Champion

Star : Sunny Deol, Manisha Koirala, Kashmira Shah
Music: Anu Malik
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar
Action: Tinu Varma
Choreography: Ahmed Khan, Raju Sunderam
Cinematography: Thiru
Dialogue: Sanjay Masoom
Editing: S Kunder

After a few delays in its release date, Sunny Deol has returned to the big screen after a long gap with the action movie 'Champion'.

The film was originally supposed to release alongside 'Mohabbatein' and 'Mission Kashmir' during Dilwali, but its producers rightly decided do delay 'Champion' so it didn't have as much competition. Now that we have been starved of a great film since Diwali, is this what the audience are looking for?

Sunny's co-stars in 'Champion' include Manisha Koirala, Kashmira Shah and the model-turned-actor Rahul Dev.

The storyline focuses on a new cop who likes to think of himself as being 'tough as nails' and dreams about erasing all crime from the streets of India. It's a nice idea, but he soon learns that new boys on the block rarely get the grittiest police cases to deal with, and his dream might not come true as early as he predicted.

So, what exactly is his first job? He is assigned the task of looking after a young kid, which might not instantly sound like the type of case Sunny wants, but things are about to get more interesting and Sunny might just get the opportunity he was looking for to prove his talent.

This case becomes harder than it sounds because the police do not even know whom they are protecting the kid from! All they know is that the kid's billionaire parents were killed in a tragic air crash, but the reason why someone wanted them dead is a mystery. Is the same person who killed the parents now after the kid, after all he is the only heir to a vast fortune.

Manisha is a super model (but obviously not the Kate Moss variety!) who is very close to the rich kid and does not want to see him come to any harm. They rely on Sunny to protect them from danger, and its obviously the type of situation where people bond. Firstly Sunny and the kid, who suffer from hate at first site! Luckily they start getting to know each other and share a special bond. Then there is Sunny and Manisha, who decide to fall in love during all this chaos…HURRAY!

Surely with such close relationships, our trio manage to beat the baddie? Well, you'll need to watch the movie to find out!

Sunny Deol is back on top form with his performance in Champion. He is very convincing in his role and is easily the best thing about the film. His support are sound, although none of them really take your breath away. Manisha is okay, Rahul shows some promise, and the kid isn't too bad either.

The movie has some great action scenes, which have been done by Tinu Verma. This is definitely one of Sunny's strong points and he acts them out a treat.

Sunny Deol fans should like Champion, especially since they have not seen their hero for so long. As for the rest of us, the film has its fair share of weak points, but provides decent time pass. Not a bad effort.