Salman's day at work, finally through

Rating: 7/10 (16 July 2016)

As an Indian, I have grown up seeing Salman on the screen, and off the screen in newspapers, often in some quagmire. I am not a fan, and for quite a while, he has been a synonym of bad cinema in my mind. For a while, he has been the face I associate with mediocrity and formula-based Bollywood film fraternity. This movie may be his redemption.
In fact, redemption is a major theme of this movie. The way Salman begs forgiveness is endearing and enduring, leaving you to wonder whether it was meant for us, as an audience, who know some of the hardships of his real life.
The movie is a fictional biopic of a champion wrestler. It's a film focusing on the sport, but the story twinges with the ordinariness of a simplistic make. It's a tailor made story for Salman, and he knows all too well how to excel at such kinds of simple-minded, gritty and human characters as Sultan Ali Khan.
The film was long, but quite believable. There are some 'usual' cheeky dialogues, but some are quite good, and not at all outlandish. And then there are the usual hiccups, like becoming a state champion in a month, Anushka being all thin and slim while being a state champion, and Salman being all muscular even before training. But I didn't expect even half of what I got from a Salman Khan movie. Anushka was comfortable being pretty and unforgiving, and I didn't feel she lived up to her role. It is basically a Salman Khan show, and others are pretty much in the background (that is something I would like Bollywood to change, and make more in-depth cinema).
One thing that I find is a good judge of whether I liked a movie or not is whether I remember some of its dialogues afterwards. Here are a few:
"I may have given up wrestling, but I never gave up persevering. I am alive, and kicking!"
"Sometimes you need to get insulted, before you are ready to earn respect."