Directed by : Rakesh Omprakash Mehra
Imdb link -> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2356180/
Yeh meri khud se ladaayi hai...
Biopics always interests me, and more so when I know very less about that person. Lincoln was probably the last biopic that I saw (which covered only a certain phase of his life). Milkha Singh, a well known famous Indian athelete lost his parents in riots after independance. He somehow manages to escape from Pakistan, lands in India, survives days without food. And through all the struggle, he joins Army one day which didn't happen easily either, as he got rejected few times. But Army wasn't his last stop, it was the 1st step towards his new life, soon to become a athelete who would be hard to beat.
Rakesh covers almost every aspect of Milkha's life into the film. Only the marriage of Milkha and his love for Golf in later life isnt shown which would had only increased the length of movie by 5-10 mins. He has used fiction to his advantage to make sure film is more entertaining than a serious biopic which I guess most critics didnt like.. not so for me though. Non-linear narration is something I associate with his films and I am of a opinion that a history or biopic based movie should always be non-linear.
Rakesh focusses more on the emotions than the sport, having said that he doesn't make the race sequences look average in anyway. His direction is top-notch, watch the scene where Milkha slaps himself, Rakesh wonderfully shows the anger towards himself Milkha has in that powerful scene, he realizes that he went away from his main goal and it costed him olympics race qualification. Or the scene where Milkha breaks down and releases all his pain out, again Rakesh lenghthens the scene because that pain was inside him for many years.
There are three main weak links in the movie, Dalip Tahil who never looked like Pandit Nehru - clear case of miscasting which resulted in Milkha-Nehru relation not develop at all when he asks for a favour in climax, Yograj Singh who was inconsistent as many places he was hamming - wish Rakesh had control over those scenes and Meesha Shafi whose character was loosely written or I would say not really required though that dialogue of Milkha 'yeh meri khud se ladaayi hai' should had been adjusted somewhere in that case. That scene where Isri (Divya Dutta) re-unites with Milkha in Dilli was very melodramatic. And I would have preferred more shots of all races instead of scaling them into small portions. Much like was the case in Chak de India.
Editing was good, I specially liked the slow motions used at various places like the parallel cut of record break scene, or the place where he has bad memories when he is on bike. Also, liked many camera angles used, the starting scene of presenting Milkha Singh was well done.
Music is superbly used, not a single song looks forced. Rakesh once again uses the best song of album in completely different way, 'Zinda' comes at a time when you least expect it. Like it was with Rehna Tu, I loved his thought behind it this time too. Though I wish he had used some part of lines in any race, he actually used the tune in the first abdul khaliq race. Also, using the tune to introduce Milkha was perfect too. 'Maston ka Jhund' is very fun song, only problem I found was it starts suddenly almost cutting the ongoing conversation, could had put one extra army practice scene and then move to it. 'Mera Yaar' is total romantic, and is picturised in that way too.. a song that I didnt like initially but fell in love with the visuals, love the song now. 'O Rangrez' carries forward the romance with a flashback within flashback inserted in. 'Slow Motion Angreza' is very energetic, and choreographed brilliantly. The title track has very nice lines 'Tu jaag ab tu bhaag milkha, tu hai aag, tu bas ab bhaag milkha'.. but the composition is weak, if it was as good as Zinda, it would had been great to see those practice sequences of Milkha reaching to the top in fitness. One best line of this song is used beautifully in a particular race.
The background score was touch dissappointing, except for one that is used in opening credits or when he re-visits his home in pakistan.. rest were not worth remembering.
I love the scene of Milkha's childhood where the leap to Farhan Akhtar introduction happens.. the smile expression on his face as he runs on train.. Yes its very much un-real and must had not happened with real Milkha, but isn't it great to watch on screen? I for sure did love it.
Farhan Akhtar has given the performance of his career till now, the effort he has put it in is visible in almost all frames. He enacts the struggle and rise of Milkha to the best, and special mention to the people who worked at his looks as he very much resembles like real Milkha Singh. Love the scene where he asks 'blazer kahan milta hai, pehnne wale ko jyada izzat mil rahi, main bhi pehnunga', or the one where he tells Sonam 'ek din tere milkha ke naam pe bhi poore india mein chutti hogi', and my very fav when he re-visits his childhood place on bike with all the bad and good memories going in head.
Sonam Kapoor is tolerable thanks to small role though she shows signs of faltering in even the fewest dialogue scenes she has.. how awkardly she looks saying 'aaho sardarji'.
Divya Dutta as Milkha's sister is excellent, except for that one particular scene I talked about.
Pawan Malhotra is the pick of actors among the supporting cast, the person who motivated Milkha towards success. I like when Rakesh shows his expressions at two particular places, once when he asks to run without boots in Olympics, and other when tailor comes for measurements. Also, when he feels proud of Milkha's achievements, and the look on his face in the final race. He has the key dialogue in movie 'panchi dil lagana' one.
Good to see Prakash Raj in new avatar, and he did great work, though his dialogues were at places hard to understand. Also, Art Malik as Milkha's father was good in small cameo.
Special Mention to Jabtez Singh who as young Milkha did very good work as it was quite a lengthy role.
Rebbeca Breeds looks beautiful, and had good chemistry with Farhan, I love that shot where Milkha does push-up with her, and the look on his face when she is talking, probably not understanding a thing. She plays the young love part very well. Good thing was it was a short role too.
The final race gives goosebumps, excellently thought of.. very unlike finale one always sees in sports movies. Wont spoil mentioning what happens, but if you love the film, this scene would be your fav too.
I love the final two frames of movie, the one where Farhan is shown running with young Milkha, both running as Farhan looks at him and slowly a smile comes on him telling that he has finally overcome everything. And then the title he gets as his expression shows feeling special and the slow fade away to end the film.
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is a film that is very inspiring for how focus, determination and hardwork results in eventual success. Plus, you see how in real Milkha Singh did it with all the struggles he has in his childhood or early days of army. Its a 3 hr 7 mins long movie, but I never felt boredom at any part.. despite the mentioned flaws, its a immensely loved movie for me.
Verdict : EXCELLENT
Imdb link -> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2356180/
Yeh meri khud se ladaayi hai...
Biopics always interests me, and more so when I know very less about that person. Lincoln was probably the last biopic that I saw (which covered only a certain phase of his life). Milkha Singh, a well known famous Indian athelete lost his parents in riots after independance. He somehow manages to escape from Pakistan, lands in India, survives days without food. And through all the struggle, he joins Army one day which didn't happen easily either, as he got rejected few times. But Army wasn't his last stop, it was the 1st step towards his new life, soon to become a athelete who would be hard to beat.
Rakesh covers almost every aspect of Milkha's life into the film. Only the marriage of Milkha and his love for Golf in later life isnt shown which would had only increased the length of movie by 5-10 mins. He has used fiction to his advantage to make sure film is more entertaining than a serious biopic which I guess most critics didnt like.. not so for me though. Non-linear narration is something I associate with his films and I am of a opinion that a history or biopic based movie should always be non-linear.
There are three main weak links in the movie, Dalip Tahil who never looked like Pandit Nehru - clear case of miscasting which resulted in Milkha-Nehru relation not develop at all when he asks for a favour in climax, Yograj Singh who was inconsistent as many places he was hamming - wish Rakesh had control over those scenes and Meesha Shafi whose character was loosely written or I would say not really required though that dialogue of Milkha 'yeh meri khud se ladaayi hai' should had been adjusted somewhere in that case. That scene where Isri (Divya Dutta) re-unites with Milkha in Dilli was very melodramatic. And I would have preferred more shots of all races instead of scaling them into small portions. Much like was the case in Chak de India.
Editing was good, I specially liked the slow motions used at various places like the parallel cut of record break scene, or the place where he has bad memories when he is on bike. Also, liked many camera angles used, the starting scene of presenting Milkha Singh was well done.
The background score was touch dissappointing, except for one that is used in opening credits or when he re-visits his home in pakistan.. rest were not worth remembering.
I love the scene of Milkha's childhood where the leap to Farhan Akhtar introduction happens.. the smile expression on his face as he runs on train.. Yes its very much un-real and must had not happened with real Milkha, but isn't it great to watch on screen? I for sure did love it.
Sonam Kapoor is tolerable thanks to small role though she shows signs of faltering in even the fewest dialogue scenes she has.. how awkardly she looks saying 'aaho sardarji'.
Divya Dutta as Milkha's sister is excellent, except for that one particular scene I talked about.
Pawan Malhotra is the pick of actors among the supporting cast, the person who motivated Milkha towards success. I like when Rakesh shows his expressions at two particular places, once when he asks to run without boots in Olympics, and other when tailor comes for measurements. Also, when he feels proud of Milkha's achievements, and the look on his face in the final race. He has the key dialogue in movie 'panchi dil lagana' one.
Good to see Prakash Raj in new avatar, and he did great work, though his dialogues were at places hard to understand. Also, Art Malik as Milkha's father was good in small cameo.
Special Mention to Jabtez Singh who as young Milkha did very good work as it was quite a lengthy role.
Rebbeca Breeds looks beautiful, and had good chemistry with Farhan, I love that shot where Milkha does push-up with her, and the look on his face when she is talking, probably not understanding a thing. She plays the young love part very well. Good thing was it was a short role too.
The final race gives goosebumps, excellently thought of.. very unlike finale one always sees in sports movies. Wont spoil mentioning what happens, but if you love the film, this scene would be your fav too.
I love the final two frames of movie, the one where Farhan is shown running with young Milkha, both running as Farhan looks at him and slowly a smile comes on him telling that he has finally overcome everything. And then the title he gets as his expression shows feeling special and the slow fade away to end the film.
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is a film that is very inspiring for how focus, determination and hardwork results in eventual success. Plus, you see how in real Milkha Singh did it with all the struggles he has in his childhood or early days of army. Its a 3 hr 7 mins long movie, but I never felt boredom at any part.. despite the mentioned flaws, its a immensely loved movie for me.
Verdict : EXCELLENT
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