Just a leisurely run

Rakeysh Omparakash Mehra's tribute to one of India's legendary athletes has its heart in the right place but meanders a lot

There's a scene in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, where Milkha Singh (Farhan Akhtar) is carrying two cans of desi ghee on his bicycle and a police constable stops him. The constable asks Singh to leave one can behind and take the other. Singh immediately gets down from his cycle, gulps down all the ghee, does about 100 push-ups and is carried on his shoulders like a hero. Perhaps it's a true incident and Singh actually did something like this, but in BMB it's a bit pointless. Mehra's tribute to one of India's legendary athletes has its heart in the right place but it meanders a lot.

Despite it being a biopic, Mehra and his script-writer, Prasoon Joshi, take a lot of creative liberties. Yet somehow they manage to retain the soul of Singh's life. The Sikh's story is an inspirational one - from being a good-for-nothing young boy to India's most revered athlete. Mehra chooses to narrate the story through Singh's mentor and first coach, Gurudev Singh, played brilliantly by Pawan Malhotra. A terribly underutilised actor, Malhotra is cast perfectly as the coach who understands his ward's vulnerabilities. If Malhotra is cast perfectly, then Dalip Tahil as Jawaharlal Nehru is a really odd one as he just doesn't suit the role.

The film's premise is set on Singh's traumatic past and how it shaped his life from 1947 to 1960. As the young Milkha, Japtej Singh delivers a powerful performance. The three women in Singh's life - Beero (Sonam Kapoor), his love interest, Stella (Rebecca Breeds), with whom he has a fling during the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games, and his sister, Isri (Divya Dutta). Kapoor at best is ordinary and doesn't do much. Singh's relationship with his sister is handled quite well and Dutta plays her part effectively.

The surprise package - not in terms of performance - is Yograj Singh, who plays Randhir Singh, a hard task master and coach of the Indian athletics team. Singh, from what little is known of his relationship with son, cricketer Yuvraj Singh, looks to have reenacted his real life on reel. He snarls, looks angry throughout the film but does a decent job.

BMB is an extremely long film at 188 minutes. It could easily have been much shorter and crisper. But it is well-researched and, barring the race sequence shot in Pakistan, captures the era nicely.

The audience might have been skeptical about how Akhtar would portray Milkha Singh, but to his credit the actor does a good job. Akhtar has put in a lot of hard work and this is evident in his physique, body language and mannerisms. He is extremely convincing, and gets the accent right for most of the film. In the scenes where he trains and races, Akhtar stands out. The way Mehra has shot archival footage of the Olympics and other races into montages is fascinating.

Maybe Mehra should have focused more on how Singh actually got into the Indian Army. That chapter of Singh's life is notably missing, though there's enough screen time given to show how Singh gives up his roguish activities to become "something in life". If you want to learn about the unknown details of Singh's life, you will come back disappointed. Nevertheless, BMB is a laudable effort, mainly due to Malhotra's performance and the sincerity Akhtar brings to the character.