1960 Olympics, Milkha Singh (Farhaan Akhtar), the star of India flutters at the last moment...loses the 400m race. A brilliant low to start with! The Government of India, wants him to go to Pakistan for a peace sport event. Milkha refuses. Representative (KK Raina) along with his ex coaches played by Pawan Malhotra and Yograj Singh (Yuvraj Singh's father) take a train from Delhi to Chandigarh to meet and convince Milkha because Milkha doesn't want to go to Pakistan. Why? Wait!
Iqbal ( a boy's personal struggle), Chak De India ( A coach and a teams struggle),Rang De Basanti (by the very same director) have a conflict. In Iqbal it is the father and a politically inclined coach who are Iqbal's road block. In Chak De it is the smothered impression of once India's best hockey player and an underdog team. In RDB it is the resistance to accept cook ups and false stories that leads to a revolution. In Bhaag Milkha...Milkha doesn't want to go to Pakistan...Why? Wait wait...
In the mean time we see attempts to make audiences laugh forcefully with a Jawan who has a falsetto voice, and one would wonder what was Prakash Raj doing in this film..Some training sequences give you a reminder that Nana Patekar waali Prahaar was so much better. Then they remind you of Paan Singh...agar aap ko yaad ho dedh saal pehle ek film ayi thi jisme film ka mukhya kirdaar iss liye daudna shuru karta hai kyunki usse khurak (diet) zyaada mile. Then off course the action shifts to a sports ground...but Aamir Khan and Mamik and Deepak Tijori and their cycles looked so much better in the iconic JJWS (Jo Jeeta wohi Sikandar). But Milkha won't go to Pakistan.
Ok there is a small backstory that young Milkha was forced to come to India as most of his family was killed in now Pakistan. Luckily he finds his sister (Divya Dutta) in a refugee camp. The less the said about the track of her marital life the better. Oh and off course there was a love interest for whom Milkha would fill the madka and take it along from his gaaun all the way across the railway tracks along with Sonam Kapoor. Surprisingly though the railway station is clearly seen in the back ground a train never passes or crosses never a whistle is heard. Or maybe in 1950's and 60's the trains didn't blow whistles or maybe Delhi was not a busy station back then or whatever. At the same time in a perfrect day scene, not dusk nor dawn nor night I heard night cricket. My ears were ringing perhaps. And yes Milkha doesn't want to go to Pakistan! Why?v Humme bhi interval ke baad hi bataya gaya.
Ok back then Milkha would wear designer paghdis with polka dots or small checks or design and yes may be people in his village wore only yellows because huge sheets of yellow cloth was always drying in the background. Maybe a research expert would tell. And yes bollywood ho aur gaane naa ho. Maybe the music and the songs would sound good in an album but here it does nothing but add some 10-12 mins to the length of the film.
Ok half an hour or may be even later post interval the film picks up..the conflict is established and we come to know that Milkha's family was butchered during the partition and hence he wouldn't want to go there. Accepted. But then Mr Prime Minister - Jawaharlal Nehru (Dilip Tahil) whispers something in his ears and says some 2-3 lines about what a soldier should be and bravo the conflict is resolved.
Milkha goes to his home and cries and cries. But with all the tears it fails to create the impact that a simple scene between Farhaan and Naseeruddin Shah created in Zindagi Naa Milegi Dobara (All these comparisions because things seem to be borrowed and forced).
Milkha creates records and wins the race in Pakistan and a somebody who is already a hero becomes a hero again. It is like creating a news out of Dhoni hitting sixes and winning India matches...wouldn't it be a bigger news if Ishant Sharma were to achieve the feat??
But the film has its moments too and glory too. One would feel like standing up and applauding the mammoth effort Farhaan Akhtar has put in. He convinces you every ounce that he is Milkha. He takes the film and a wafer thin plot stretched to even thinner by the sheer length of the film on his shoulders.It is a kudos performance and deserves all the glory.There are many scenes to write about but the best would be where he stands in front of mirror and keeps on slapping himself. Other pillars of the film are Pawan Malhotra, Yograj Singh and Divya Dutta. Pawan Malhotra who did a Sardar in Jab we Met creates effortlessly a character all to gether different. Yograj Singh suits his role to the T and delivers a commendable performance. And yes you just have to see Divya Dutta emote. She scores yet again as she does almost everytime.
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