Movie Review: 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'

The movie opens with the cheers from the audience in the stadium converging with the hoots within the cinema hall when the camera admiringly revolves around Milkha Singh’s imposing posture. The story is then put on a snail-paced, detail-rich biographical path and goes back and forth more than necessary times, interrupting the normal pace of watching just exactly when the environment is set. The movie spans from Milkha as a kid till Milkha ‘became India’. You are introduced deeply with the determined personality of Milkha Singh, the living legend, through the finest performance by Farhan Akhtar. The protagonist shows you what he went through, how he took it, what he had to let go, what kept him going, how he hung on, and what he eventually became. Now let me come to some specifics. There’s not even an iota of suspense in the story. You would see creativity in expressing a real, heart-felt love; be it with your sister, friend, lover, or nation. You are sure to learn some cost-effective yet workable and timelessly charming ways of impressing your girl. The story essentially covers how a pitiable victim of partition became the proud, plugging link between the two nations.

The director, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is a master of presenting reality without razzmatazz. He has shown his forte in showing past and present parallels beautifully. You would also see directing cameras worship the elegance hidden in slowness and close-ups when some of the reels move on screen. It would have been better had couple of songs were eroded that were real patches that didn’t do anything material to the script but to add to the movie-duration. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is watchable as a token of admiration for the evidently wholehearted dedication put in by Farhan Akhtar and most especially as a mark of respect to the legend Flying Sikh himself.