BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG - MOVIE REVIEW

A word of caution - Do not consider the film as the exact portrayal of Milkha Singh's life. There are enough creative liberties taken by the writer and the director. But does it really provide any impact? Yes, it does.

There are few movies that entertain. Some go a tad higher as they entertain as well as inspire. BMB is exactly similar to Milkha Singh's real life. The movie has its high points, touches the low notes at a few places, and emerges out dramatically from situations to keep you in awe of the masterful storytelling. A biopic is never easy to make. It is as good as un-layering a person's life on screen. Creative dilemmas a plenty!  

To get started, Prasoon Joshi (script writer) had some wonderful resource material to pen a biopic on. India's very own superhero, The Flying Sikh - "MILKHA SINGH"

He succeeds in creating a very strong script which takes in almost every important factor that affected Milkha Singh's life. But this is where the real problem of the film also starts, how much is sufficient? For some moments in the film, capture too much and tell too less. And that adds on a considerable amount of reel in the already daunting run time of over 180 minutes. That apart, rest assured, BMB is an epic effort.

Milkha, as expected had a very routine back story about partition but the way it has been linked is worth appreciating (seamless VFX). The story unfolds at a languid pace and starts to turn on the heat after an hour or so. The 1st half is as good as a practice session before the real action starts. 
Many subplots are introduced; some are intricately connected whereas some are left half baked. The editing needed to be crisp. A leaner and sharper film would have made a huge difference in the impact that the film intends to deliver.

Special mention about the back ground score and the music. Shankar Ehsaan Loy have delivered a good album. The background score is apt and the tracks, despite being situational, are hummable. For a detailed music review, kindly visit- http://arpitpokharna.blogspot.in/2013/07/shankar-ehsaan-loyexpectations-are.html

The supporting cast has done a superb job. The dialogues are well written. The cinematography is executed extremely well. The climax, though being jingoistic, captures an extremely emotional sequence.

 I wish the track with Sonam Kapoor had been given more importance simply because of the innocence and the old world charm that the track possessed. 

The movie captures various dimensions of Milkha's life. His troubled childhood, uninspiring youth, trysts with the army men, playing for the nation, that ONE BIG MISTAKE and being crowned as the FLYING SIKH!

The person who deserves the applause is Farhan Akhthar. An absolutely unbelievable depiction of Milkha Singh's character. He looks as if he was born to run. Though he falters a bit while he carries emotional scenes (focuses way too much on facial expressions to do the talking rather than his eyes), it is passé because he makes up with his performance otherwise. 

May be he can get a Gold for India in the next Olympics! 

Watch out for the scene where he drinks Ghee and starts doing pushups. That inspired me to start doing pushups there and then! His scenes with Divya Dutta are fabulous. 

When he runs, he is like a dream. When he trains, your heart goes out to him and when he wins, the joy, the exhilaration of victory is visible outright on the faces of the audience.

Such an epic portrayal. Hats off Sir! 

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is an inspirational tale, deftly executed and very well narrated and provides the desired impact despite being jarred by barriers in the screenplay. Though a run time of 187 minutes was not required, we are no one to comment on the importance of certain events in the life of a person. Though there were sub plots which had a very limited impact and there existence hardly mattered to the overall picture, where the other audiences got restless, I chose to indulge. 

Enough about the way they have made this film. 

Go and watch Bhaag Milkha Bhaag because it is an essential part of the rarity of athletic glory that we possess. Go and watch it for the sheer hard work that has been put into making this film. 

Go and watch this film because it will make you feel proud about yourself, have control over your wishes, not to be affected by distractions and most importantly it will inspire you to be a better human being. 

And herein lies the actual victory of the director Raykesh Om Prakash Mehra. 

Life is never about owning big things. It is about dreaming big and keeping the smaller elements in place; the bigger picture, automatically, will become glorious.

**3 STARS**