What the heck Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol?

Honestly, when I first started watching Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol, I knew I shouldn’t be expecting too much from the show. It felt way too simple and light-hearted. However, since I’ve been watching too many intense dramas lately, it was a welcome change. Thanks to Go Ara, whom I’ve come to love ever since Reply 1994, Kim Joo-hun, who seems to be everywhere lately (I am really enjoying almost every show he is in), and the many adorable characters, I started looking forward to the show every week.

In the beginning I really enjoyed the show. The situations that Ra-ra found herself in, and her interaction with all the other characters in the show were downright hilarious. Despite Ra-ra’s unfortunate situation, the show managed to keep it light-hearted and entertaining, and I started getting invested in her character and her relationship with Sun woo Jun (Lee Jae-wook), so much so that I even forgave the many twists the show threw at me, however bizarre they may be. In fact, these twists and introduction of random characters became a staple in the show, that nothing really surprised me anymore, or thats what I thought, until I watched the last two episodes.

Of all the twists, the ones that popped up in the season finale had to be the most ridiculous of them all. It was a rollercoaster of twists that just did not make sense after a while. *Spoilers* First we find out that Jun breaks up with Ra Ra because he has Leukemia, then we find out that he is the secret “dodosolsollalasol” and that their first meet was much earlier than what Ra Ra thought, then we find out that he does not want to break up with Ra ra but he does not want to tell her about his illness either, then just when we accept that he is getting treated while pretending to be abroad studying, we find out he is dead, and finally when everyone is done grieving for him and have moved on, he shows up five years later with the lame excuse that he wanted to only come back after he was fully cured? I mean seriously, how stupid should the viewer be, to buy into this crazy story-telling. If you really wanted them to be together, why give him leukemia? And even if you did, then why kill him and have everyone deal with the loss only for him to come back, and that to five years later. Five years is not a small amount time for Ra Ra to put her life on hold. I really wasn’t expecting much from the show, but to think that even with such low expectations it managed to let me down, says a lot. Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol is the perfect example of a show that tries too hard to make itself interesting and fails miserably in the process. All they had to do was stick to the simple basics, and this show would have been a pleasant breezy watch.

I would not tell people to skip the show, but please set your bar extremely low when watching this one. Despite its many shortcomings Do do sol sol la la sol had some great characters in the form of Ra Ra, Jun, Eun-seok, Sook-kyeong and her friends, Ha-yeon, Seung-gi, Young-joo and Min-su, that makes for an entertaining watch for the most part. The highlight of the show was however the many musical pieces played by the characters throughout the show.

Soorarai Pottru / Aakasam Nee Haddura

Do you remember the first time you ever got on a flight? I do. The year was 1998 and I was flying to US for the first time. Living in Vizag, where flight connectivity was poor (just 2 flights/day, that would get cancelled if there was a fog or bad weather), I had to take the train to Hyderabad (overnight journey) to catch my domestic flight to Mumbai, where I boarded my International flight. I will never forget that flight, for not only being my first, but also because of the time it took for me to reach my destination and how much it cost me (it was an era when you booked tickets through travel agents). My second most memorable flight trip would come many years later, and for a completely different reason. The year was 2006, and we were planning a trip to Italy. Our plan was to station ourselves in Rome and make day trips to other nearby places like Florence, Pisa and Venice. By now booking tickets via the internet had become the norm, and we could pick and choose what we wanted. That was when we discovered Ryanair, a budget airline that most Europeans use for daily commute. When we first saw the price of the ticket from Rome to Venice, we thought it was some kind of a scam. The price was $0.50 + taxes/fee per person, for a round trip. The tax/fuel/service fee turned out to be around $24.50 making our tickets $25 each, which was way lesser than the cost of a pizza we had for lunch while in Rome. Needless to say, we grabbed the deal when we found out that it was a legitimate airline. However throughout our trip, we had this nagging feeling regarding the safety of the flight. As someone who had become used to paying a fortune every time I fly, I couldn’t help but second guess everything regarding the flight. To make matters worse, we were caught in a storm during our return from Venice, making the trip a very bumpy and scary one. It wasn’t until the pilots had landed the flight safely and everyone started clapping and cheering, did I realize that I was not alone in holding my breath. The fact that the daily commuters were cheering the pilots, meant that that night was out of the ordinary. That trip was enough to convince me that even though Ryanair was a budget airline, it was nothing less in terms of service or safety (well-trained pilots) when compared to other airlines.

It would be exactly three years later that India would get its very first budget airlines, in the form of Air Deccan. I still remember the long conversations I had with everyone that was skeptical about the airlines and its ticket prices. I had to tell them about Ryanair, and how it was really not out of the ordinary, and why it was still as safe as any other airline. Air Deccan was a game changer in India. It really made air travel more affordable for everyone, and made some remote parts of the country easily accessible. While I did appreciate the affordable rates (not just by Air Deccan but also other airlines that had to follow suit), the frequency (places like Vizag went from having only two flights a day to more than a handful of choices) and the connectivity to various parts of the country, little did I know about the struggle and effort that went into making all this possible. As someone who was directly impacted by the change that Air Deccan brought about in our country, I can’t help but be thankful to G.R Gopinath, the founder of Air Deccan, on whom Soorarai Pottru / Aakasam Nee Haddura is based on.

Maha (Suriya) is a former air force captain who wants to start his own airline company that is affordable to all and is accessible for people living in remote parts of the country. Baby (Aparna) is a baker who wants to open her own bakery. When they first meet, Maha is already on his way to making his dream come true. Rejected by all banks for a loan, he was now on a look out for a Venture Capitalist, and already had one in mind, the owner of JAZ airlines (Paresh Rawal). Baby on the other hand has yet to take the first step towards her dream. However, they soon find out that it is much more easier for Baby to realize her dream, than Maha. What follows is Maha’s struggle to secure an investor, and the many obstacles standing in his way in the form of Indian bureaucracy, and power politics, before he finally makes his dream a reality. It is these two characters that makes Aakasam Nee Haddura / Soorarai Pottru worth a watch. While it is a treat to watch Maha realize an impossible dream, it is equally satisfying to watch Baby be the no nonsense strong supportive partner who not only has his back, but is also there by his side for him to lean on when all feels lost.

An underdog story is always a motivational watch, but when you know that it is based on a real person, it becomes even more inspiring. In life we often give up easily. Most of us are not risk-takers. We are too scared of the unknown. We are so used to always having a Plan B, that we often give up on our Plan A as soon as we face difficulty. So, when you see real stories of people who dreamt the impossible and made it happen through sheer determination and hardwork, you can’t help but be in awe of them. Aakasam Nee Haddura / Soorarai Pottru, is one such awe-inspiring film. Sparing a few scenes that are a little too over-the-top and theatrical, the film is a great watch. If you are like me and curious to know more about the airlines that revolutionized air travel in India, do check out Aakasam Nee Haddura / Soorarai Pottru on Amazon Prime.