Movie Review: Sultan

Movie Review: ‘Sultan’

Rating: 4/5

Director: Ali Abbas Zafar

Cast: Salman Khan, Anushka Sharma, Randeep Hooda, Amit Sadh, Anant Sharma

The Official Sultan Movie Trailer

Ali Abbas Zafar, director of Mere Brother Ki Dulhan and Gunday, got a chance to work with Salman Khan, one of the biggest Bollywood superstars, in Sultan. And, the result is amazing.  A film that opened to packed houses through advance booking is ready to create history at the box office. Going by the loud cheers and whistling it received throughout its 170 minutes, the response has been phenomenal.

Salman Khan plays Sultan Ali Khan, an ageing wrestler battling demons in his personal as well as professional life, a wrestler tries to win over the woman he loves, and her respect, but he misses a step when he lets arrogance get the better of him. Then, middle-aged, he makes a dramatic comeback like only true sports persons can.  In a typical masala potboiler fashion, Sultan gets back in the ring and does what the audience wants him to do: Fight like a boss.

Salman is not Salman, but Sultan, in this film. And that’s a rare feat. Think Shah Rukh in ‘Chak De!’. He is controlled in his acting, but plays the charming Romeo when he needs to, before transforming into a stoic man on a mission. He’s an actor and not a star in this one.

Anushka Sharma as Aarfa, the female wrestler who inspires Sultan, is flawless as she is often. It’s her practical, don’t-mess-with-me acting that makes her a delight to watch. A special mention for Anant Sharma, who plays Govind, Sultan’s best friend and sidekick. He appears in almost every frame, providing the laughs and helping subtly build the emotional trajectory. Randeep Hooda is brooding and steamy as Sultan’s coach while Amit Sadh is someone you can easily relate to as the owner of a pro-wrestling league.

Aditya Chopra’s screenplay ensures Sultan has all the popular ingredients and Khan’s superstardom is the cherry on the cake. His fans wouldn’t mind if his accent is not up to the mark and other characters are not given the chance to spread their wings because the heavy dose of popular mainstream Bollywood is enough to do the tricks.

Then there are some UFC fighters and wrestler Kurt Angle, who will more or less quench the thirst of the audience looking for a thorough entertainer.

You see Haryana in its rustic vigour; the cast speaks Haryanvi with ease without making the dialect grate on your nerves.  It’s one more attempt at saying, sports other than cricket exist in this country, and wrestling is one that’s attached to India’s soil.

The camerawork is slick and the direction graceful.  The music by Vishal-Shekhar is foot-tapping (‘Baby Ko Bass Pasand Hai’ and ‘440 watts’) and compliments the screenplay.

Sultan is a fun watch’, offering the perfect fix to lift a not-so-great day. It’s about love and the will to do anything that comes with protecting it. It’s also about bringing yourself back from the dead, and saying, ‘I am not going anywhere.