For the history books

Film: Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

Director: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra

The film opens with the final race at the 1960 Rome Olympics where the Flying Sikh took that infamous backward glance and shattered an entire country’s dreams. Two things are made clear by that visual; one, we are going to take a look back at how a refugee from Pakistan went on to become one of India’s most celebrated athletes, and two, Farhan Akhtar does not exist in the film, who we see is Milkha Singh.

A three-hour epic, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag chronicles the eventful and awe-inspiring life of Milkha Singh, without patronising his character and honestly narrating what is by far the best biopic made in Hindi cinema. Right from life as a little boy in a village in Pakistan, to his days at the refugee camp, to his youthful romance in a new village, to the joining of the Army and then to the life changing career in athletics – the film checks all boxes.

Pointing out minor flaws and misgivings in its narrative would be unnecessary nitpicking and would spoil the overall experience of BMB. Because walking in the shoes of a great man, as he journeys through his life, while sitting in a cold dark room, doesn’t get better than this.

Supporting roles are done to perfection by Pawan Malhotra, who plays Gurudev Singh and Prakash Raj, who surprises you for a change. Divya Dutta as Isri Kaur, Milkha’s sister, brings a sense of composure to his life, she is the only constant in his life. Dilip Tahil’s Nehru, Sonam Kapoor’s Nirmal Kaur, Meesha Shafi’s Perizaad and Rebbeca Breeds’ Stella, all come and go with very little to talk about.

Like Milkha, who squeezes his sweat into a mug in the film, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s seamless direction, which binds the efficient screenplay by Prasoon Joshi into a cinematograph, squeezes all the juice from the story and puts it into the film. The strength of the film, like Mehra’s other films, lies in the editing. PS Bharati, seems to have spent some time inside Mehra’s head, envisioning the film in unison. Binod Pradhan’s cinematography needs no description, and save for the substandard computer graphics in places, the images are pure gold.

All these put together, BMB becomes a life experience; as you live every moment of it as it happens. The thrill of live sport (made believable by Farhan’s hardwork), the pain of partition, the melancholy of a heartbreak, the despair in defeat and the jubilation in victory – you don’t simply watch it, it’s as if it is happening to you.

This is a film that is inspired from history, and is made for the history books. The legend of Milkha Singh has always been immortal, but with Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, it has become something more.

Rating: 5 out of 5

Published in DNA (Pune) on July 13, 2013