Though you may not find it as energetic as projected but that is how real cinema can revive in Hindi Film Industry.

Rating: 7/10 (23 July 2013)

One of the most important responsibilities of cinema in a country is to bring forward few well researched and worth watching movies not only on its History, but also on its forgotten national heroes such as S. Milkha Singh, fondly known as "The Flying Sikh". And with BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG, director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, his writer Prasoon Joshi and their entire team has duly fulfilled their said responsibility competently.
Talking about the film itself, yes it rightly introduces the younger generation to a man who had the guts of steel, conviction of an achiever and the spirit to do the hard work beyond imagination. It perfectly portrays a few selected chapters (till his last race) of the tough life lived by S. Milkha Singh taking many cinematic liberties of its own and remains a worth experiencing film for more than one reason, unarguably. But at the same time BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG again showcases the similar mistakes made by the thoughtful director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra in his earlier films namely AKS (2001) and DELHI-6 released in 2009 like insertion of few over dramatized sequences, unnecessarily giving artistic touches to the horrifying days of independence, a less engaging second half full of predictability and few avoidable dull moments resulting in an over-lengthy film going beyond 3 hours. Here I am keeping RANG DE BASANTI (2006) out of the list as I do assume that the film surely had another thinking mind working behind the curtain, who was none other than Aamir Khan.
Nevertheless, beginning with its plus points first, BMB does remain a worth watching realistic saga for all, mainly due to its three strong merits mentioned below.
1. Firstly it needs to be applauded for the unbelievable kind of effort put in by writer-actor-singer and director Farhan Akhtar playing the lead role. The hard working creator not only looks exactly like the real Flying Sikh but he also plays his part with an utmost sincerity and conviction which is mostly missing in the present big names of the Industry. If truth be told, you don't witness such kind of willingness to perform your given role with such perfection in our Hindi Cinema more often.
2. As the second merit it has a commendable performance from a young Jabtej Singh, portraying the childhood days of S. Milkha Singh superbly. The boy is not only a perfect choice for the role but he also comes up with a performance which can equally stand tall along with the one presented by Farhan.
3. Thirdly the film truly deserves to be seen for two small cameos of the immensely talented Divya Dutta & one of the most underrated actors of Hindi films, Pawan Malhotra. Both the veterans bring back the emotional tears in their respective scenes and make you feel the hidden pain in the life story of S. Milkha Singh more than any other actor in the entire film. Personally I too had moist eyes hearing the way, Divya calmly says, "Milkhu" in a scene where she meets him after a long time.
In the supporting cast, Prakash Raj surprises you in a short positive appearance and thankfully Yograj Singh comes up with a quite controlled act as the national coach. In the female lead, Sonam impresses in a guest role and both Meesha (from Pakistan) and Rebecca Breeds (from Australia) are just fine. K.K. Raina delivers an OK act but DalipTahil is not able to make any kind of impact playing Pandit Nehru.
As a cinematic documentation of S. Milkha Singh's world famous career, BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG does ample justification to all the suffering, struggle and triumph lived by the Flying Sikh to a large extent. The cinematography is of international standard, enhancing the overall result to many folds using the graphics in its various sequences magnificently. Yet the director forcibly uses his own artistic touches in the 1947 killing sequences which could have been avoided as I strongly felt.
The early part of the film reminds you of PAAN SINGH TOMAR but then you get to see a well directed and majestically acted first half which impresses you a lot being a realistic bio-pic and a visual treat, also providing the much needed entertainment factor constantly. Post intermission the pace drops considerably and everything starts heading towards a predictable race event taking too long with many overstretched sequences. The girls coming one after another become annoying after a while. And then it all comes down to the most awaited moment of the race where I really missed some energetic background music and the excitement which could bring me on to the edge of my seat as expected.
Hence, its actually not a Sports movie but a realistic and emotionally moving bio-pic which goes over-length towards the end, unfortunately. The film does move you a lot in its various brilliant sequences, but with a better edit and more exhilarating background score it could have reached that much desired cult status for sure. The musical score by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy serves the purpose well as you are watching it and the songs are also intelligently used taking the narration forward (But I really couldn't appreciate its title song with such a weak composition).
On the whole, BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG may not be as energetic as projected in its promotional campaign. It misses the fire and it misses the excitement. Yet it does remain a worth watching film and a significant step in Hindi Film Industry, showing them a way that we do need to make films on our historical figures and national heroes at regular intervals, along with catering to the commercial aspects of the business like BMB.
So do watch it in the theaters with all the young ones in your family, especially for Farhan, Divya and Jabtej respectfully saluting our national hero, The Flying Sikh, Sardar Milkha Singh.