'Sulthan' is out in the theatres from today (April 2). Reportedly made on a budget of Rs 50 Cr, this Dream Warrior Pictures product has released in Telugu amid okay expectations. Is the film worth a watch? Here we tell you.
Story
Vikram aka Sulthan (Karthi) is a Robotics Engineer who takes up the task of reforming the henchmen of his gangster-father (Napolean). In this endeavour, he and the rowdies, whom he sees as loyal brothers, have to live in a village where the oppressed have been barred from practising agriculture. There, Sulthan falls in love with Rashmika Mandanna's character. The rest of the film is about how Sulthan transforms the rowdies, besides solving the village's issues.
Performances
Karthi reserves his best acting for the serious moments of the film. There is situational houmour involving him, the heroine and Yogi Babu. Rashmika Mandanna's Tamil-language debut with this film doesn't go in vain. She is cute as a village woman and in traditional costumes. Lal, the Malayalam actor who was seen in 'Saaho', is a plus.
Arjai, Kamaraj, Napolean, Hareesh Peradi and others fit the bill.
Technical aspects
If the songs are by Vivek-Mervin (and they don't linger after the movie is over), the BGM is by Yuvan Shankar Raja, who is effective in terms of how he handles the more important blocks. It seems director Bakkiyaraj Kannan's brief played a key role in how he approached the background score. Sathyan Sooryan's cinematography is another plus.
Analysis
Writer-director Kannan, whose debut film 'Remo' bombed at the Telugu box-office, this time comes equipped with a sincere script. Karthi, who has surprised everyone with atypical choices like 'Khakee' and 'Khaidi' in recent years, once again proves that he is up for masala scripts that make a lot of sense as well.
As the film begins, we are introduced to how the father of the yet-to-be-born hero is trapped in gangsterism. Many years later, when he visits his father before leaving for Japan to set up a robotics company, Sulthan realizes that all is not well with the lives of his father and the rowdies. A mother's wailing moves him and he goes on a reformist path.
As a storyline, 'Sulthan' gives a bang for the buck. The interval block and the emotional moments in the second half are narrated in a resounding way.
The romantic track is decent, but the songs do act as a hindrance.
A drawback is that 'Sulthan' is at least 150 minutes long. Some of the scenes look quite stretched. After a point, the film looks somewhat overwrought, especially the mixing of the themes of non-violence and farming. There could have been more laughs perhaps.
Closing Remarks
'Sulthan' makes for a good 'masala' watch. There is so much of Tamil nativity, but the Telugu audience may not dislike it.
