Review: 'Sultan of Delhi' satisfies the craving to watch a slick & stylish gangster drama to a large extent

Sultan of Delhi

Mila Luthria - The man who created Sultan Mirza and Shoaib Khan in the incredibly iconic Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai more than a decade ago now returns to this world but in a different setting with Sultan of Delhi on Disney+ Hotstar. Make no mistake, the two bear no resemblance when it comes to the story but have more things in common with each other than they would have liked. This time, in a series format, Luthria chooses nine long episodes to tell the tale of another rise-to-mafia-kingpin saga but with the entire liberty of time, characterisation and innumerable developments. Having had the chance to see the entire series beforehand, here's what I thought about it-

The World Building & Quintessential Machismo

Luthria makes sure to tick all the boxes that his fans and viewers would expect from him. The idea of machismo, male domination, period setting, sleek hairstyles, leather jackets, and, of course, plenty of action and dialoguebaazi. To his credit, even though Luthria chooses hyperrealism to showcase his saga, which is what you want, he somehow manages to maintain a balance, never going overboard or being outlandish. The dialogubaazi in metaphors is prevalent, but there are real conversations happening between characters too and hence, your connection with these developments stays to a large extent. And, then comes, the incredible world building with the story first being set during the 1947 partition and then the entirety being set in 1962 and so on, the details, era-appropriate looks and traits, and even the almost sepia-ish treatment of frames with the camera - all add and elevate this world to believability levels.

Bromance Better Than Romance

Two factors that make the exact opposite impact are the bromance and the romance. On one hand, the romantic angles in the show with multiple characters fall flat where apart from maybe one union. The others presented are underwhelming and underwritten. But on the other hand, the bromance between Tahir Raj Bhasin and Anjumm Sharma's Arjun and Bangali is the biggest positive for the series. Their chemistry and friendship always seem organic, genuine and, with other developments, heartbreaking as well. You're hooked and invested mostly in that, and it helps because that forms a large portion of the show.

Poor Women Characters, Underwhelming Songs & BGM & Uneven Screenplay

You don't expect women characters to be rather prevalent in a setting like this where patriarchy rules supreme. However, that doesn't justify writing poor roles for women. Actors Mehreen Pirzada and Harleen Sethi get disappointing arcs, even more so Sethi. A fine actor like her is hugely wasted here, and her presence, absence and return through the show is one of the puzzling questions given her arc towards the later episodes. 

With Pirzada, she does get shades to portray, but she is rather unpolished with her acting chops, and most of her scenes appear like she's reading out of a script. Only Anupriya Goenka gets to have a little fun with her role, mainly due to the extreme deviousness attached. And finally, Mouni Roy - yet another fine actor getting wasted, but there's a glimmer of hope that if the show is renewed for Season 2, she might have a bigger part to play.

The background score of Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai (OUATIM) or any such male-fetish project always has a key factor to play, but the songs and background score here are almost unimpactful to an extent where its presence isn't even felt too much. The theme tune, in fact, seems like a rehashed version of the original OUATIM background score.

And finally, the largely uneven screenplay with twists and developments is a huge dud towards the end. For a large portion of the show, you are invested and enjoying the shenanigans, but what seemed like a good ending somehow makes you realise there are two to three episodes more to go. And that's when it goes haywire, predictable and stretched.

The Performances

Tahir Raj Bhasin, as the face of the show, is mostly fun to look at and effective as Arjun with the ups and downs he goes through, but in a few action pieces and some rage sequences, the actor appears almost too stiff. Actors Nishant Dahiya, Vinay Pathak and Sunil Palwal are good with their roles (even though Pathak looks like a version of Mr. Peanut), but the standout performer in the entire show is Anjumm Sharma.

The actor is easily the best thing about the series a lot has to do with the nuances and traits his character of Bangali is given. From being playful to funny, an alcoholic to a womanizer but a loyal and true friend, Sharma gets a lot to play with and does a terrific job in doing so.

The Verdict

Sultan of Delhi isn't a layered show but does have several layers, respectively. It isn't peak gangster drama, but does have a decent amount of it. But mainly, the show is a largely watchable tale, especially for the ones who were missing a slick mafia story with great production value and decent performances.

Rating - *** (3/5)