Bharathi, brings a lot of dynamism to the racing scenes, from the screen-filling wide shots that establish the lay of the land to the slo-mo closeups of spiked cleats - and, in one memorable scene, bloodied bare feet - gripping the track. Likewise, Mehra, working with regular cinematographer Binod Pradhan and editor P.S. Much of the pic’s midsection focuses on Singh’s gradual evolution into a fierce competitor - familiar stuff made vivid by Malhotra’s fiery performance as Singh’s army track coach, and by Akhtar himself, who trained for more than a year to develop the lean, muscled physique and concentrated gaze of a sprinter in his prime. Still, the seed has been planted, and Singh has resolved that he, too, shall someday call such a blazer his own. Even then, Singh is still something of a village bumpkin surrounded by more sophisticated city types, and Akhtar is especially good at playing this wide-eyed naif, who, in one spectacularly misjudged move, “borrows” the embroidered national team blazer of a visiting track star, who in turn gives Singh a brutal lashing. (The title, which translates as “Run Milkha Run,” are the final words spoken to the 12-year-old by his father, well played by veteran Anglo-Pakistani thesp Art Malik in his Bollywood debut.) Circumscribing all of this is a larger framing story in which Singh’s two longtime coaches (Pavan Malhotra and Yograj Singh) travel across India by train to convince the dejected Singh, brought low by his failure in Rome, to represent India in the Commonwealth Games.Īlong the way, “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag” devotes extended episodes to Singh’s post-Partition life in a Delhi refugee camp, where he is reunited with his devoted elder sister, Isri (the superb Divya Dutta), and to his years as an army cadet, where he first discovers his gift for speed. It just maybe worth it.Pic’s fragmented structure continues to move back and forth in time, as events in Singh’s present trigger memories of the past, particularly the young Milkha (played by Jabtej Singh) witnessing his parents’ slaughter during violent Partition rioting. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy bring Prasoon Joshi's lyrics to life with their music. The first half could have been tightened but perhaps the filmmaker's stubbornness becomes evident.Įven songs like Maston ka Jhund and the title track power the film but some songs could have been snipped. Milkha overcomes this fear in a race in Pakistan. But here amid the noise of that evening, he turns around and loses.īut life does not end at the loss. Then comes the drive, which he lives with and four years later, he reaches 1960 Rome Olympics after winning the Asiad and Commonwealth Games among many other championships, and all eyes are on him. He understands that the race is not as simple as it seems. This race comes to an important turn in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, where he is unable to survive in the first round of the 400m sprint. First for the greed of an extra glass of milk and escaping parade, then to wear the India blazer and subsequently to have the world at his feet for running. Here, he falls for Bira, who lives in a refugee colony in Shahdara and makes up his mind to win her, and is enlisted. He moves to Delhi after Partition with his sister. The flashback of the story shows a Sikh boy growing up in Multan. Prasoon Joshi's script keeps a close grip on the emotion of the story.įarhan Akhtar's acting could leave one rejoicing. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is the same director who gave us Rang de Basanti and comes across as the director who livens up every moment. His friend's son asks him if he is the same Milkha who runs.īhaag Milkha Bhaag is the story of that same 'Flying Sikh' Milkha Singh but is bogged by detail in the first half. The tragedy ends in Pakistan when his friend tells him that it's not people but circumstances that are bad. Later on in the film, Milkha slips yet again at an important moment when the massacre in Pakistan forces him to turn around. The kid screams and runs to the corpses but slips on the bloodied floor. Scene 2: Some time later, the kid returns to his gutted yet wet house to find the bodies of his parents and the rest of the family. The boy's father screams, run Milkha run. The boy is a Sikh in the newly-carved Islamic republic and his village is under attack by Pathans. Scene 1: The sun is setting, it's raining and a boy is running in what is pictured as Pakistan.
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