Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

The sheer joy of watching someones hard-work come to life on the screen is inspiring indeed. To portray Milkha Singh's struggle and achievements and his zeal to succeed at the world stage, required an equally earnest and dedicated effort by the filmmakers. This effort is reflected in Bhag Milkha Bhag, and is what makes the film commendable.

Farhan Akhtar's tough physical training for this role pays great dividends on screen. The races look pretty convincing because of Farhan's effort and soon you find yourself cheering for Milkha, if not loudly in the movie-hall then at-least in your head.

The non-linear narrative of the film keeps the movie engrossing, so although you know the basic outline of the story, you can't really guess what would happen next. The story is narrated by Milkha's coach Gurudev Singh played brilliantly Pavan Malhotra by who first recognizes the Milkha Singh's talent.

The women in Milkha Singh's life play a very important role, be it his elder sister (played by Divya Dutta)who single handedly brings Milkha up, or the love of his life (Sonam Kapoor) who is the reason why he changes his unruly ways. Although one must add, that the part where Milkha goes on a romp after a party with Stella(Rebecca Brooks) during the 1956 Melbourne Games does look a bit forced.

Some people may have qualms with the dance sequences but personally they were quite enjoyable and didn't jar the narrative. Keep an eye out for the song with Sonam Kapoor who plays Milkha Singh's love interest in the film. The shot with them both on top of a bridge with green, swiftly flowing water below was captured beautifully.

The director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has a signature style which is apparent like from his previous films- Rang De Basanti and Delhi-6. He can merge music and visuals to great effect. Although in some scenes a little bit of restraint in the stylistic details and drama could have certainly helped.

To emerge as a world leading athlete from India just after independence, when I suppose sports facilities weren't great, with the scars of the partition deep in his mind is some achievement. We salute you Milkha Singh! One must commend the efforts of the filmmakers to bring the story to us.

Few critics, few including Rediff ones whom I look for some good writing, have rated low to BMB. The reason they give is that movie lacks coherence and clarity. Really? I think they should only rate Hollywood movies because whoever thinks this movie is no good does not know what Hindi cinema is. Farhan has done an awesome job, and if I say awesome then it is not for his physique and dialogue delivery but for the transformation, he has gone to become Milkha Singh. We as an audience witness the physical stress and labor that an athlete as likes of Milkha Singh undergo to become a 'flying Sikh'. Hindi cinema celebrates the life of this living legend with songs and drama and music. Rakesh Om Prakash Mehra has done a decent job, still; I fell he could have done a lot better especially in the scenes of Milkha's childhood memories. His attempt of giving the movie an epic convention seriously affected the narrative portion. However, all this can be sided by the grandeur of Farhan's effort. I would like to mention a statement of one of the rediff users who wrote against critics who are undermining the effect of this movie: "note that 400mtrs is a very difficult race to run. it is at the border of quick races and long jogs. after partition India did not have either the experience nor the infra to produce runners for 400mtrs. So Milkha was a true champion in every sense. If critics pull films like these down for abstract reasons…we will forever have 20 goons flying in the air with one punch from one man. Grow up critics."

So true.

I would certainly be disappointed if this movie doesn't get nominated for the best foreign language film in the academy awards. Farhan Akhtar is like the epitome of dedication towards Milkha Singh's character. He was running like a pro. Cinematography was just amazing. Many shots were just breathtaking. Direction was just perfect and the casting was sensibly done. Parallel storytelling kept the movie balanced between Milkha Singh's life and his sports career. The trio of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy did their job as always.

But one of all, Farhan Akhtar rocked. He has always given his best in every field he has ever stepped in to. Respect for Farhan Akhtar, respect for Milkha Singh, the true hero.

I watched a Paid-Preview of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag last night and I was star-strucked by its fame watching the house-full crowd in the theater (as if it is the first day of the release). When I first watched its teaser in October last year and first trailer in January..it had me going since then, and now I am happy that my expectation was worth it.

BRIEF STORY & REVIEW SKETCH.

The film is about Milkha Singh and introspects his being through the eyes of Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. There are no twists or turns in the movie but its just a tale told on a clean slate. Film starts with a defeat in Olympics, carried on when Milkha refuses to visit Pakistan (has his valid reasons for doing so) but Pt. Nehru sends Milkha's latter and former coach to Chandigarh so that they can convince him for the tour. During the train-journey, Pavan Malhotra (former coach) reveals the story of Milkha Singh and his reason to not visit Pakistan to the other two gentlemen which unleashes an assiduous, interesting and penultimate story about the legend. This Sikh has been running his whole life, starting his first race for a glass of milk to the Olympics..and never ending. It reminds me of the great metaphor ' The race of Life'. Milkha Singh ran to save his life, to eat, to dream, for love, for country, for passion and to overcome his own personal fears, ''and what a run it was!''. BMB traces his scarred childhood, brutalized by India's partition ; followed by penury and petty crimes. He finds the purpose of life when he falls for Beeru (Sonam). Joins the Indian Army and since then his passion, eagerness and situations along with the efforts (negative & positive both) made by different people led him to become an athlete, a runner who remained uncased even by his own daemons. He keeps on breaking records but witnesses a heartbreaking defeat in Rome Olympics (1960) but thats not it, he takes it in his stride, overcomes his catastrophic past which was the cause of Olympic defeat and emerges out to be a clear winner.

OVERVIEW

ROPM delivers yet again a tale in his own style (fond of changing tones in his films), where the length is bit of a disappointment otherwise the content heals the flaw with a superb execution and sticky pace, that tops with Farhan Akhtar's outstanding performance (the actor gave his blood n sweat into the character) and he emerges out to be the soul of the movie physically and mentally. The story by Prasoon Joshi is admirable and the track 'Zinda' is well written by him, beautifully composed by Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy and descriptively choreographed by Shaimak Davar. The background score by the trio adds on to the whole movie. The performances from the other cast is noticeable where Divya Dutta deserves a special mention (Hats off to the lady for creating a great impact in spite of having such a small role) The film truly deserves to be one of the best that Bollywood has offered this year so far and I hope to see some more in-depth biopics like this in coming future.

I'd rate this dig-till-hell marvel biopic as 8/10.

In less than ten minutes into the film, you get goosebumps all over your body. You get into high-spirits and then the story of The Flying Sikh begins...

It talks more about perseverance and how man can excel even in the worst conditions than the actual atheltic history. Milkha Singh, wonderfully portrayed by the talented Farhan Akhtar is one character that induces inspiration. Akhtar now has totally proved himself as a successful actor. His demeanor is appreciable and the film does showcase his hard-work. Supporting cast is very good as well. But, the actresses were sidelined which is very apt for a bio-film.

Most of the story is told in flashbacks and there is where the screenplay works. It grabs your attention. The childhood story MAY bore you a little, but every other biopic has to be honest. Much like last year's Paan Singh Tomar, BMB does have lots of surprises in store. The relation of every detail is astronomical and very well adapted. Fresh writing, inventive editing & below-average SFX/CGI makes me wanna give it a humble 8.0/10.

The songs & score are energetic which do cause an urge that we run with the athletes on-screen. That is the power of Rakeysh O Mehra and his crew. I was blown away by Akhtar's bod and his expressions. Humor touches the script at times, as well.

Overall, an entertaining biography which is well-written and well- executed. Only, the running time of 190 minutes COULD'VE... could've been shortened. Otherwise, everybody rise for this cinema of massive potential.

BOTTOM LINE: A very good entertainer with mentoring prowess. It feels good that the team has brought an epitome into reel. Kudos!

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

Profanity: No | Nudity: Mild | Sex/Foreplay/Mouth-Kiss: Mild | Violence/Gore: Strong | Alcohol: Mild | Smoking/Drugs: No