Sultan is what every Salman Khan film aims to be. It is a showcase of the superstardom of the actor, yet it manages to weave a plot and tell a story that will resonate with audience across age groups and social strata.
Will Salman score a hattrick with this film? Read our review of Sultan right away!
Salman Khan’s Eid release of 2016 has finally released. Directed by Ali Abbas Zafar and produced by Yash Raj Films’, the film also stars Anushka Sharma, Randeep Hooda and Amit Sadh in key roles. So does the film live upto the expectations? Read the full review of Sultan to find out… ALSO READ: Sultan LIVE movie review: Watch viewers and experts reaction to Salman Khan and Anushka Sharma’s Sultan
What’s it about:
Sultan is what every Salman Khan film aims to be. It is a showcase of the superstardom of the actor, yet it manages to weave a plot and tell a story that will resonate with audience across age groups and social strata. Cause that is the magic that Salman brings to the cinema. Sultan uses Salman’s stardom by taking the glamour and larger than life persona out and instead bringing out the child-like human quality that is often captured when the actor is off camera. Director Ali Abbas Zafar’s Sultan is more than just a tale of an underdog, it has nuances and references to the human spirit that have an universal appeal. Salman plays a washed out wrestler whose personal life is in doldrums after his wife Aarfa (Anushka Sharma) walks out on him post a tragedy. How Sultan turns things around and decides to give wrestling and his life a second chance is what the film is all about. Amit Sadh plays the businessman friend who invests in Sultan to keep his MMA inspired fighting tournament alive while Randeep Hooda plays Sultan’s coach. Both these characters aptly support and take the story ahead in their own way. However if you strip the film off the wrestling and much publicised ‘Dhobhi Pachad’, Sultan has a beautiful love story at its heart.
We will get to Salman later, but can we talk about how good the material for the film is? Ali Abbas has certainly gone all out to ensure that he has incredible writing team to work on the film. The screenplay is tight and the dialogues deliver the knockout punch when required. Also the Haryanvi dialect and accent which play a very important part in the film is on the money! Both Salman and Anushka have worked really hard on getting their diction right. For me the real star of the film is Ali who might have delivered two turkeys (Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, Gunday) in the past, but he washes that off this slate with Sultan. His style and technique is unique and his approach to creating emotional scenes is amazing.
The way Salman and Anushka execute the dramatic scene leading to the interval showcases Ali’s brilliance. Anushka might not have been the first choice to play Aarfa (Kangana Ranaut, Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone were considered) but she goes for the kill and makes the most of this role. She shines in every single scene with Salman. Amit Sadh is a natural and commands attention even when standing opposite Salman in some heavy duty scenes. That brings us to the questions, how good is Salman Khan in Sultan ? The obvious comparison will be with Bajrangi Bhaijaan, and for me his act in Sultan aces that by miles. It’s not just the physical transformation but the mental prowess and technique that he uses to bring Sultan Ali Khan alive which impresses you. This is the messiah of the box-office and favourite of the front benchers, yet Salman strips off all those adjectives and gives an unplugged acoustic performance without the bells and whistles. There are ample paisa-vasool lines and moments that remind us of his super stardom but for the larger part of the film we get to see a restrained side of Salman we haven’t watched in a very long time. ALSO READ: Salman Khan’s Sultan will make around Rs 160 crore over the five day weekend, says industry expert!
What’s not:
The length plays the spoilsport in the second half. The film could have easily done away with 15 odd minutes. Randeep Hooda as the coach looks a bit of a miscast. Also once the MMA fight scenes begin you sort of know what to expect. Apart from Jag Ghoomiya none of the tracks really standout on the soundtrack.
What to do:
Easily Salman’s best performance till date, Sultan is a solid trump card for the actor and his director Ali Abbas.
Leave a Reply