Friday, July 19, 2013

My Review of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag


‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’, the dialogue resonates around the theater various times and justifies the title of the film. Based on the life of the Flying Sikh, this film rotates all around him and portrays his tale of grief, sorrow, love, his grit and passion, and his success.

Narrated in the form of a story by Milkha’s coach, this film moves various times into the past and back again, covering the dismal childhood, the vibrant teens, and the best of all, the story of his victory. But, even with this movement and change of tense, this film does not confuse you with the feeling of ‘What is happening?’.

One of the other positives of the movie is the star cast. Playing the lead role of Milkha, Farhan Akhtar does not look his 40 years, and portrays him perfectly with an athletic body, super fast running, and the attitude of a winner. Along with him, the highlight of the film is Japtej Singh, who plays the role of Milkha as a child. Well, calling Sonam Kapoor as the lead actress of the film would be wrong as she just appears for a brief time; and matter of fact, Divya Dutta had a larger role, which brought out the feelings of a sister to perfection.

The races are filmed very well, with slow motion lining them- sand and gravel flying, Milkha’s eyes on the track and his slow overtaking of the others and him winning at the finish. A short sequence of gruesome blood and bodies may work to distract a viewer, but are completely necessary to bring out the hardships which Milkha faced as a child. The inclusion of 2 sequences involving the love life of Milkha are distractive as well, but these may have been included as they may have played a major role in Milkha’s life.

One more highlight of the film is the music. Both the songs, and the background music are gripping. With small breaks for just a couple of songs, the film runs on and on without intrusions, and maintains a steady focus on the life of Milkha Singh.

The end is strong as well, with Milkha accomplishing his goal of shattering the world record, that too in a place which was his Achilles’ Heel- Pakistan; and him receiving the medal and a title of the ‘Flying Sikh’ from the Pakistani Commander.

Plus Points: A good end; almost no breaks for songs; great star cast; good screenplay; and exceptional background scores.
Minus Points: The length may be a factor as the film stretches for over 3 hours, yet is gripping and does not let loose its hold on the viewer; the use of a stretched romance sequence involving Sonam Kapoor (Bijo) and Milkha would work to throw attention away from the main story.

On the whole, this film is a good watch, and should be included in your watch list if legends do interest you.
3.5*/5

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