In one of the scenes in Pehlwaan, a character mouths a dialogue in which he says, “Short and crisp”. Well, we hope that filmmaker Krishna concentrated on making his movie also short and crisp as after a point it looks like a never-ending film. Kichcha Sudeepa, Suniel Shetty and Aakanksha Singh starrer Pehlwaan is a movie that should have released in the 90s or in early 2000 as in 2019; we wonder if the movie will have many takers.
An orphan Krishna (Kichcha Sudeepa) is brought up by a man named Sarkar (Suniel Shetty). Sarkar has a dream that Krishna gets a medal for India in wrestling and even Krishna’s dream is the same. But soon, things change when Krishna falls in love. The movie moves forward with the done and dusted formula that we watched on the big screen in the 90s.
Pehlwaan is a Kannada film and it is also hitting the screens in Hindi (dubbed version). While it might work down South in India because of the whole massy-entertainer feel to it, we wonder if it will be able to do well in the Hindi belt. However, we cannot ignore that the audience down South is also evolving. The film clearly looks inspired by many Bollywood movies. It will remind of movies like Sultan, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, Brothers, and also Sairat (Marathi film) in a few scenes.
Let’s forget the flaws in the storyline and narration, and think that director Krishna just wanted to make a massy-action flick, but what about the length then. The songs and action sequences are so long that you start getting bored.
Talking about performances, Kichcha Sudeepa is the saving grace of the film. He has done a great job and this movie will be a treat for his fans. We are sure the actor’s fans will enjoy the movie a lot. Suniel Shetty is very good in his role, and though he plays a father figure to Kichcha’s character in the film, the veteran actor looks hotter than Sudeepa. Aakanksha Singh is good in whatever role she has to play. Kabir Singh Duhan as the bad guy Tony leaves a mark and Sushant Singh fails to impress.
Overall, if you are a Kichcha Sudeepa fan, you can watch Pehlwaan once, otherwise, just skip this boring-long film.
Ratings: 2/5
Watch the trailer here…
Migrants in a dinghy crossing the English Channel
Sunder Katwala