Sulthan (2021 film)

Sulthan
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Bakkiyaraj Kannan
Produced by	S. R. Prakash Babu S. R. Prabhu
Written by	Bakkiyaraj Kannan
Dialogue by	Arul Kumar Rajasekaran Hariharasuthan Thangavelu
Starring	Karthi Rashmika Mandanna
Music by	Score: Yuvan Shankar Raja Songs: Vivek-Mervin
Cinematography	Sathyan Sooryan
Edited by	Ruben
Production company	Dream Warrior Pictures
Release date	2 April 2021 (2021-04-02)
Running time	155 minutes
Country	India
Language	Tamil
Box office	₹36 crore

Sulthan is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language action drama film written and directed by Bakkiyaraj Kannan, produced by S. R. Prakash Babu and S. R. Prabhu under the banner Dream Warrior Pictures. The film stars Karthi and Rashmika Mandanna, marking the latter's debut in Tamil cinema. Napoleon, Lal, Yogi Babu, Ramachandra Raju, and Nawab Shah play supporting roles. The film features the score by Yuvan Shankar Raja with songs composed by Vivek–Mervin. The cinematography and editing were handled by Sathyan Sooryan and Ruben respectively. The film was released on 2 April 2021 in Tamil and Telugu languages.

Synopsis

Vikram a.k.a. Sulthan is a motherless child is raised by a group of hardened criminals who work for his father Sethupathi. He loves these 100 men as brothers but despises their taste for violence. Following Sethupathi's death, the responsibility to take care of these men falls on Sulthan's shoulders. That is when he decides to transform the men and teach them to live as civilized people. It is a Herculean task, but the loyalty and the love that these men have towards Sulthan gives him a fighting chance.

Sulthan aims to keep his brothers safe from the police operation, which is trying to rid Chennai of rowdyism. Mansoor, Sethupathi's right-hand, is the present leader of the gang. He takes the gang to the village to kill Jayaseelan, a gangster who has been hurting the people of the village to not practice agriculture. Mansoor says that he has to do the task as Sethupathi had promised the people before his death. Mansoor tells Sulthan a lie about Otta Lorry's marriage proposal to go to the village. Sulthan decides to take the entire entourage to the village in a bid to keep them away from trouble. On reaching, the people of the village are told that Sulthan should believe their visit to be a marriage proposal. On seeing Otta Lorry's so-called proposal, Sulthan falls in love with Rukmani actually the daughter of the village head. How Sulthan defeats Jayaseelan forms the rest of the movie.

Cast

• Karthi as Vikram a.k.a. Sulthan
• Rashmika Mandanna as Rukmani "Rukku"
• Lal as Mansoor
• Napoleon as Sethupathi, Vikram's father
• Ramachandra Raju as Jayaseelan
• Nawab Shah as Corporate Company Owner
• Giant Zanjeer as Gada
• Abhirami as Annalakshmi, Vikram's mother (special appearance)
• Ponvannan as Rukmani's father (Village head)
• Yogi Babu as Otta lorry
• Sathish as Shakthi, Vikram's friend
• Pykara Kaalayan as Samarasam
• Hareesh Peradi as Police Commissioner Manickavel
• M. S. Bhaskar as Advocate
• Arjai as Thalaya
• Singampuli as Villager
• Mayilsamy as Villager
• Nagineedu as Amrith Raj, Ministry of Mines
• Sendrayan as Mansoor's goon
• Sharat Kumar as Mansoor's goon
• G. Marimuthu as Villager (Negative Talker)
• Rama as Villager
• Sharath Ravi as Chittu Kuruvi, Kaveri's son, Mansoor's goon
• Senthi Kumari as Kaveri, Goon's mother
• M. Kamaraj as Michael
• Sangeetha V as Rukmani's relative
• Raja Rani Pandian as Police (cameo appearance)
• Prabhu as Karikaalan, Mansoor's goon
• Namo Narayana as Tehsildar

Production

Development

In October 2017, sources claimed that Karthi is reported to star in new film helmed by Bakkiyaraj Kannan, a former associate of Atlee, who directed the Sivakarthikeyan-starrer Remo (2016), and produced by K. E. Gnanavelraja of Studio Green. In January 2019, it was reported that S. R. Prabhu, one of the producers from Dream Warrior Pictures, had confirmed the project officially. It was reported that the film will go on floors, only after the actor's completion with Lokesh Kanagaraj's Kaithi (2019). On the very same month, it was reported that Rashmika Mandanna or Raashi Khanna will play the female lead; with Rashmika being signed in for the project in February 2019, making her debut in Tamil cinema.

In May 2019, sources reported that the film will be titled as Sulthan, although an official confirmation was not revealed from the producers. However, in August 2019, actress Rashmika accidentally revealed the title of the film without the consent of the filmmakers, which made the team upset. Rashmika later apologised to the makers and the rest of the team. The title Sulthan was previously associated with the shelved animated film, Sultan: The Warrior, which was to star Rajinikanth.

Filming

The project was officially launched on 13 March 2019, at the office of Dream Warrior Pictures, with the attendance of the film's cast and crew. After a brief shoot of the film being completed, a source claimed that the makers planned to shoot the film within a single schedule, with sets being erected in Chennai. The team successfully completed the first schedule in June 2019, and the makers planned for a second schedule of the film on 28 June 2019, with Karthi joining the sets on 10 July, post the completion of Jeethu Joseph's Thambi (2019). However, Rashmika revealed that the film's shoot is postponed to August, due to unknown reasons, although Karthi resumed the shooting of the film on 7 August 2019.

While the film's shooting undergone a brisk pace, the team was subjected to Hindutva outfits who disrupted the film's shoot at Malaikkottai in Dindigul on 24 September 2019. The protesters belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Hindu Munnani and the Hindu Makkal Katchi raised objections to the film's title Sulthan, who assumed to be based on the biopic of the 18th century ruler Tipu Sultan, and said that he had attacked Tamils during his rule. Later producer S. R. Prabhu revealed that the film is not based on a biopic, but a rural drama film. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in India, the film's last leg shoot along with post-production works came to a halt.

With the state government imposed guidelines, to resume the film shooting, the makers started the final leg of the shoot on 25 September 2020 at Chennai, instead of Dindigul. The film's shooting was completed on 8 October 2020.

Music

Sulthan
Soundtrack album by Vivek-Mervin
Released	24 March 2021
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Length	13:37
Language	Tamil
Label	Dream Warrior Pictures
Producer	Vivek-Mervin
Vivek-Mervin chronology
Dharala Prabhu (2020) Sulthan (2021)

The film score is composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja while the songs are composed by Vivek-Mervin. The lyrics were written by Viveka and Thanikodi. The first single track from the film titled "Jai Sulthan" was released on 11 February 2021, which was sung by Anirudh, Junior Nithya and Gaana Guna. The second single titled "Yaaraiyum Ivalo Azhaga" was sung by Silambarasan, with lyrics written by Viveka which released on 5 March 2021. The third single "Eppadi Iruntha Naanga", sung by Anthony Daasan, Mahalingam and Vivek Siva was released on 15 March 2021.

Initially Vivek and Mervin were reported to handle the film's background score. However, Bakkiyaraj opted Yuvan Shankar Raja to score music for the background and also credited in the film's trailer. It was noted that Vivek and Mervin had worked in the score for the film's teaser.

{{Track listing | title1 = Jai Sulthan | length1 = 4:06 | lyrics1 = Viveka | extra1 = Anirudh Ravichander, Junior Nithya, Gaana Guna | headline = Track listing | extra_column = Singer(s) | extra2 = Anthony Daasan, Mahalingam, Vivek Siva | extra3 = Silambarasan, Mervin Solomon | lyrics2 = [[Viveka (lyricist)|Viveka] | lyrics3 = [[Viveka (lyricist)|Viveka] | length2 = 4:58 | length3 = 4:31 | title2 = Eppadi Iruntha Naanga | title3 = Yaaraiyum Ivlo Azhaga | title4 = Pudhu Saththam | lyrics4 = Thanikodi | extra4 = Kailash Kher, Vivek Siva, Sameera Bharadwaj | length4 = 4:56 }}

Marketing and release

Sulthan was initially slated to release in 22 May 2020, but was delayed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was later scheduled to release on the occasion of Pongal (14 January 2021), clashing with Vijay's Master (2021). However, the makers did not confirm the release through the said date. In February 2021, the release date of the film was announced as 2 April 2021 to release in Tamil and along with the Telugu Version which is dubbed from the Tamil Version.

In March 2021, the producer S. R. Prabhu claimed that the film will release on the said date, despite being rumoured that the film may postpone due to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly elections as well as the rise in COVID-19 cases across Tamil Nadu. A grand pre-release event for the film was held on 24 March 2021 at Sathyam Cinemas in Chennai.

The film's Tamil version was released on Disney+Hotstar while its Telugu version was released on aha, the Tamil version was released on 2 May 2021 while the Telugu version released on 30 April 2021.

Reception

Manoj Kumar R of The Indian Express rated the film 4 stars of 5 and praised high production values and emotional content. "Director Bakkiyaraj Kannan’s solidity expands on the belief that men are naturally good," he wrote. Sirinivasa Ramanujam in his review for The Hindu called the it "engaging commercial film that combines two popular Tamil cinema’s ideas: rowdyism and farming."

Firstpost critic Ranjani Krishnakumar opined that the film "suffers from confused messaging with a dash of masala." Haricharan Pudipeddi of Hindustan Times compared Sulthan with other films with similar plotlines such as Ram Gopal Varma’s Sarkar, Mahesh Babu’s Maharshi and Kamal Haasan’s Thevar Magan. Pudipeddi stated that "In spite of borrowing from quite a few films, Sulthan still manages to engage and entertain, making it a highly predictable but fun action drama." Baradwaj Rangan of Film Companion South wrote "The writer-director doesn’t trust his premise. He wants to keep throwing in more, more, more."

External links

• Sulthan on IMDb