh leverages every lever at his disposal to constrain operations, culminating in a dramatic sequence where the inaugural flight’s landing in Chennai is restricted, forcing a dangerous crash-landing at Tambaram Air Force Station due to a fuel shortage. Naidu disciplines Maara, but allows the lesson to refine the operation. The maiden flight, initially intended to inaugurate Deccan Air, ends in chaos when a fire interrupts takeoff; later inquiries uncover that Paresh had bribed the captain to sabotage the flight. The captain ultimately confesses, revealing the depths of the sabotage and underscoring the high-stakes nature of Maara’s fight.

Despite these blows, Maara resists external buyout offers and remains committed to a vision in which farmers and common people have a stake in the sky. A potential acquisition by a powerful businessman named Vimal Balaiyya is rejected, with Maara insisting that the airline’s ethos cannot be bought by money alone. Paresh launches a smear campaign to undermine Deccan Air, but Maara stays focused on safety, cost-effectiveness, and accessibility, reinforcing the belief that ordinary travelers deserve a place in the air.

Operation eventually proceeds with a renewed sense of purpose. On the day Deccan Air begins real flights, every factor points toward success rather than collapse: the schedule stabilizes, and although one flight initially shows an absence of passengers due to a technical booking quirk, the overall pattern proves that Maara’s model can sustain itself and grow. Paresh, confronted with the resilience and growing credibility of Deccan Air, ultimately concedes defeat.

In a mid-credits moment, a reverberating reminder comes from the Civil Aviation Minister, who publicly rebukes Paresh for undermining the inaugural flight and warns of potential consequences for Jaz Airlines. Paresh’s world briefly tightens into anxiety as he experiences a crisis in a restroom, a moment of vulnerability that is softened by an act of kindness from a janitor, who recovers the pill Paresh drops—an event that inspires in him a begrudging respect for the lower-income communities his schemes threatened.

Throughout the narrative, the arc centers on Maara’s unwavering belief that air travel should be within reach for everyone, and on Bommi’s steadfast partnership that balances ambition with practicality. The film tracks the evolution of a grassroots dream into a functioning, affordable airline that challenges entrenched power structures, underscoring themes of perseverance, community support, and the enduring value of new economic opportunities for ordinary people.