Praise the Brave) is a 2020 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by Sudha Kongara, who wrote the screenplay with Shalini Usha Nair.

Nedumaaran Rajangam, nicknamed "Maara," is a former Indian Air Force Pilot Officer who dreams of starting a low-cost carrier airline.

Maara joined the Indian Air Force, where he excelled but was often reprimanded by his superior, M. Naidu, due to his rebellious nature.

After his funds get sanctioned, Maara tries to meet with Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) officials to acquire the license, but they disregard him.

Irked by his progress, Paresh uses his power to pass a law that requires Boeing to submit its airline blueprints to fly in Indian airspace.

Retired Air Force pilots are hired to fly the aircraft and Bommi wins the bid for in-flight catering.

Vimal Balaiyya, a prominent businessman, offers to buy Deccan Air but Maara refuses, citing differences in their vision.

In a mid-credits scene, the Civil Aviation Minister of India summons Paresh to Delhi, reprimands him for sabotaging Deccan Air's inaugural flight and threatens to shut down Jaz Airlines.

[9] The film's technical crew were cinematographer Niketh Bommireddy,[10] editor Sathish Suriya and production designer Jacki.

[13] On 13 April 2019, the title was revealed with a poster release as Soorarai Pottru,[14][15] named after a line from a poem by Subramania Bharati.

Suriya played the role of Nedumaaran Rajangam (Maara), an ambitious man from Madurai; the character is loosely based on G. R.

[17] He also did few physical transformations;[19][20][21] For scenes of the character as a young man, Suriya had lost almost 20 kg (44 lb) to gain physique for the role.

[39][40] Scenes were filmed on a specially constructed set resembling the interior and exterior of an aircraft that was designed by art director Jacki.

[41] Cinematographer Niketh Bommireddy said the crew used hand-held cameras during the principal shooting session because most of the film was shot in closed interiors.

[72] Soorarai Pottru was originally scheduled for a theatrical release in mid-2020, but suffered delays due to pending post-production work and the COVID-19 pandemic.

[79] The direct-to-streaming release announcement disappointed many of Suriya's fans, who wanted to watch the film in theatres, and they asked him to reconsider his decision.

[95][96] Prior to the film's release, the makers launched a huge space balloon with a special poster at the highest possible altitude.

[99] Soorarai Pottru was planned for theatrical re-release on 23 August 2021, when theatres were allowed to resume operations after closure due to a surge in COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu.

[102] The plan was abandoned when Tamil Nadu Theatre Owners Association (TNTOA) decided not to screen films that were originally released through streaming services.

[104][105] Owing to the response in Kerala, the production company reinstated the decision to re-release it in a limited number of theatres in Tamil Nadu on 4 February 2022.

[108][109] Writing for The Hindu, Srinivasa Ramanujam said: "Director Sudha Kongara delivers a well-knit cinematic tale that urges us to follow our dreams ...

The intensity of proceedings does soften in the second half, when somehow, things seem to fall too quickly in place, with help pouring in from unexpected quarters for the protagonist.

[110] Ranjani Krishnakumar from Firstpost gave the film a rating of four-and-a-half out of five and said; "Sudha Kongara, Suriya tell a moving, poetic biopic without deifying the leading man".

I'm not denying that it is based on GR Gopinath's life, but the dramatic events that have carefully been picked from his tall tale are about a handful and director Sudha Kongara has glued them well with enough grit to sustain the proceedings".

[113] According to Sudhir Srinivasan from The New Indian Express; "It's a film with character purpose across the board, incisive dialogues, great performances, and much empathy and sensitivity to boot.

[115] Gauthaman Bhaskaran of News18 gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of five and stated; "Soorarai Pottru could have been far more inspiring and even engrossing had director Sudha Kongara done away with unnecessary songs and emotions.

[116] According to Sify, which gave the film four stars out of five; "Soorarai Pottru stands out with its fine writing and outstanding performance of Suriya".

[118] Critic Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave two out of five and stated; "Soorarai Pottru is marred by the high-pitched melodrama whistled up every time the script needs to create fan-pleasing moments.

[122][123] On 26 January 2021, the film's executive producer Rajasekar Pandian announced that Soorarai Pottru had been entered into the 93rd Academy Awards,[124] for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Original Score and other categories.

[141][142] As of February 2021, Soorarai Pottru is the most-watched regional language film in the history of Amazon Prime Video in India.