By Rajesh Ahuja New Delhi, July 7 (UNI) Biopics seem to be the flavour of the season. After 'Azhar', a biopic on former Indian test captain Mohammed Azharrudin, this week has witnessed the release of 'Sultan',a biopic on life of Olympian wrestler Sultan Ali khan. 'Sultan' is the story of Sultan Ali Khan(Salman Khan),an immature young man whose love for Haryana’s famous female wrestler Aarfa (Anushka Sharma) inspires him to become an Olympic level wrestler to win her affection. Sultan is a young man who is highly immature for his age. However for Sultan, who runs a cable business, love at first sight moment changes his life. After a chance meeting with Aarfa, Haryana’s famous female wrestler, Sultan falls for her and tries every trick in the book to woo her. He soon learns that she will only marry a wrestler who has competed beyond the state level and that becomes the motto of his life. Sultan trains himself to be worthy of her and to stand tall in his own eyes. With his physical as well as mental strength, Sultan goes on to create milestones and even wins at the Olympics. He even marries Aarfa. The film is about his struggles and ups and downs that sultan experiences in his life in his journey with Aarfa. The film is about Sultan’s rise, fall and rise! Essaying the life of the Olympian wrestler was a challenge for Salman who has till now charmed cinegoers with portrayals of a 'die hard romantic' or the'brawny' action hero. However, for all the naysayers who said that the actor can not carry off a real life portray, Salman's effortless act as the 'immature' Sultan Khan whose love for Aarfa makes him rise to become an Olympic medal winning wrestler is a fitting reply. For, Salman portrays the ups and downs in Sultan khan's life - his rise from an immature man to become an Olympic medal winning wrestler though his sheer focus, his downfall brought by his arrogance, his heartbreak and threafter his rise again - with a rare deftness. Salman has made an effort to develop his body to a level that he looks every bit the wrestler that he portrays. It would not be wrong to say that this is Salman's career best performance. He seems comfortable in the romantic sequences as well as in action and emotional scenes. As the female wrestler Aarfa who is the inspiration behind Sultan's rise, Anushka does an able job. She shows the required spunk and aggression required of a wrestler, and is equally at ease in the emotional scenes. Though they are working together for the first time, there is an excellent chemistry between her and Salman. Together they rock the screen. As Sultan's coach Randeep Hooda has done a brilliant job. The sort of the film is gripping and keeps the viewer engaged. The fight sequences and the wrestling bouts are nail biting and keep one on the edge of the seat. In terms of direction, Ali Abbas Zafar has done a competent job, building up the story at the required pace. He has also realistically portrayed the life of the Olympian wrestler without resorting to excessive drama. The scenes of the small town 'akhadas' seem to be drawn from real life. The music of the film is not much to talk about though some songs are good. In short,'Sultan' is an entertaining biopic- a perfect eid weekend watch for fans of Salman Khan. Rating; 4/5 ( one for story, one for direction, one for screenplay and one for performances by Salman and Anushka and their rocking chemistry). UNI AR CJ ADG 1020