From the time I saw the promos of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (BMB), I have been waiting for the movie to release. I was excited about it. Finally I got to see it last week.
It's the movie based on the real life events of our very own Flying Sikh - Milkha Singh. So does the movie do justice ?
Yes - it does. But it also has it's flaws.
All the actors have done a wonderful job. Farhan Akhtar is tremendous as Milkha Singh - his physical transformation to play Milkha Singh is superb. Pawan Malhotra is one actor with whom Bollywood hasn't done any justice - he should be doing much more work than he is now. Sonam Kapoor has a blink and you miss her role but she looks pretty. Prakash Raj in a positive role was good too. Dalip Tahil as Pandit Nehru did quite well too.
The movie chronicles Milkha Singh's story from the time of partition to when he missed an Olympic medal by a whisker. And gives us a lot of insight into the legendary athlete's life.
But it's too long - 3 hours and 7 minutes. It could have been easily trimmed down by at least 20-25 minutes. 2-3 songs go nowhere and slow down the movie considerably. The nightmare scenes of the partition - were accompanied by LOUD background music and slow mo shots - slowed down the pace though they are an important part in the story.
And I didn't like the ending where it ultimately came down to an Indo-Pak contest but then maybe that's just me. That shouldn't take away anything from the movie though ! It's a very important race in Milkha Singh's life.
The direction is assured and camera work is upto the mark. The title track is really good specially the rock version - other songs are so-so.
Overall - I was pleased - the movie lived up to the expectations created by the trailer.
Verdict - 3/5 - A must watch for sure
