Biographical films typically require the director to exercise his creative licence to make the dull parts more dramatic. But in the presenting the story of possibly the greatest track and field athlete India has produced, this was unnecessary. A life filled with guts, glory, determination and also immense tragedy is absolutely ripe for being made into a film. So much so, I am surprised that this movie has come out only in 2013.
The movie sketches the life of Milkha from the time he is a 12 year old around the time of partition to about the time he is just past his peak running ability. And what an amazing life it is. Watching his family butchered in front of his eyes before acting on his father's last words extolling him to run ( the title of the movie are those words), only to escape to a tough life at a refugee camp and then the hard work and determination involved in trying to become the world's best runner. The narrative is presented in a non-linear form and this keeps you engaged through the length of the movie. And though the premise seems extraordinarily serious the movie never overwhelms you. Humour and romance are used in just the right amounts.
My only gripe with the movie was that it could have been tauter and a couple of songs were completely unnecessary. The songs themselves were quite good but a couple of them did nothing but hinder the flow of the movie.
The acting of both the people who play Milkha, Farhan Akthar and Jabtej Singh (as the young Milkha) were amazing. Farhan's commitment to the movie is really quite impressive. In the course of the movie you can see him convert from scrawny teenager to extremely bulky sprint champion. And though before this, I wasn't particularly a fan of his acting, particularly his voice modulation, in this movie his perfomance was extremely well done as well. Among the technical aspects the cinematography was especially noteworthy (Binod Pradhan). I really liked the video game like rendering of the riots. The rest of the movie was also shot beautifully.
Overall I really enjoyed this movie. I hope this inspires more sportspeople in India as well as more sports based movies.
P.S: This is the 2nd big Bollywood movie about a runner in 2 years. Last year's Pan Singh Tomar being the other. Both are nice movies. BMB takes the obviously dramatic approach to tell the story of a legend. PST took a more subtle approach to show the fact is stranger than fiction of an international athlete who was part of the army and then became a dacoit. Personally I liked PST more, but BMB is extremely inspiring too.
The movie sketches the life of Milkha from the time he is a 12 year old around the time of partition to about the time he is just past his peak running ability. And what an amazing life it is. Watching his family butchered in front of his eyes before acting on his father's last words extolling him to run ( the title of the movie are those words), only to escape to a tough life at a refugee camp and then the hard work and determination involved in trying to become the world's best runner. The narrative is presented in a non-linear form and this keeps you engaged through the length of the movie. And though the premise seems extraordinarily serious the movie never overwhelms you. Humour and romance are used in just the right amounts.
My only gripe with the movie was that it could have been tauter and a couple of songs were completely unnecessary. The songs themselves were quite good but a couple of them did nothing but hinder the flow of the movie.
The acting of both the people who play Milkha, Farhan Akthar and Jabtej Singh (as the young Milkha) were amazing. Farhan's commitment to the movie is really quite impressive. In the course of the movie you can see him convert from scrawny teenager to extremely bulky sprint champion. And though before this, I wasn't particularly a fan of his acting, particularly his voice modulation, in this movie his perfomance was extremely well done as well. Among the technical aspects the cinematography was especially noteworthy (Binod Pradhan). I really liked the video game like rendering of the riots. The rest of the movie was also shot beautifully.
Overall I really enjoyed this movie. I hope this inspires more sportspeople in India as well as more sports based movies.
P.S: This is the 2nd big Bollywood movie about a runner in 2 years. Last year's Pan Singh Tomar being the other. Both are nice movies. BMB takes the obviously dramatic approach to tell the story of a legend. PST took a more subtle approach to show the fact is stranger than fiction of an international athlete who was part of the army and then became a dacoit. Personally I liked PST more, but BMB is extremely inspiring too.
Also in case you are wondering about the title of this review it is a take on the fact that in the movie Milkha loves to drink milk a lot.
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