Bhaag Milkha Bhaag — A mixed affair that will leave you exhausted yet never disengaged
‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ is the kind of film you end feeling unsure of how you feel! You do not hate it, in fact you quite like it, however…
‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ is the kind of film you end feeling unsure of how you feel! You do not hate it, in fact you quite like it, however you’re not quite sure of what to think of it once it is all done.
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s chronologically shifting screenplay from ‘Rang De Basanti’ still remains fresh in memory. BMB too, moves in similar fashion. You are transported back and forth on multiple occasions, sometimes even to flashbacks within flashbacks.
The movie starts with Milkha committing a minor blunder which causes him to finish 4th in the Rome Olympics. From then on, you are transported to the world of the legendary Indian sprinter Milkha Singh into his childhood in a village in Pakistan, his sister’s motherly love for him, the partition and its consequences, his brief fling with the pretty village lass Biro (played by Sonam Kapoor in a guest appearance), his consequent move to a respected profession in the Army, his unconvincing transition to being a track field runner and the many highs and lows that follow.
Rajeev Masand wrote in his review of BMB that one cant help but wonder how Mehra and Prasoon Joshi (Writer) deliberately construct a plot where Milkha’s achievements are always highlighted and his failures conveniently justified. The failure of the Rome Olympics being the opening scene and the film’s climax being a win against a fierce competitor from Pakistan in Pakistan being one such clear instance.
With perhaps the maximum number of flashbacks you will ever have seen, one also often feels that the Milkha of the flashbacks has very little to do with the Milkha of the present. With all strong emotions left in past flashbacks, sometimes the viewer feels a void and finds it tough to relate those with Milkha’s present actions.
Besides Milkha Singh’s hugely eventful, inspiring life, the movie works mostly because of its lead Farhan Akhtar, who carries the movie single-handedly on his shoulders. Not for one moment do you feel that this is Farhan and not Milkha — A characteristic mastered by Aamir Khan and a few other non-lead actors, but not by many leads. His perfect accent, his towering build and the combination of power and vulnerability make Farhan a force to reckon with and a sure shot contender at the year end series of Awards. Divya Dutta is brilliant as usual as Milkha’s loving elder sister and really makes the viewer feel her pain. She deserved to be a lot higher on the list of beginning titles than the pretty and adequate Sonam Kapoor who appears in what is at best a guest appearance. The child actor who plays little Milkha and his two coaches — Pavan Malhotra and Yuvraj Singh’s father Yograj Singh are most appropriate in their parts. Prakash Raj is entertaining.
With some excellent camerawork, exhilarating slow-motion shots of the running track, towering background music, Mehra and Joshi do a decent job of keeping the viewer engaged. The music is a huge plus with Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy (also in a cameo) delivering yet another strong soundtrack and adding more meat to the argument that the gap between A R Rahman and his contemporaries is fast lessening.
It is rumoured that Milkha Singh charged a token 1 rupee for giving this script to Rakeysh Mehra, but his life and accomplishments are certainly very inspiring to all who are interested.
A mixed affair which will leave you exhausted at the end but not bored or disengaged for a moment, be prepared to stretch and shift in your seats in the last hour of this lavishly spread-out 188 minutes saga.
3/5
(Note: This is only for those who understand that an audience doesn’t embrace or reject a film based on its technical aspects. They do so based on much simpler things. So all those who are obsessed with their craft or with themselves can shoo off. And oh yes, you may like ratings or hate them, but everyone wants them :D)