‘Aisa nai hota’: Salman Khan’s Sultan a mixed bag, says wrestler

Akhadas and films don’t mix. When they do, it becomes awkward. Like it was for Satpal.

The two-time Olympic medallist who is Sushil Kumar’s mentor and father-in-law had agreed to watch Sultan -- the Salman Khan flick -- with sons Luv and Kush Sehrawat.

Satpal, who looked out of place in Connaught Place’s Odeon cinema, remembered how he was beaten at the age of 13 by mentor Guru Hanuman for watching ‘King Kong’.

“Bahut joote maare the guruji ne. Teen din to sar soojha tha mera (He thrashed me a lot. My head was swollen for three days). But it was good; I never watched another movie,” he recalled. “You see a lot of women doing things. You get desires and lose focus. I achieved everything while following Brahmacharya (celibacy). That’s why we don’t encourage disciples to watch movies.”

Listen to a wrestler talking about Salman’s moves in Sultan here:

Kush chipped in with an anecdote, and it turned out that it was his first time in Connaught Place. “Nobody will believe this, but it is true,” said Satpal. The film started, but Satpal was already fidgety as the seat was uncomfortable for one of the youngest Hind Kesaris of his time. Hands on the head, one could see, he did not enjoy films.

When the wrestling shots began to roll, the eyes were on the screen. “Ultiputhi (back salto) usne bahut acchi lagaayi. Bilkul pehelwano ki tarah (his technique was like a trained wrestler),” he said.

But a few things were way off. “Akhade ki mitti jaise dikhaayi hai waise nahi hoti (he meant it looked coarse).” The mitti in the akhada is mixed with mustard oil, turmeric and mehendi (henna) to make it softer. They show grass near the akhada, a cardinal sin, as it portrays bad times. “There are girls training in the same akhada as boys, a strict no-no.” The song-and-dance sequences make Satpal and Kush squirm, and they try to look away. Salman becomes a wrestler to win over his lady love, and that doesn’t go down well with the boys. His wrestling shots, too, are few.

From nobody, Salman transforms into the Haryana state champion, beats a wrestler double his weight, wins gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2010 and gold at the Asian Games and London Olympics. The grin on Satpal’s face says it all. In real life, it takes a lifetime to get near a major international medal.

“These things will happen as it is a film; they need to have some masala or a song for fans. Otherwise, the film will fail. But the way he gets up and beats his opponent in the gold medal fight after getting plastered all over the mat was too much...aisa nahi hota (doesn’t happen like this),” he said.

But Satpal gave credit to Salman for trying to look authentic. “It will be unfair to judge him as a wrestler, because he is not. He did look the part in the wrestling shots. All in all, it was okay for me.”