SULTAN Box Office / Reviews - Page 45

Salman Khan and Anushka Sharma in a still from the movie.

• Anushka Sharma
• masand's verdict
• Salman Khan
• sultan

Let's just face it, Salman Khan has built a career on playing himself in every other movie. The narratives may vary, but the persona doesn't change. He's always the lovable, irreverent man-child with an unwavering moral compass and a weakness for losing his shirt.

Whether disguised in a burqa while traveling across Pakistan to deposit a mute girl to her home in Bajrangi Bhaijaan, or pausing to break into an impromptu dance while pummeling the bad guys in Dabangg, what he delivers is a performance, but you can't call it acting.

In Sultan, directed by Ali AbbasZafar, the actor comes closest to playing a character that feels real, complete with flaws and failures, and one that doesn't take his shirt off for purely gratuitous reasons.

Playing a middle-aged, out-of-shape former wrestler who enters the ring again, to exorcise personal demons, Salman delivers an impressive, full-bodied performance, easily his most credible acting job since...forever.

The script, however, is less solid, and relies too heavily on familiar tropes and overused sports-movie clichs. The rise and rise of our underdog hero, small-town Haryanvi Jatt Sultan Ali Khan, as he goes from local slacker to world wrestling champion is demonstrated through a series of slick training montages.

His romance with Aarfa (Anushka Sharma), a feisty young wrestler, is documented through multiple songs. There is conflict, then a shot at redemption when a now-grizzled Sultan returns to conquer the ring.

At a butt-numbing 2 hours and 50 minutes, the film feels way too long, especially in its first half, which is more or less entirely a flashback.

It's a shame the makers don't know what to do with Anushka's character after a point, introducing her as a progressive, forward-thinking feminist then sidelining her completely. Anushka, by the way, is pretty good in the role, but suffers on account of the weak script.

There are good actors in key supporting roles, including Randeep Hooda as a cynical trainer who must whip Sultan back into shape, Kumud Mishra as Aarfa's father, Amit Sadh as the entrepreneur behind an MMA Premiere League, and an especially terrific Anant Sharma as Sultan's best friend Govind.

But make no mistake, the film really serves as a showcase for its leading man's incredible screen presence, and his surprisingly mature performance in a role that requires much heavy-lifting...literally.

Salman is especially affecting in later scenes as the defeated protagonist who seizes the opportunity to right the wrongs. He's convincing also in the film's excellent wrestling sequences that look, feel, and sound real and brutal.

Sultan is predictable, no two questions about it. But it's powered by a riveting central performance that makes you overlook so many of its problems.

I'm going with three-and-a-half out of five.

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Movie Review: Sultan

Cast: Salman Khan and Anushka Sharma

Director: Ali Abbas Zafar

Quick take: Formula entertainment with some good ideas

There's a good side to Sultan, and there's a bad one too. While the story is just a retelling of many tales told before on celluloid, there is an honesty with which this movie drives its emotions and its intensity. Once the filmmaking formula does its job, the subtle moments of truthfulness and some decent dialogue hit a sweeping slam. In terms of ingenuity and freshness, Sultan is average fare, but when it comes down to the strength of certain ideas at work, it does manage to keep a tight hold on its audience.

The best part of Sultan's story is that it gives women characters respect. Anushka Sharma's Arfa, makes the traditional sacrifices in this story, but she doesn't do it for society or under pressure. She let's her man Sultan (Salman Khan) live a dream on her behalf. The story deals with Sultan's and Arfa's sacrifices and ambitions. They're both wrestlers and they both want to succeed at all costs. Sultan transforms from happy-go-lucky lover boy to serious athlete all because he wants to prove his worth to Arfa and woo her. But in doing so he discovers pride. It's a theme very similar to what was tackled in Jaya and Amitabh Bachchan's Abhimaan, many years ago. That story was about professional pride between singers, this story is about love winning over arrogance in wrestling. The idea of love and ambitions and the friction that creates is the strength of Sultan. But the movie does get a bit hotch potch because it pushes the mixed martial arts scenario into the thick of things. In a bid to be contemporary like last year's Brothers, it becomes a little too obvious. Salman Khan's movies are also identified by the quality of music on offer, while Sultan's tracks are catchy, they don't value add to the movie in anyway.

Salman Khan's transformation within the film, where he goes from being the akhade ka pehelwan to a mixed martial arts contender is quintessential movie drama. It helps the narrative move along, but it isn't the smartest bit of writing. It makes Sultan a little far-fetched and it distracts from the solid love story and conflict between Arfa's and Sultan's characters. The scenes where Anushka Sharma and Salman Khan admit to and resolve their differences are spectacular. The dialogue on offer in these scenes of emotional impact is superb. Even those moments where the film adds grey shades to Sultan's character and then shows him as a desperate and defeated individual are worth a mention. But then, the movie also tries too hard to make an orthodox hero out of it's protagonist. The idea that he must win against all odds just feels like a cop out.

Anushka Sharma's performance as a feisty Jat girl driven by her dream of an Olympic medal is the best thing in the film. Even though she doesn't have the physique of a wrestler, her spirited performance makes you believe in her tough but emotional character. Salman Khan's best efforts have gone in the physical traits of his role. In the movie he goes from being fit to fat to super ripped and you can see the sweat and blood effort put in by the actor. His Haryanvi dialect is a bit of hit and miss, but his performance as a wrestler looks authentic. The suplexes and the slams are genuinely good. Supporting performances by Randeep Hooda and Amit Sadh are up to the mark as well.

Bajrangi Bhaijaan set the trend for Salman Khan where he steered clear of the whistles and claps style of entertainment. Sultan is an effort to add to that thought, trying to add grit and realism to Salman's brand of cinema. But unfortunately, Sultan also tries to sneak in larger-than-life heroism and action. It's definitely not a bad effort, that the film talks about sports and athletes in India is good intentions at their best. When it comes to entertainment, Sultan packs a solid punch.