Director:
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Cast: Farhan
Akhtar, Jabtej Singh, Pavan Malhotra, Sonam Kapoor, Divya Dutta
Music:
Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Running
time: 195 minutes
Rakeysh
Mehra reclaims his place behind the camera for the much awaited “Bhaag Milkha
Bhaag”. The movie recounts the life of champion Olympic runner Milkha Singh and
the events leading up to his final race at a friendly Indo-Pak athletic event
while also throwing some light on the Indo-Pak split which was the cause of
Milkha’s traumatic childhood . The first thing that stood out about this movie
was of course the length. But strangely enough, the 3 and a half hour film did
not really feel long until the last 30 minutes or so. The chapters were pacey
and just as long as they needed to be. The movie followed a pretty standard
storyline with Milkha’s tale being discussed by his coach on a train journey. This
would have been pretty bland if not for Mehra’s beautiful visual narrative.
Rakeysh
Mehra brought the story to life with the use of warm and atmospheric colour (and a very unexpected cameo).
Milkha’s troubled childhood was bathed in a dull, melancholic haze while his
days as a lovelorn teenage troublemaker were full of colour. Mehra brought back
the ‘Rang de Basanti’ vibe with some attractive black-and-white transitions
during the story of the death of his parents. This was coupled with some
innovative shots including a sped up tracking shot of the 200m circuit. He summarized
Milkha’s victories in a stylish sequence of parallel shots in slow motion; and
boy does he LOVE slow-mo. The film was riddled with innumerable slow motion
shots and few too many songs (for a ROM flick) which probably gave the film its
extra hour. The jolly Punjabi vibe was welcome.
 |
| Desi me rollin' |
Farhan Akhtar
hit the sets after a year of training with a vein popping chiseled body and a
commendable performance. Following some very average acting in his previous
movies, Farhan showed us a different side to his abilities with some intense
bathroom mirror moments and insane running on the track. But he was defeated by the brilliant performances of
Jabtej Singh as young Milkha and Divya Dutta as his elder sister. Sonam Kapoor
reprised her Delhi 6 role as the ‘chulbuli’ village girl and makes a quick exit
(just the way I like it). Pawan Malhotra was charming but Yograj Singh was very
disappointing as Milkha’s Olympic coach. Prakash Raj had minimal screen time and a character that did nothing but lighten the mood with an exaggerated Southey accent while speaking Hindi.
The
storyline was quite straightforward and had some very touching moments and
well-timed comic relief. The Farhan-Sonam love story was short and bittersweet which
really pleased me. However the key message of the film failed to come through.
The film intended to focus on how Milkha’s success was a result of his
determination, perseverance and hard work but the idea fell apart. In a
nutshell, Milkha lost a race because he had an affair with an Australian girl
(The gorgeous Rebbecca Breeds) and won all the subsequent races because he said
no to the Indian swimming champion. Parts of the movie describe Milkha’s
gruelling training and his resolve, but him pulling a tire around a desert till
he collapsed from exhaustion was not very provocative. Additionally, the Indian
coach telling the Pakistani coach to F*** off after Milkha’s victory was in
very poor taste, even if it was muted. Despite these shortcomings, Milkha’s story invited a lot of
applause and left us swelling with patriotism as we exited the theatre.
When the
screen went blank, I was left with a pleasant warm feeling which faded away as
I got into the car. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag gave people a cause to celebrate one of the country’s
most respected athletes and is a good candidate for the Independence Day
special on Zee TV but did not leave a lasting impression.
3/5
Quotes:
Pakistani coach Javed: "Milkha, Yeh tumhare zindagi ki Aakhri daud ho sakta hai"
Milkha Singh: "Aur daudunga vaise hi"
