Review of Sultan of Delhi: Tahir Raj Bhasin is unable to save this noisy, clichéd gangster drama

Review of Sultan of Delhi: The post-partition Mumbai-set OTT debut film from director Milan Luthria is rife with ridiculous clichés and lacklustre suspense.

Although filmmakers may now be exercising their stereotyped tendencies in the web series format, their audience’s patience has undoubtedly run out. The same cliches, pointless skin show, and fixation with criminals have now become so predictable that one can guess the outcome of a disclosure even before it happens.

For Milan Luthria, the creator of the powerful Once Upon a Time television series Expectations for Sultan of Delhi, the new series based on Arnab Ray’s 2016 book of the same name, were high in Mumbai ten years ago. Unfortunately, everything collapses in a sad mess.

Tahir Raj Bhasin alone cannot redeem the terrible storytelling, which is all show and no substance.

The Trial, which was another misstep of a different kind, and Sultan of Delhi, which is co-directed by Milan Luthria and Suparn S Verma, begin with promise and abandon. We are introduced to Arjun (Ricky Patel), who must watch as his family is brutally murdered during Partition. Together with his father (Bijay Anand), he makes it through the night and makes it to Delhi. It’s a fresh start for him moving forward.

However, the scenes set at the refugee camp serve more as a narrative tick list than an explanation of how Arjun had to learn how to exist in this world. In the blink of an eye, a decade has passed, and Arjun is now known to us as a mechanic. Tahir Raj Bhasin enters with a dapper demeanour and perfectly coiffed hair.

He quickly begins working for Jagan Seth (Vinay Pathak) and establishing himself as a formidable commander. When you inquire as to why, you are given a ridiculously staged illegal ammo trade that involves numerous pointless police officer killings. If you ask why again, you will not receive an answer. As more episodes air, it becomes clear that the questions are best left outdoors.

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Rajinder Pratap Singh (Nishant Dahiya), an aristocratic brat who would be better off dealing with his own daddy issues, is Arjun’s adversary in this film. He is helped by Shankari, the deceitful mistress played by Anupriya Goenka. She is possibly the most quickly written character in a show that just isn’t interested in comprehending them, dressed in bizarre, provocative clothing.

Midway through the performance, Mouni Roy is introduced as a cabaret dancer at a Calcutta nightclub in a completely pointless piece. A few moments later, this leads to a preposterous bank heist sequence. Arjun reveals his nude body in front of a thug to demonstrate his commitment in yet another bizarre scene. The show settles for the worst clichés to further its plot while also having an irritating sense of location and politics of the historical period. The brilliant activism of filmmaker Roy Babu, who pulls off bank heists that he characterises as revolt, is one such example.

With no room to develop his character in the midst of such tedious narrative work, Tahir Raj Bhasin has little to do. Each character is portrayed in the manner in which the audience believes them to be—in broad, stereotyped strokes devoid of any nuance. These environments lack commitment and a long-term desire to maintain them. After nine episodes, one stops caring. This is a terrible rendition that only just manages to save face with its trite conclusion.

Stars:

Tahir Raj Bhasin, Mouni Roy, Anjum Sharma, Vinay Pathak, Anupriya Goenka, Nishant Dahiya, Harleen Sethi

Director:

Milan Luthria

From October 13, Sultan of Delhi may be watched on Disney+ Hotstar.