Recent reviews
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Salman Khan has returned yet again, delivering a new Eid release, and believe me, it is one of the most well-crafted films of the year.
So, Sultan Ali Khan is a local heavy-weighed man who aspires to be a wrestler. He meets Aarfa, a young natural wrestler, the daughter of the champion Barkat. Sultan starts developing feelings for the female wrestlers, who, eventually, accepts Sultan as a friend, and then, as her husband by the eventual course of time. And then comes the simultaneous sequence of rises and falls of Sultan Ali Khan, and at the predictable climax, he returns to win the ring back.
'Sultan' is a winning film for Ali Abbas Zafar, and quite an easy win it is. The writing of the film never feels draggy and shabby, and it is super smart. Yes, it packs songs and dances, but it also packs in the sharp dialogue and translates an effective, inspirational story which gives a providing message to move on, quite easily. Ali Abbas's best directorial venture, it certainly is.
The film also doesn't lack to-the-earth feel of the Haryana village it portrays, and the love story, which might get over-the-top, has detailed and quirky humor to lighten the rosy mood.
But above all, the film has the power to move you with its amazing consistency. The performances are riveting. While Anushka Sharma's Aarfa is stunningly feminist, Kumud Mishra's Barkat and Amit Sadh's Aakash Oberoi do manage to motivate. But the most layered, exciting and smashing performance has been delivered by the hero, Salman Khan himself, who is powerful enough and this time again, needs no saving graces.
The film is laced with mainstream workings, but it is textured and absolutely well-made. I am going with 3.5 out of 5 for 'Sultan'. Make sure you carry the tissue papers. You will need them in the emotionally driven climax.Like0September 19, 19 -
salman done his job ,very good movie
Like6July 24, 17 -
On the auspicious occasion of Eid, may Allah shower his blessings on each one of us. Apart from the celebration of breaking the fast, it's time to check out some entertainers & Bollywood expectantly displays its wares to cash in on the festive mood. As in the previous years, Eid heralds the release of a Salman flick & this time around we have his "Sultan" hitting the screens. The promos has been a mixed bag with it's trailer being well received while Salman's irresponsible statement a couple of weeks back in comparison with the stunts of the movie being aptly slammed. So will it affect the overall collections???
In recent times, several sports leagues had mushroomed in the country & the latest to join the bandwagon was the MMA event, Pro Take Down. Though launched with much fanfare, it was now on the brink of shutting down & as a last ditch effort, the entrepreneur Akash Oberoi (Amit Sadh) decides to recruit the services of yester year champion wrestler, Sultan (Salman Khan). However, Sultan who was reduced to a pale shadow of his former self refused to step back into the ring. So what had made him to walk away from the sport when he was at the peak of his powers???
Ali Abbas Zafar has been a constant name in many of the Yash Raj productions in the past decade & "Sultan" marks his third directorial venture after "Gunday" and "Mere Brother Ki Dulhan". This is surely his best among the lot though it doesnt tread on unfamiliar territory & banks on standard sports movie cliches. As one would expect, it's the oft discussed tale of the rise of the underdog who falters in between before making it back on top again. The second half kinda reminded me of "Brothers" which also dealt with MMA & focused on the conflict between siblings rather than the couple here. But what sets this apart is the fact that we get to see the character Sultan & not Salman which is kinda unheard of since Salman's persona invariably takes over the character in almost all his movies. Equally brilliant was the realistically choreographed wrestling sequences while the MMA fights could have been better. At close to 3 h, Rameshwar Bhagat could have done away with a couple of songs. The music by Vishal Shekhar was average at best however the BGM was pretty impressive.
We never associate Salman for his acting skills as his movies are invariably about wholesome entertainment in true Salman style be it his comedy, characteristic dance moves or bare torso. However, that opinion will change after one watches this as he has done a wonderful job. This was a role which required him to showcase his varied emotions along with the physical exertion & he has done it with elan. Anushka gets a meaty role early on which she gleefully bites into before getting sidelined in the latter half. In addition, Randeep Hooda rocked in a brief role along with Anant Sharma as Govind, Amit Sadh & Kumud Mishra as Anushka's father.
Verdict: The film has all the makings of a blockbuster & likely to set records on a regular basis with a credible probability of crossing 300 C. It doesn't boast of a script which offers anything new in terms of the story-line but one can rest assured that we will see Salman in a new avatar. In short, it's a paisa vasool entertainer!!!
Rating: 3/5
Regards...Ben
Like6September 16, 16