Vigil Idiot's review of Sultan (contains spoilers) - Page 4

The first half of Sultan is a beautiful love story that involves chasing, stalking, making a pass and even eve-teasing. And dare you call it sleazy or equate it with rape culture. It's SK after all: Salman Khan, not Shakti Kapoor, so everything is fair, in love, war and bhailand.

Sample this:

Uncle Stalker: "Manne laage hain ki angrezi mein ladki jaldi pate hain...I love you bolo phir seedha kiss hoye hain."

Shruti Kakkar Part 1872: Shut up you cheapad. I became a wrestler to make my papa proud, ladkiyan sab kar sakti hain. Because I have a pseudo feminist type of role, which anyway is not important in a Salman Khan film, but I will still say my lines...

Uncle Stalker: ...

Shruti Kakkar Part 1872: What?

Uncle Stalker: I am trying to have I-am-impressed expressions on my face...

Shruti Kakkar Part 1872: Are you serious? That will take forever. Come, let's sing a song and I will be patoed.

Insert Baby ko bass pasand hain.

And don't be misled by the word 'baby'. Most of the film dialogues consist of chora', chori', tanne', manne', laage' and all those words that would establish the Haryanvi setting of the film.

What's incredible is that when our Kakkar-feminist-for-five-seconds calls out Uncle Stalker's misogyny, he throws major tantrums and behaves like a victim. He sulks to the point that she has to eventually apologise to him. Vivek Oberoi and Arijit Singh, here's a tissue, please wipe that empathetic tear off.

Cut to character (in)consistency.

Unmarried Shruti: No love shuv. It's distracting. My only goal is an Olympics Gold.

Two scenes later.

Married and pregnant Shruti: Go hubby. You win the Olympics. When you come back, I will give you an Olympics level guilt for being ambitious. Okay, just like how Deepika made Ranbir feel in Yeh Jawaani Hain Kitni Superficial!?

Speaking of inconsistencies, Uncle Stalker goes from purposeless to purposeful, simple to smug, India to Istanbul and ambitious to a humble Bajaj scooter faster than his driver' over people on footpath.

Sample this. One moment Sultan gives a full mere papa kehte hain speech on how kisaan, pehelwaan are bonded by Bharat Ki Mitti and two scenes and an Olympics gold later, he refuses to play a match because he doesn't fight on the same mitti anymore.

But I have to admit Sultan is a refreshing change to all Bollywood films made on sports.. It shows the story of a slacker/loser becoming a winner, fighting some personal battles and equating the victory with his personal win as well. Beautiful. Sultan is indeed rare. This, only, if you forget Lagaan, Chak De India, Mary Kom, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Kai Po Che, Patiala House, Iqbal, Dil Bole Hadippa, Sala Khadoos, Azhar, Ferrari Ki Sawari, Hawa Hawai, Paan Singh Tomar...phew!

What I particularly liked about Sultan is its inspiring sermons. "Wrestling is not a sport, it's about fighting what lies within...life is a struggle...blah blah...you won't be defeated...blah some more...till you feel defeated...zzz...snores*.." Lectures that are worthy of early morning inspiring forwards that will instantly make you leave your family WhatsApp groups. In fact, there is a dialogue about success and failure shamelessly lifted from an Emily Dickinson poem, Success is Counted Sweetest.

This is epic. 🤣