Movie review- Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

It is said that a book should never be judged by its movie. Likewise, I think a movie should never be judged by its theme. Milkha Singh has always come across to me as the ‘flying sikh’ who won medals for India in Asian games and Commonwealth games, and how he missed by a whisker a medal in 1960 Rome Olympics. Therefore I expected the movie to highlight his triumphs; to tell us about his chief rivals at the games, and how he managed to overcome them to bag the medals. Quite frankly, I was looking for a ‘Chak De India’ kind of flavor in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. Therefore, I was quite disappointed by the movie. A set of generous media reviews and a decent crowd at the multiplex on a rainy July Monday evening reinforced further my hopes from the film. But not only was the film excruciatingly long, it was boring in most parts, and I found myself looking at the watch waiting for the interval much before it actually happened. I had expected the movie to portray Milkha the ATHLETE and his quest for excellence in the track and field. But alas, the movie is about Milkha the MAN who suffered the pains of the partition (So what, millions others did too, and we have scores of movies on the subject), his struggle for existence post-partition including his knife-wielding days, his days in the army, his love life, his one-night stands, AND also his achievements as a star Indian athlete. The parts that depict his real winnings on the tracks at the international level are run through as a brief documentary somewhere in the dying stages of the three hour long movie, added with a final little-known hurray in which he is shown to defeat an arch-rival Pakistani athlete in Pakistan- a time-tested method of whipping up a patriotic fervor among the audience. But alas, that too somehow failed to leave a mark. The movie, therefore, should be seen as a biography of Milkha the man who happened to be an athlete. The narrative is confusing with the story jumping from Milkha the victim of partition, Milkha the lover, Milkha the army man and Milkha the athlete.

The movie could have been excellent had Milkha’s past as refugee from Pre-partition Multan been kept brief, for example there was no need to show his sister being made furious and noisy love to by her scoundrel husband in a refugee camp tent shared by Milkha and two other unknown boys who wear knowing smirk on their faces as they hear the couple copulate. There was no need to show the gory killing of his family as a fall-out of Partition. There was no need to show a prolonged quest by Milkha for his lady love Sonam Kapoor. In short, many lengthy portions of the movie could have been either done away with completely or could have been shortened.

Most people have been very impressed by the six-pack body that Farhan Akhtar built for his role including his bulging biceps marked with engorged veins and a bulky set of pectorals across his chest. However, there is a technical flaw that all of us seem to overlook. A sprinter does not need a strong upper body. On the contrary, a heavy upper body would impede his run on the tracks and that is why most runners strive to keep themselves skinny and make their leg muscles strong. But we can accept that for the sake of the movie it was essential to show the hero with a six-pack.

Performances have been good. Farhan looks perfect for the job but I would have preferred Ajay Devgan for the role. Sonam Kapoor and other actors did not have much to do though Sonam looked good for a change. However, one is surprised to see Sonam playing a role of a 1950s girl wearing gaudy lipstick and an eye-shadow. Other roles are character roles and the best one is played by Divya Dutta, playing Milkha’s elder sister.

Music by the trio Shankar Ehasaan Loy is good, and the number ‘havan karenge’ is catchy, and has been choreographed beautifully.  Another song that I liked is ‘mera yaar’..

Go and watch the movie only if you are a die-hard fan of Farhan Akhtar.

My rating: 2.5 on 5