Sulthan movie review: Karthi’s ‘mass’ entertainer is immensely enjoyable

3.5/5

In a ‘mass’ film that has over 100 goons, you would think that it would be packed with slow-motion action scenes and endless stabbings and fights that would drag on a pointless narrative. Sulthan’s director Bakkiyaraj Kannan too would have taken that into account and instead gives the audience exactly the opposite with this surprisingly well-made entertainer that has action, romance and most importantly a story with depth.

The film begins with the birth of Vikram aka Sulthan (Karthi), whom his mother claims would help anyone who comes to him, unlike the rest of her extended family comprising goons that follow the “eat, sleep, kill, repeat” mantra. Sulthan is raised by this family of rowdies, but he somehow does not follow their path. Following the death of his father and the planned encounter to finish off all the goons by the police, Sulthan decides to take up the task of reforming the ruffians in six months and moves to a village with them. The problem is that Sulthan is unaware, that the village is terrorised by another goon whom his father had promised to kill. Will he achieve what he set out for or will he lose his family forever in the process?

Karthi as Sulthan has a great time with the role, which apart from the action scenes banks more on the character’s softer side – be it while cracking jokes with the goons, chastising them as a younger brother or wooing the village belle Rukmani (Rashmika Mandanna) without much luck. Bakkiyaraj also uses the ‘mass’ sequences sparingly in the first half, but to great effect when he does employ the trope. The romance between Sulthan and Rukmani though feels weak and Rashmika has very limited scope to perform apart from those redundant expressions.

The way how Bakkiyaraj packaged the film deserves a lot of credit; it’s a story where the audiences can figure out the end but the clever twists and teases – especially the ones featuring the power-hungry goon within the family – makes it an enjoyable experience. Even action scenes come with its dose of humour, never wearing down the viewers. For instance, one particular fight scene has Sulthan clashing those sent to kill him but quietly so as not to wake up the 104 goons sleeping all around him. There’s even a hilarious bit when the goons wake up unconsciously as they catch the scent of blood like zombies.

The film’s story also works because it’s not often that hooligan characters are given ample scope to perform comedy. Lal as Mansoor, Yogi Babu as Otta Lorry, Pyaakara Kaalayan as Samarasan and Giant Zanjeer as Gada all put up memorable performances to keep Sulthan rolling along. That’s not the say that the movie doesn’t have its faults. Sulthan’s ending does seem a bit abrupt and the corporate villain angle is also unconvincing. But these can be overlooked as the makers themselves don’t give them as much importance and keep the focus solely trained on Sulthan and his family.

With pleasing songs that add colour to the masala film and a good mix of humour, action and message, Sulthan packs a surprisingly effective punch that gets the job done, entertainingly so.