Bhaag Milkha Bhaag – A Flying Tale of A Flying Sikh

A great movie experience is a combination of many things. It includes a convincing plot, high voltage drama, light moments that stay with viewers even when they leave the theatre, good music, inspirational elements and a few emotional scenes. “Bhaag Milkha Bhaag” is among those movies which offer all the above mentioned ingredients at par. For those who keep a track of innovative, interesting and path breaking Indian Cinema the name of Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra is the symbol of excellence. Whenever he unfolded his sleeves, movies like “Aks”, “Rang de Basanti” and “Delhi-6” were witnessed by cine-goers. All these movies are distinctive in one way or the other. BMB is nothing different than them. It is a master stroke – without a doubt.

Farhan Akhtar secretes immense talent but no one has, up till Rakeysh Om Prakash, utilized that talent. Farhan’s directorial ventures “Dil Chahta Hai” and “Lakshya” made people realize his credibility as one of the finest directors. As an actor, BMB is his landmark. The way he has carried out his role and portrayed his emotions definitely demand standing ovation.

BMB is based on the journey of great Indian athlete Milkha Singh (also known as Flying Sikh). It is a movie about a boy whose entire family excluding his elder sister was murdered in the riots of Indo-Pak partition and he became a national and international rage back in 1960’s. It is also about the bond between a brother and sister – executed with exceptional detailing. Moreover, the movie is about a blooming romance, some promises with loved ones, emotional fits, flying high yet not leaving the ground by any means and a lot more. In short it’s about the life of Milkha Singh and what he went through.

Performance wise, Farhan Akhtar deserves to be nominated for this movie especially by critics. He is a revelation in BMB. He tackles the most difficult parts with complete ease and effortlessness. His transitions can be easily witnessed and felt by the audience from first scene to the last. Divya Dutta as Milkha Singh’s sister is vibrant, emotional, lovable and above all highly expressive. In 2 of the scenes particularly, she involved the audience to a level by her performance that no one could resist moistening their eyes. This is a performance she will always be reminded of. Sonam Kapoor (as Biro), Meesha Shafi (as Perizaad) and Rebecca Breeds (as Stella) had limited roles but they all performed well in their respective characters.

Pavan Malhotra (as Milkha Singh’s senior) is inspirational and at his peak. This actor is unfortunately most underrated, he needs to be casted in more movies to show-case his vast talent. Yograj Singh as (Milkha Singh’s coach) is just perfect. Dalip Tahil is strictly passable and ditto for Dev Gill (Abdul Khaliq). Art Malik (as Milkha Singh’s father) and Jabtej Singh (as young Milkha Singh) are credible and treat to watch.

Music of this movie is amazing. Arif Lohar’s “Bhaag Milkha”, Sukhwinder Singh’s “Slow Motion Angrezza”, Suhas Sawant’s “Zinda” and Divya Kumar’s “Maston Ka Jhund” are totally different from one another yet are really awesome tracks in all respects. Shankar-Ehsan-Loy’s music is simply amazing for this venture.

Some sequences to lookout for – performance wise:

When Farhan asks from where can he buy the Indian Team’s blazer!

When Divya Dutta meets young Milkha Singh in the camp.

When Farhan insists Divya to wear his blazer – the scene would definitely bring tears to many viewers’ eyes

When Farhan slaps himself repeatedly in the washroom

and a lot more…

On the basis of performance, direction, execution and story-telling I would easily rate this movie 9/10. It’s a must watch for those who celebrates quality and inspirational cinema. A must watch!

Is it a Lobby system? Or Pakistani Media is really unfortunate?

Everyone says that Pakistan has got great talent. How many of us actually believe on this? Saying is another thing and believing and promoting is entirely different thing. 

I personally believe that in Pakistan there is no appreciation of the talent. Well, I can be wrong – everything that I think can’t always be right after all. But on the basis of few observations and studies I can, at least, try to justify my thinking. Let us think about few of the names that really introduced Pakistan worldwide (positively) after gaining the title of “Terrorist and Extremist Nation”. There were few artistes that performed in India and Dubai and within few days the outlook of Pakistan changed to certain extent. Let us start with Adnan Sami Khan, the young aged boy who used to present a show on PTV, mostly with the kids and at that time he used to compose his own tunes. He himself collaborated with Asha Bosle and produced an album that became a success. Later he himself produced a film known as “Sargam” in which he stared against his ex-wife Zeba Bakhtiar. The movie was not a hit but the musical score was talk of the town back then. He never got a chance to compose music for any Pakistani music in all those years. Then in early 2000 he produced an album in India with the title “Lift kara de” which became a grand success, his one album over shadowed his all previous successes. He also performed with Amitabh Bachchan in the same album. Rest is history! Why Pakistani media did not recognized his talent and skills at that time? Why he was not offered with some amazing productions back then? If India can take out great tunes from him, why couldn’t Pakistani Media?

Shafqat Amanat Ali and Rahat Fateh Ali both belong to the families that have name and prestige. But even then they both were not utilized in Pakistan as thee were and in fact still are utilized by the Indian Media. Is it fame? Brand? Money? What? I suppose Pakistani Media is at a point where there is no betterment. We are good in adopting things but not far sighted enough to create our own. We need a foreign stamp to make are mediocre artistes to turn in to stars.

These days Ali Zafar is considered as the heartthrob of millions of girls. He worked really hard right from the days of “Kollege Jeans” and “Lunda Bazaar” (one of my favorites, in terms of Ali Zafar’s performances). But poor chap was not noticed the way he was noticed in “Tere Bin Ladin”. Why? Why it took him almost 10 years to prove himself a heartthrob of Pakistan, whereas in India it took him few years or better say months.

Similarly Sikander Sanam and Shakeel are amongst the senior comedians of our stages shows (Karachi). They themselves got noticed by many elite classed individuals after their appearance on Indian television. Was media sleeping in late 80’s, whole 90’s and 2000’s? Soon after their comeback they were bestowed with big budgeted programs from major TV Channels of Pakistan.

This is height of complexity. Now we need a foreign approval to notice our talent.

Why is it that after working for decades in Pakistani media, artistes do not get the appreciation and success? Though after working for few months in India or Dubai they become overnight success?

It is a serious question, which most will not even get! Soon I will come up with another eye opening concern.

Please do comment and share your views!