Bhaag Milkha Bhaag Movie Reviews

History is created in several ways. One of them is cinema. And if Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Bhaag Milkha Bhaag seems like a near-flawless homage to the flying spirit of India's greatest runner, it is partly because the story, so nimbly woven into a pastiche of drama, emotion, humour and pathos by Prasoon Joshi, is in no hurry to keep pace with the onscreen Milkha's breathless sprint. The story of super-sprinter Milkha Singh unfolds in this exceptional

Biopics are fast gaining popularity in Hindi movies and several conscientious film-makers are attempting movies based on the life events of iconic and distinguished personalities. THE LEGEND OF BHAGAT SINGH and BOSE: THE FORGOTTEN HERO won immense critical acclaim... PAAN SINGH TOMAR not only won critical and commercial success, but fetched the most prestigious honor as well -- National Award... THE DIRTY PICTURE, on the life

The film may belong to Akthar, but in the final analysis it is the work of a director in complete control of his material, and his craft. Mehra has helmed ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ into a compelling story and an exemplar of cinematic brilliance; that it is also an inspiring tale almost seems to be a by-product.

At three hours and nine minutes, it’s the longest biopic in a generation in India [just two minutes shorter than Richard Attenborough's Gandhi]. But Bhaag Milkha Bhaag doesn’t numb the bum. Instead, you might find yourself sitting comfortably through this one because you finally have an Indian story you can applaud without apology.

A biopic is never easy to make. How do you fit someone's entire life in a few hours? What parts do you highlight and which slice do you decide to leave out while still staying true to the story? That explains the length of the film, which is over three hours. Rakeysh OmPrakash Mehra gives you more than the story of Milkha Singh the athlete. Most of us have heard his name, but none or very few of us know his story, so this was a story

Cinematography is ace (Binod Pradhan); the music (Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy) heightens the drama. Prasoon’s writing is powerful, lyrics are pure poetry and emotions robustly sweep the scenes with few dialogues. While there’s a lot to marvel at, a hint of the director’s over-indulgence in the art, results in a long ‘runtime’ and prolonged scenes that distract.

Some lives are made for the big screen. Milkha Singh’s certainly is one. It has everything. Finally, Mehra proves that it is possible to make a good biopic while the events that transpired are still relevant and the characters involved are still alive.

. It’s brutally honest in telling a great sporting story. Watch this film to realise greatness doesn’t lie in winning but in picking up the gauntlet. Taking a challenge. Working hard. That is true inspiration.

Who said success came easy for those who managed to make it to the top of their professions, more so if what you are striving towards is the stuff......

Put on your patience caps for three hours, and try it. There’s enough bang for the bucks here.

What works for the movie apart from Farhan is the sports theme, the races, which give you that ‘live’ stadium feel, and the moments of brilliance in between. What goes against the film is its length. It clocks 3 hours eight minutes. There are unwanted songs (two of them) that pull the narrative in the opposite direction. Apart from that, the picturisation of the song when Milkha comes to meet Sonam is confusing. Something you saw in the eighties when fillers were needed to mask a poor script.

‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ may not impress an average moviegoer, for it comes across as a very slow film. But it will certainly leave you with a sense of pride for having the legendary athlete as a fellow countryman. If you are a patriotic Indian, you will be left teary eyed and your head held high.

As Milkha Singh walks into Rome's 1960 Olympic stadium for the 400m final and soaks in the atmosphere of the roaring crowd, with a little help from the background score, the energy is instantly contagious. The epic race is what Indians remember him by (now of course there is this film). What a dampener when he loses a place on the podium by a whisker. If only Bhaag Milkha Bhaag could change history. Actually it does romanticize the telling

When a biopic comes with a disclaimer which reads 'inspired by true events', somewhere the underlining pretext is that fiction will take precedence over realism in the bigger picture. Like any decent biopic, even Bhaag Milkha Bhaag has its permissible share of creative writing to add that requisite drama to the story. But the problem arises when formula takes over fiction. The film encapsulates the life story of Milkha Singh

The problem with adoring, reverential portraits of real people is that they tend to lack objectivity and quickly become boring. It's true of Rang De Basanti director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, an ambitious account of the first 27 years or so of celebrated Indian sprinter Milkha Singh's roller-coaster life. Over an exhausting 3 hours and 7 minutes, the film, starring Farhan Akhtar as Milkha, details the athlete's journey

Great sports films use the chosen sport as punctuation marks to make a wider and deeper statement about human beings. When you hit a last-ball six or you score an extra-time goal or you lunge past the winning line in a photo finish, you create a moment of thrill yes but the deeper satisfaction comes from what has actually been won. Not a cup or trophy or medal but a dream lived for or lived with the entire life

You know the thing about unfortunate run-outs in cricket? Sometimes a batsman inching closer towards a knockout innings runs so eagerly in between wickets that by the time he gets on the other side, his off-guard co-batsman has not even started. Although Bhaag Milkha Bhaag involves a completely different sport, the aforementioned scenario sits as an appropriate analogy to describe how Farhan Akhtar's zeal is let down by Rakeysh

Farhan Akhtar is a machine. Watching how he uses each muscle in his body -- on his neck, chest, arms, abdomen, legs -- as he runs in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, it is hard to believe that this father of two will turn 40 in exactly six months. I do not know what Milkha Singh sounded like in the 1950s, but Akhtar is totally believable as the eager, energetic, naïve, yet very committed runner in his early 20s who broke the national record

It is an interesting story. It would be a gripping script. The flying Sikh has gone through enough adventure in his life to make for an interesting screenplay. The 13 important years of his life from 1947 to 1960, where he goes through this marvelous journey of being a 12-year-old forced to flee Pakistan after his parents are killed in a riot during Partition, to a rogue taken up to violence to a respected army soldier to being an extraordinary sportsman

Are you relaxing? No, I am Milkha Singh. This is one of those legendary jokes that typifies a couple of things: Punjabi humour in all its quirky broadness, and the man who is supposed to have said it, the legendary athlete who broke records on national and international tracks, and became a byword for sporting excellence in India. I've always thought the line was apocryphal. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's film, 'inspired by a true life'

One can well imagine the huge wave of disappointment that would have assailed the nation when, at the 1960 Rome Olympics, the legendary Milkha Singh missed a medal in a photo-finish. Over half a century later, the overstuffed cinematic re-enactment of that 400 metres race and the historical and biographical events leading up to it is no less of a downer.

As it has turned out, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is more the overlong, overblown Singing-Dancing-Flying Sikh, than just the triumphal, true Flying Sikh.

For a film about sprinting and clocking shortest timings possible, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag moves at a snail’s pace and goes on for over 3 hours. And while the protagonist purportedly possesses tremendous focus, the film seems to lack that very quality. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s ‘biopic’ (the word has been reiterated by the makers at every interview opportunity) on Indian sprinter Milkha Singh is, at best, a meandering, indulgent version

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag Review | Rating: 4/5 Stars | What’s Good: From story, to acting, to screenplay, to direction...

Go and run with Milkha. In this fast-paced life, this race will definitely soothe your senses. I promise you.

I recommend a national holiday for the entire nation to go and see this movie. It makes the other recent high-profile acclaimed films look hopelessly inadequate.

Cinematographer Binod Pradhan indulges in riveting imaginary to capture Milkha’s haunting memories of a past bloodied during the Indo-Pak Partition.

Though some of the cinematography is stunning, and practicing gymnasts and torso enthusiasts will love Akhtar’s exceptional physique, it’s neither riveting entertainment nor smart filmmaking for the rest of us.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag will have an eventful run at the cinemas and will turn out to be a richly rewarding film for all concerned. Its undue length will adversely affect collections to an extent and will, therefore, tell on the box-office results but it will still prove to be a very paying proposal. Business in the big cities and good multiplexes will be excellent.

“Bhaag Milkha Bhaag” could have been an inspiring, uplifting film about one man’s journey, but Mehra botches it up completely. Sport has enough inherent drama. All he had to do was show that. Mehra chose to play games instead, and ruined it.