Sultan
wogma rating: Add to that never-watched 'To Watch' list (?)
Sultan is one movie repeated twice – once before the interval and once after. Both are equally predictable and melodramatic.
Read more
The good news is that the film is not your standard Salman Khan film that asks you to leave your brain behind. The not-so-good news is that it is still a predictable, melodramatic affair. The bad news is that the plot repeats itself twice over.
It seems like telling it once didn't take it to optimum runtime, so the writers decided to say it all over again. In turn, this one ended up being almost 3 hours long. With nothing new to tell it is interesting that the second half is more engaging than the first. It could have to do with a fresh set of action choreography in terms of the wrestling matches.
Despite being a sports film, at its heart Sultan is romantic. But it is very conscious about being romantic. So, a boy woos a girl - twice. Each time, the boy is willing to go to any extent to win her love but of course he is too macho to accept it. Instead he calls it a fight with himself. eyeroll That and dialogue you would find in any coach-prodigy film like, “I see myself in you.” make Sultan even more predictable.
The only surprises then, can come from individual situations or performances. Individual situations try hard to seem progressive in the form of the lead lady giving a lecture on a woman's rightful place in this new age. Unfortunately, it cannot hold its own for too long and falls prey to putting the man on a pedestal despite his faults. So be it. Anyway, so is it in real life. With a pinch of salt, we can applaud a Salman Khan film to be close to reality.
It also nods its head to reality by acknowledging that it is rife with melodrama. That still doesn't make the melodrama any more tolerable. Interestingly though, the performances do their best in keeping the melodrama at bay. There are no histrionics and minimal hamming from lead actors Salman Khan and Anushka Sharma. Supporting acts by one and all are pretty good too. Though each one of them slips in their accent and it looks particularly unnatural coming from Anushka Sharma.
Even so, Sultan doesn't get boring. The music is engaging, the visuals are crisp and fight sequences from the second half arrest your attention while they last. They take the edge off the flat plot, yet not a whole lot.
- meeta, a part of the audience
Thumbs up, Bollywood Hungama : ...Anushka Sharma, who has already showcased an action-packed side of hers in NH10, continues to win hearts as Aarfa too. ... full review
Thumbs up, by Tushar Joshi, Bollywood Life : ...However if you strip the film off the wrestling and much publicised ‘Dhobhi Pachad’, Sultan has a beautiful love story at its heart. ... full review
Thumbs up, Deccan Chronicle : ... the drawback of the film is its slow pace. ... full review
Thumbs up, by Smita Vyas Kumar, Desi Martini : ...Baby ko Arfa pasand hai... full review
Thumbs up, by Sarita Tanwar, DNA : ...It’s Eid, it’s Salman Khan and it’s the best treat of the year so far. You’ll be lucky to get a ticket. Rush for it.... full review
Thumbs up, by Rachit Gupta, Filmfare : ...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. ... full review
Thumbs up, by Anna Vetticad, FirstPost : ...The male lead’s immaturity is believable, but it is disappointing to see the lack of inventiveness employed in writing the early stages of the Sultan-Aarfa romance:... full review
Thumbs up, by Rohit Vats, Hindustan Times : ...Anant Sharma’s fantastic act as Sultan’s sidekick Govind is also notice-worthy.... full review
Thumbs up, by Shomini Sen, IBN Live : ...At 50, he is not the fittest, but he pulls of a character almost 15 years younger with absolute ease. ... full review
Thumbs up, by Anany Bhattacharya, india today : ...Salman Khan's hard work is more than visible in every frame when the man is in the wrestling pit.... full review
Thumbs up, Indicine : ...Sultan is the type of big film which does things a bit differently while keep the commercial aspects of the movie intact. ... full review
Thumbs up, by Uday Bhatia, Live Mint : ...Even though this is a film painted largely in broad strokes, there are certain small decisions that are unusual and encouraging. ... full review
Thumbs up, by Aastha Atray Banan, MiD DAY : ... The camerawork is slick and the direction graceful.... full review
Thumbs up, by Kunal Guha, Mumbai Mirror : ...this may seem like a sports film, but it also works beautifully in internalising the angst of our lovelorn lead.... full review
Thumbs up, by Sukanya Verma, Rediff : ...I would have liked it better if the action was a more imaginative mix of desi kushti and international fighting styles.... full review
Thumbs up, by Shilpa , Reuters : ...Randeep Hooda, in a brief role as a fighting coach is the perfect foil to Khan’s often sardonic demeanour, and Anant Sharma shines as Govind, Sultan’s sidekick and long-time friend.... full review
Thumbs up, Sify Movies : ...Staggeringly engaging, remarkably rugged and unexpectedly romantic... full review
Thumbs up, by Srijana Mitra Das, Times of India : ...Salman gives a fighting performance, his character graph moving plausibly from a cheery, everyday "loojer" to a determined athlete, an arrogant star, a crushed, depressed, lonely guy. ... full review
Thumbs up, by Rummana, yahoo! India : ...They know the pulse of their audience and they ensure that the focus never shifts from the hero. ... full review
Thumbs up, by Raghav Jaitly, Zee News : ...The Salman Khan-Anushka Sharma starrer packs all the ingredients of a blockbuster... full review
So-So, by Yatharth Chauhan, Desi Martini : ...Predictable, But So Was Lagaan, Right?... full review
So-So, by Manik Saggar, Desi Martini : ...Sultan is entertaining -- albeit formulaic -- cinema.... full review
So-So, by Josh, fullhyd.com : ... We've said this before about filmmaking - Show, Don't Tell. The very crux of creative work is to communicate an emotion or an idea by means of subtle craft. ... full review
So-So, Glamsham.com : ...What cringes SULTAN for a rational/reasonable viewer is the maker's complete surrender of novelty... full review
So-So, by Shubhra Gupta, indian express : ...This is an Eid gift from Salman Khan, Anushka Sharma... full review
So-So, by Surabhi Redkar, koimoi : ...Sultan’s character is interestingly built as he goes from being immature to focused to broken as life throws punches at him.... full review
So-So, by Saibal Chatterjee, NDTV : ...the cliched life lessons that the film offers are borderline passable. The length of the film - 170 minutes - isn't. ... full review
So-So, by Saumil Gandhi, Upper Stall : ...Not one visual that’s new, or an idea that’s not done before. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Ameet Bhuvan, Desi Martini : ...o much this isnt, so much it could have been... full review
Thumbs down, by Prerna Singh, Desi Martini : ...Nothing new to watch, only Salman Fans will love this one because, Salman.... full review
Thumbs down, by Suprateek Chatterjee, Huffington Post : ...Zafar — who is also credited with story, screenplay, and dialogues — makes it very clear that he isn’t interested in subtleties... full review
Thumbs down, by Namrata Joshi, The Hindu : ...The artificial divide of the interval renders the film into two distinct, disjointed halves. ... full review
ursgoodbadboy: watchd #Sultan.Epic.Now My Fav movie of All time. @aliabbaszafar bro U nailed it.personally I liked it way more than #BB.Go watch it pls.5/5
udayreddy14: I watched #Sultan movie... No word's to express ... Just say one word Hat's off to @BeingSalmanKhan
TrendsGraph: Whether You're A #Salman_Khan Fan Or Not, You Must Watch #Sultan https://t.co/VUPpHQTmzQ
tejaiconoclast: Sultan is an ammaazzingg Bhai show.Bhai rockss bigg time.aatt!!
SukeshMishra13: Saw Sultan with family. Thoroughly enjoyed the movie. Salman was superb so as Anushka
SpartanSikandar: Wah Wah Wah Wah Wah Wah Wah Wah Wah Wah wah wah TygaKiEx neend nahi ati to sultan dekho meray sath https://t.co/wh4Aqxkrrj
rokul88: Sultan is a brilliantly made film. Take a bow @BeingSalmanKhan for this out of the world performance !
ranausama1626: Believe Me Sultan is Awesome Movie Watch In Cinemas And Give 5/4 Star
preetsbatra: There are 3 kinds of movie: 1) GOOD 2) BAD 3) Salman Khan's Movie which is par excellence #SULTAN @BeingSalmanKhan , simply loved it ! ❤️
poonamdhillon: Congrats @BeingSalmanKhan @SultanTheMovie .Cant imagine any other actor being Sultan.Entertainment,Emotion,Excitement&Moral @aliabbaszafar
nixyyyyyy: #Sultan has been watched. Drama packed to perfection. Sallu, the only actor who'd get a thundering crowd response in Chennai after Rajini
Nav4Prince: However it was a pure delight to watch @BeingSalmanKhan on screen...he killed it♥Those dialogues..that comic timing
Nafee786: I've watched #sultan.Can't get over it. #Astonishingly #Unbelievable. #greatest movie #inspiring #fight #Tremendous Respect 4 #salman khan.
MAbbas_k: Awesome movie #Sultan
KohliMyJaan: Time to watch sultan again
KiraakSalmanFan: #Sultan Full To Paisa Wasool Movie :D https://t.co/GngdItn6R5
KdpKuldip: #Sultan #GreatStory #inspiration #hatsoftoSultan If you're not a Salman fan,you'll become #BeingHuman
JonaSallu: OMG! I am like SO happy that A came and said that #Sultan is such a great movie. Mr.Perfectionist’s opinion means SO much to me.
isaifrehman: #Sultan is a Must watch.
IncZack: Just saw #Sultan was hella LIT! Salman Khan is eternal bae, absolutely amazing, KING!!!!
iamsalmankafan: Now I'm a salmaniac+Anushkaholic after @SultanTheMovie. In the film Salman is Sultan but Anushka is soul of Sultan. https://t.co/2Ugwv7ZOX6
i_akashsemwal20: Awesome movie #Sultan https://t.co/x8DRBudoig
FilmCompanion: "It's Salman Khan as we know him. But cleverly layered." Watch our review of #Sultan on @thewire_in: https://t.co/wR3DlTA5xK
Divyatweet24: Speechless!#Sultan is a different level of cinematic experience @BeingSalmanKhan take a bow
DasaniyaArjun: Awesome Movie 'SULTAN' @BeingSalmanKhan wons the heart with his acting & hardwork towards his physique. https://t.co/BWhaq6CCAH
CAPKChauhan: Awesome Sultan...
bin_samak: the best movie ever done by salman khan is #Sultan #SultanKiEidi
BeingJasmeen: Salman Khan did SULTAN so perfect. His naughty attitude made me laugh
beingcool19: That 5sec Scene where Salman has to survive the first round. At that time i was just praying plz plz hold on. Thats the connection. #Sultan
BebosBaby: #Sultan is actually good
Atul_psingh: This time, he isn't #ChulbulPandey or #Bodygaurd or #Prem or #Radhe. This one is brand new. He is #Sultan. #bhaikimovie @SalmanKhan_
Atiq160Test: Sultan was a top class movie by @BeingSalmanKhan . Really enjoyed it. #Different Story #ClassActing
AkshitaAgrawa14: Saw sultan yesterday! An award winning performance from salman khan
2014glamour: SULTAN REVIEW: YET ANOTHER BLOCKBLUSTER BY SALMAN KHAN - https://t.co/oMLEbR5x3Y https://t.co/illGuL2UXT
ahmedjibran7: Story is good but still a typical salman movie.Salman could have acted a little better.Anushka is awesome in every frame. #Sultan
YouDontKnowWho_: Lmao any other actor and Sultan would have bombed. Shit is like Brothers reloaded. So cheesy.
travelport123: #Sultan totaly crap movie....a big boring and slow movie..worst acting by salman...stay away such a pakoww movie..
SharathVS: 2) Never book tickets in the centre of the row. Because you won't be able to run for your life while you see a movie. #Sultan
RahulNotAGandhi: Just saw #Sultan . Let's just say it's Salman's best movie in recent times. It is also by far the worst movie to come out in 2016.
newslaundry: Is it riveting? Not by a long shot. Read our review of Sultan by @dpanjana here: https://t.co/14QtALOdV8
ASK_Sherwani: #Sultan boringg sii haii..!! very much predictable...
This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.
Parental Guidance:
- Violence: Loads of wrestling matches
- Language: Clean
- Nudity & Sexual content: None
- Concept: That of an underdog doing all in his might to win his lover over.
- General Look and Feel: Crisp and not as bright as you would expect a Salman Khan film would be.
![[Facebook page of Sultan]](/static/images/icons/facebook_small.png){kind=icon}
![[Twitter account of Sultan]](/static/images/icons/twitter_small.png){kind=icon}
![[YouTube channel of Sultan]](/static/images/icons/youtube_small.png){kind=icon}
![[Wikipedia page of Sultan]](/static/images/icons/wiki_small.png){kind=icon}
![[IMDB Page of Sultan]](/static/images/icons/imdb_small.png){kind=icon}
Comments (19)
The biggie season is being kicked (pun intended) off.
The trailer did not do any wonders for me, and I would not be incorrect to say that the trailer even put me off going to watch the film. The songs too have not yet grown on me after having heard all of them a couple of times.
So basically: I am not getting that palpitation feeling expected at the launch of a Salman Khan film. To the contrary I am getting a mixed feeling that this Sultan is going to lose the fight. But then, it's early days to write-off a Salman Khan film however mundane the trailer might look.
My mind says to wait for the initial word of mouth to come before heading for the theatre, but the (filmi) heart says that buy the first day tickets as soon as they go on sale. And I know who is going to win in this fight of heart and mind.
Music,Cinematography,Locations Screenplay,Editing,Action is "Fabulous". It has beautiful sweet emotional story of a man wins world. Overall Sultan is complete entertainer film. Sultan 1st half is engaging, lots of funny moments, action ,& emotional angle. 2nd half is very predictable but screenplay is tight.Overall its must a watch film after long period of time.
Two things. First is - my opinion of the film. Second is - what I believe will be the public acceptance of the film
For my appreciation - it is an alright masala film, slightly above average. Lots of flaws but can be ignored under the cinematic licence granted to Salman Khan.
For the public reception of the film - I am convinced that this has
B L O C K B U S T E R
written all over it. As we are reminded in the film that in sports nothing sells more than a home team ( or champion) beating the hell out of the visiting team, so it is in films. Nothing works more than your home grown hero beating the hell out of the pretenders. I can imagine how the non metro circuits would burst into applause and whistles with each Sultan throw at his opponent.
As regards the predicability aspect, I am sufficiently grown up to realise that no where in the world has a sports based film be made where the lead actor/team loses a critical match.
Performance wise I found Salman extremely subdued and down to earth. Welcome change. Are also missing the one liners usually associated with his recent films. I did find him old and fat. He should stop playing a 30 year old; doesn't work. The topless moment is there but not in your Rambo type scene. Anushka looked a misfit for the role. The actor who played Govind did impress me.
Finally, @Meeta : the film was not repeated twice. It was repeated once only. :-)
Right from the promos to the posters, Sultan was surely never gonna be in the Bodyguard/Kick range, which were more of dumbed down masala entertainers catering to blind Salman fanatics alone. Sultan is in the Bajrangi Bhaijaan range, a movie catering to a completely universal target audience, right from the the gold class audiences of metros to the single screens of towns. MEGA BLOCKBUSTER
The movie has earned 38 cr on day 1. As per trends :
if word of mouth is 90%+ : 360-400 cr
if wom is 80% : 320-360 cr
if wom is 70% : 280-320 cr
if wom is 60% : 240-280 cr
if wom is 50% : 200-240 cr
Even with a 50% word of mouth the movie would still cross 200 cr. I suppose it would be somewhere around the 70-80% mark which means a 300+ finish. Don't think it can garner as much goodwill as Bajrangi Bhaijaan. Salman however, has once again proved his ability to give record grossers even with negative wom's, like he did with bodyguard and ett. His criminal background and notorious record notwithstanding, he is Hindi cinema's biggest superstar since Amitabh Bachchan. No question about that!
The positive wom will be more than 50%. Plus the spiral success from pan - India will fuel further footfalls. Add to that a clean family entertainer tag.
Commercially i don't see how this one can fail.
I love your quick review, didnt feel the need to read the rest of the review... But did anyway. Well written
Inflation adjusted collections for Salman starrers over the last 6 years :
Dabangg (2010) : 280-300 cr
Bodyguard (2011) : 210-225 cr
Ready (2011) : 190-200 cr (non holiday)
ETT (2012) : 240-250 cr
Dabangg 2 (2012) : 200 cr
Kick (2014) : 240 cr
Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015) : 335 cr
Lets see how Sultan fares in comparison to these.
Salman is back, but some Khans will need controversy to promote their films whereas, some are struggling to release their films.
Sultan works and works well, thanks to its unadulterated entertainment that would find favor among the urban and mass audience alike. ALL TIME BLOCKBUSTER. I expect this to surpass PK & Bajrangi Bhaijaan with ease.
http://simplebollywoodreviewer.blogspot.in/2016/07/sultan-review-strong-relationship-drama.html
#Sultan | The director has worked on the backdrop. Anushka Sharma's training is paying off. It's a long film though. #Sultan | What's a Bollywood film without cliches. This one is also not devoid of them. Salman Khan's superstardom is at work though. From Haryana to London to Delhi, #Sultan travels places. Randeep Hooda's powerful presence ups the thrill quotient. #Sultan | Aditya Chopra's screenplay is the best thing about this film. Freestyle fight choreography is another good thing.
@Aparna Thank you! Glad it served the purpose :D
Superb Film.I really loved the film.Music,Cinematography,Screenplay,Editing,Action are "Very Good". Definitely Sultan Is a BLOCKBUSTER Movie
I liked watching Sultan movie. Salman Khan, Randeep Hooda are good. And this movie is hard work for the team. Music is also good especially the song Jag ghoomeya.
Now we have bogus box office websites well known for fabricating and fudging numbers passing judgements on the so-called television "disasters" like Airlift, Neerja and Kapoor & Sons :
http://boxofficeindia.com/report-details.php?articleid=2172
The kind of sources are the antithesis for the cozy club of elites & pseudo intellectuals who make icons out of the likes of Anurag Kashyap and Vishal Bharadwaj. Factually, both sides of the spectrum are detrimental to an analysis based on facts and figures. Now someone needs to tell these dimwits at boxofficeindia that television viewership is not restricted to the Star Gold's and Set Max's of the world in today's age. Viewers who watch Airlft or Kapoor & Sons on Tata Sky/Airtel Digital TV would obviously not catch up with them on Star Gold. And there is NO measure of TRP's for films releasing on digital TV. Not even by the bogus fudgers calling themselves "boxofficeindia". I'm quite surprised why no one from within the industry has taken this website to court in the last 13 years since its inception. No wonder even the ever so manipulative Taran Adarsh has more credibility and followers than this joke of a website called "boxofficeindia.com" who claim to be the know it all of Bollywood since the last 6 decades, be it collections or footfalls. What more amusing is that there are viewers who're willing to take their lies at face value!
When boi.com released exaggerated figures, a commenter copied and pasted their content, now he is trolling them. Take a stand and maintain it and do not move like those in need of Risperidone.
[comment deleted because it is a personal attack]
This person who is obsessed with a particular star, keep it up. BOI fan in PK era, BOI enemy in Sultan era. The fact is PK will still thrash all your hero's films.
I personally liked it very much. It was a good entertainer
Leave a Comment