Tamil commercial films are often about the three Fs: family, farmers, and far-fetched action.
‘Sulthan’ has all three intact. It is about a non-blood family that is composed of more than 50 men with a kingpin named Sulthan (Napolean). They form a parallel government in town. Karthi is the son of Sulthan.
Karthi’s mission is to undo everything that his father has done and teach the men not to be violent. As Karthi walks in the steps of his late father, he realises that not taking to arms is not that easy.
This film has a ‘Godfather’ clone story. This doesn’t mean that the movie isn’t enjoyable. For an audience that wants to see stunts, sentiments and songs, this is the right movie.
However, even by commercial cinema standards, the film lacks imagination. The story-telling could have been better. As usual, the heroine’s role is to shower praises on the hero. She soon gets sidelined. Comedian Yogi Babu is in great form and is the film’s saving grace.
There is a reason why movies like ‘KGF’ become big hits. The director thinks out-of-the-box even in a mainstream space and connects emotionally with the crowd. That’s what is missing in this film. ‘Sulthan’ wastes an interesting storyline.