Baadshah Pehlwaan (2019)

Director S Krishna blends drama, emotions & sportsmanship extraordinarily! The icing on the cake being Kiccha Sudeep & Suniel Shetty's towering acts. Megahit written all over it!

Director S Krishna deserves brownie points for narrating the story with flourish. The narrative style is simplistic, yet solid & that’s what catches your eye. Emotions are genuine, relatable, poignant & heartrending and the drama is spot-on. The strong emotional connect depicting the delicate father-son relationship is shown realistically. Wrestling sequences are superbly executed & will surely evoke whistles & applause. K Ravi Varma, Vijay, Ram Chella-Lakshman Chella & Larnell Stovall

The penultimate moments take the film to an all-time high, imparting the sheen and sparkle that it deserves. It is *not* similar to SULTAN. There’s a world of a difference between the two films that eye the same sport: Wrestling. So there! It stays true to the material, yet its efficient storyteller S Krishna along with screenplay writer D S Kannan ensures that the film connects with every segment of moviegoers. Most importantly, the film is seeped in Indian ethos. Kudos!

On the flip side, there is no novelty in the proceedings. Editing [Antony L Ruben] is deplorable. The boring romantic track eats most of the runtime. Also, the emotional angle of kids & Sushant Singh track test the patience of the audience. At a butt-numbing 2 hours and 46 minutes, the film feels way too long. Music [Arjun Janya] is plain ordinary but his background score effectually enhances the impact of the drama. Karunakar's cinematography deserves tremendous praise. WOW!

It is, undoubtedly, a Kiccha Sudeep show all the way. Yet another sterling act that doesn’t miss a beat! He takes giant strides as an actor & gives the film the much-needed power. He sports a cat-that-got-the-cream look all through. Magnificent! Another commanding performance that needs to be highlighted is that of Suniel Shetty. He compliments Kiccha Sudeep's character marvellously, displaying the varied emotions seamlessly. Aakanksha Singh injects freshness to her character. Brill! Kabir Duhan Singh is an actor to watch out for. First-rate performance! Sushant Singh is equally efficient, who shines in his part.

To sum up, the movie has everything to please its target audience. You'll exit the auditorium feeling ecstatic! Go, Watch it!