Bhaag Milkha Bhaag Movie Review: A Successful Run!

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag Movie Review-In Short:

The film deals with the life and struggles of the legendary Indian athlete Milkha Singh

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag Movie Review-Verdict:

A larger than life film, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is a fitting tribute to one of India's best sportsman.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag Movie Review-Story Plot And Direction:

Born to a poor farmer in Punjab, Milkha (Farhan Akhtar) fights against all odds-including the Partition, poverty, crime and his own demons to emerge as a legend- The Flying Sikh. Milkha finds supporters in his sister Isri Kaur (Divya Dutta), his army instructor (Prakash Raj) and his coaches played by Pavan Malhotra and Yograj Singh.

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, who gave us Rang De Basanti, proves once again that he is a master story-teller with Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. It is quite evident that a lot of research and hard work went behind bringing this story to the silver screen. The film has been shot well too and the scenes where Milkha trains for the races is sure to give you the kind of adrenaline rush that you got while watching Sly Stallone work out in the Rocky series.

However, as a biopic, the film has several flaws. Mehra seems to rely too much on melodrama, which is a drawback. Unlike Paan Singh Tomar, which told the gripping story of an athlete's life and his struggles without too much of drama, thus keeping it life-like, Mehra turns Milkha into a larger-than-life figure, which somehow dilutes the effect. When Milkha runs atop a speeding train, he seems more like a swash-buckling 70s hero than a real-life figure.

Nevertheless, where the film scores is in the subject. Not much is known about Milkha Singh, though we all know the name and it is indeed interesting to know the story behind such a figure. Sports films have mostly worked in India and if one puts in a dash of the good old Indo-Pak rivalry, a filmmaker can have the audience eating out of his hands, which is what is bound to happen with this biopic.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag Movie Review-Performances:

This is without doubt Farhan Akhtar's best performance so far and the urbane actor is completely believable as the small town Punjabi lad, who can gulp two tins of pure ghee and run the extra mile for free milk and eggs at an army training camp. Akhtar pulls the audience towards him and you end up cheering at his every victory and sighing at his every downfall. Sonam Kapoor has a very minor role and after Raanjhanaa, we wish we could have got to see more of her in this film. Divya Dutta and Pavan Malhotra are flawless as ever and so is Dalip Tahil, who plays Pandit Nehru. Prakash Raj plays a positive role for the very first time in a Bollywood role and does complete justice to his character of a crusty drill instructor with a heart of gold.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag Movie Review-Music:

Shankar Mahadevan-Ehsaan Noorani-Loy Mendonsa along with Prasoon Joshi have come together with the kind of music that would give a solid push to the narrative of this Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra film. The Zinda track is sure to bring goose-bumps to your skin, whereas the 'Maston ka jhund' will make you want to grab a drink with your close pals and have a blast. The rest of the songs are pretty decent too.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag Movie Review-Final Word:

Despite its flaws, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is a film worth watching for sure!