Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has done it again by leaving us exhilarated, admiring, disappointed and angry (in that order) within the space of the 187-plus minutes that it takes for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag to run… or rather, crawl.

Mehra, who picked up one of the most inspiring stories in our modern sports history, has come up with a movie that has some terrific performances, led by an inspired Farhan Akhtar and the incredibly talented Japtej Singh playing the young Milkha; stunning cinematography from his long-time director of photography Binod Pradhan; excitingly shot races, crackling bits of dialogue; some wonderfully enacted sequences, stirring music… there’s so much to cheer, so much to enjoy in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag . You desperately want to like this film, you want to high-five Milkha, applaud Mehra for this effort.

But it is the director himself who ruins it with some unforgivable self-indulgence. This could have been a great movie, a contemporary classic. Yet I, like so many others, left the auditorium admiring but weary, feeling like I’d seen two movies instead of one.

Practically every episode in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag looks like it could have been tightened by 25 per cent. Some bits, like a couple of the dances, could have been cut out completely. The point about Milkha conquering the competition on the field and vanquishing his inner demons is a crucial one, but by stretching the India-Pakistan story so inordinately (and gorily), Mehra has practically made a movie within a movie. And the rather convoluted flashback-within-flashback screenplay doesn’t help.

As if all this weren’t enough, the director even gives himself a cameo as a flight captain in an absolutely unnecessary scene that does nothing for him as an actor or director.

The result is that, like a joke that takes too long to deliver its punchline, Bhaag… fills you in with more detail than you’d like. Hey, you want to tell Mehra, this is a movie about speed. (Incidentally, his production company is called ROMP — an acronym derived from his name, but clearly not his film-making style.)

Such a pity. Reminded me of Delhi 6 and the manner in which Mehra crushed our hopes with that movie. Unlike Bhaag… , its unhurried pace was one of its strengths and it started off delightfully but dissolved in a muddled mess in the last stretch.

However, I would still say, go see Bhaag Milkha Bhaag . Because the legendary runner’s story is one of those classic heart-warmers about the triumph of hope, dreams and hard work. We could use stories like this in our cynical times; certainly, young India could find great inspiration here.

See it also for Farhan Akhtar in one of the most exciting performances we’ve seen in recent times in Hindi films. I’m not talking only about his pumped-up physicality, but his inhabiting of the character, about his presence in the quieter, emotional scenes as well. It is a joy to watch an actor run like an athlete and for once, a six-pack is crucial to the story.

Mehra tends to dwell too long and lovingly on Farhan’s body, painting the athletic scenes with a gloss that Paan Singh Tomar studiously avoided. But we can forgive the director that, given the performance he’s extracted from Farhan. That phrase so beloved of our pancaked actresses — ‘deglamourised role’ — could be applied to Farhan in this case, who manages to look hot even in sweaty banians and billowing shorts that Shakti Kapoor could have worn in his Aa-aa-ee-ee heyday. It is just so heartening to see a mainstream A-list actor do a role like this, one that reflects true heroism and grit instead of all those bellowing, stunt-driven caricatures. The fact that he’s a director offers even more hope, that the experience and learnings of Bhaag… will be reflected in his future films.

There are also fine performances from Divya Dutta as Milkha’s sister, Pavan Malhotra as his first coach and Japtej Singh as the young Milkha. One of the letdowns, however is Sonam Kapoor, whose makeup and coiffed hair stick out in a movie like this. How did Mehra let her get away with that? Also, Yograj Singh (cricketer Yuvraj Singh’s father), who plays an important role, simply doesn’t measure up to the others.

But Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is still a movie that’s worth seeing. And Rakeysh Mehra a director who deserves our support. Biopics are troublesome projects in these prickly times and Mehra is fortunate that Milkha Singh has been sporting enough to allow episodes like the brief Australian fling to be retained.

The runner, who offered the rights to his story to Mehra for a token one rupee, must feel vindicated by this film and the praise it has earned. Including from runner Carl Lewis, who called Milkha to tell him he enjoyed the movie and was moved by his story. No news yet from any of our sports stars though the film industry has been quick to applaud Farhan.

More importantly, the film has done well at the box-office, collecting over Rs 30 crore in its first three days. Not a record-breaking feat, but a crucial and deserved victory for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag .

shashibaliga@gmail.com

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