Sultan movie review: Salman Khan and Anushka Sharma starrer is a perfect treat this Eid!
Let Sultan unleash his moves in the ring and you know how it will set the cash register clinking!
By Prathamesh Jadhav on July 6, 2016 at 1:04 PMEmailComments




In a soul stirring moment before the interval of Ali Abbas Zafar's Sultan starring Salman Khan and Anushka Sharma in the lead role, one quickly takes a look at the audience. Everybody"and we mean it, everyone"has a lump in their throat. The emotions are real. Salman Khan is not particularly ripped. The tone of the scene and the setting is raw"as organic as it can possibly get. The drama is heightened with every passing sequence. The film is moving and inspiring. One can't help but wonder if Bhai can compensate for giving us a string of massy and nonsensical dramas like Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, by choosing to do a movie as sensible as this, we certainly don't mind him doing whatever he wants to (even hosting Bigg Boos is pardonable). ALSO READ: Sultan quick movie review: Salman Khan starrer is outstanding; Aamir Khan should WATCH OUT!
KICK the last few endeavours and Salman is in the right space"into the collective hearts of his fans, ruling perhaps without the de rigueurmass appeal like only he can, but this time with the intention to shift t gears as far as his filmography is concerned. And with performance as good as this, he may secure a seat even in the hearts of his naysayers as indeed into the hearts of his fiercest critics!
If one has to draw an analogy (at the risk of sounding way too over the top) one must add that whatShah Rukh Khan can do with Chak De India, Sallu can possibly try to pull off the same seriousness and sensibleness with Sultan. Mind you, here only the aging wrestler (played by Khan himself) is not fighting hard to regain his lost glory, Salman (the mature actor, dare we say!) too looks determined to regain his position as far as the craft is concerned.
In the longest possible time the megastar is not employing his body or antics to win us over. The hint of the dogged determination and seeming transformation was visible in Kabir Khan's Bajrangi Bhaijaan. In that one Bhai played heavily the emotional quotient (with antics peppered throughout even if he kept them low-key) the physique did take a backseat though (quite mercifully!) and the essence of the story was allowed to come to the fore.
In Sultan, quite reversely, Salman's body plays an instrumental role"not to play to the gallery. Such is the narration and the griping screenplay that the body is used almost as a character to tell a tale as intense and as convincing as this one. The story and the performances yet again come to the fore as indeed the fine direction. ALSO READ: Sultan movie review: Twitterati going gaga over Salmna Khan, Anushka Sharma starre
Sultan walks into the akhara, with every sinew and muscle highlighted as the much-needed flexing is on display. He even twirls his whiskers and you know what will follow before the big fight"whistles and roars are unprecedented. Both Salman and the story of the film are securely planted into our heads.
Mind you Anushka Sharma is not just thrown in here-unlike any other leading lady, in any other Bhai's film, of the recent past. She has a role to play. Her character drives the angst, the zest and the ambition that Sultan has in him as powerfully as her mighty presence does the trick. Add to the duo's proverbial jugalbandi with bharpoor storytelling and you get a cinematic treat as entertaining as this! Let Sultan unleash his moves in the ring and you know how it will set the cash register clinking!
Our rating: 3.5 stars
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