A love-story flowering in a film dealing with wrestling is the most unexpected factor you witness in this Eid release from the Aditya Chopra stable. But then it is a Yashraaj film and you are not allowed to forget this till the last frame.

‘Sultan' has many firsts that make it worth going all the way to the theatre to watch it with the entire family.

One- its a loveable Jat connect. After Kangana Ranaut's 'Tanu weds Manu Returns' this is another film that would swell the chest of the Haryanvi Jat with pride as its language,it's culture and its ruggedness win the hearts of viewers all across the country.



But the Haryana connect with sports is not news anymore.What is the special Aditya Chopra factor is this lethal combination of brawn with women's emancipation.

Salman Khan as Sultan an ordinary man commuting on his scooter, fixing cable connections in Rewari in Haryana thinks he has won the battle when he beats three wrestlers in the Akhada run by the father of Aarfa (Anushka Sharma) like everyone else in the theatre filled with Salman fans.Being a wrestler herself she is sufficiently impressed and goes on to marry him.

But that is only half the story.This Haryanvi girl teaches him why his expectation of a son is unfair even though it is justified by the cause of blood donation later on,why women need their space for growth and their fierce independence.In the tough badlands of Jat ldominated Haryana taking such a stand is not easy.



Thankfully for Salman fans that does not mean it is a film about Khap panchayats,social issues or caste conflicts.It remains a film purely about personal relationships having gone sour. It has shades of 'Guide' where a man gets so carried away by the world of fame and adulation (there it is for his wife Waheeda Rehman) that he forgets he also has some personal commitments after getting married.

The breakdown in this relationship comes when she loses her newborn child as Salman is fighting for a title in a bout on the day the child is scheduled to be born.

It's not an ego clash like Abhimaan. It's a question of priorities for a man and woman.But that breakup kills the soul of 'Sultan' the fighter who looks tough from outside.



Ultimately he returns to the ring once again not to win titles but to win over his estranged wife who has not forgiven him for deserting her at a time when she needed him most.It is a daring film for Salman fans who watch him portraying a paunchy 40 plus hero trying to regain a title in a field where fitness and alacrity are the basic factors that make a winner.

But Salman is at that stage of his life where he has to take the big risks to get over the various controversies surrounding him which keep mounting with every passing day.

And for once here is a Salman film with a story, a film that does not depend on his star status for crossing the 100 crore mark. In fact,for the first time we see Salman the actor merge his personality in the role written and directed by Ali Abbas Zafar and scripted by Aditya Chopra.

Salman Khan is a winner all the way once again, which is not a surprise.But he has to share the credits for this with Anushka Sharma playing the role of a fragile-looking wrestler with a mind of her own.This love story of a married couple tags at your heartstrings and some of the songs will haunt you.

And not to forget, as the audience walks out teary-eyed from the theatre they will never be able to forget the cameo played by the newcomer Anand Sharma as the side-kick of Salman whose typical Haryanvi dialect gets the thumbs up from the audiences who have already given their verdict in the first days of the release of the film.

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AMITABH SRIVASTAVA