Best film of 2016. Review on Sultan

In Sultan, director Ali Abbas Zafar draws an enchanting portrait of a Haryanvi wrestler who, in his rather arduous quest for infinite glory, loses a piece of his soul somewhere along the way. As Sultan, Salman is clearly in riveting form, giving us a faulty, layered person whom we can all empathise with and relate to. The scenes in which he grapples with various opponents throughout the film are exquisitely well-shot and pulsate with a certain raw energy that is hard to describe. The biggest strength of Sultan, however, lies in the tender, beautiful romance that its lead couple shares - it's awkward, heart wrenching and exhilarating all at the same time. Both Salman and Anushka share electrifying chemistry - the latter does some of her best work here - and this helps elevate their on-screen relationship to unprecedented levels of loveliness. At its heart, Sultan is a very simple tale - much of it is indeed mired in the oldest of storytelling cliches - albeit one that's told with a lot of heart. For the die-hard romantic that lurks somewhere deep inside each one of us, there is beauty to be found in banality.