Plot: Milkha Singh from Punjab joins the Indian Army and his abilities as a sprinter are unearthed by his Coach who then sends him to the national academy. There, persevering pain and insult, Milkha breaks national record and becomes a promising medal prospect in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. After failing to live up to his potential there, instead of getting bogged down, he practices and practices hard winning races across the globe before an unfortunate 4th place finish in the next Olympics in Greece. The film traces his tumultous childhood in Punjab-given-to-Pakistan post partition and how they shaped him to go back to his native place and race to a 'flying Sikh' title.
What Works?
- Farhan Akhtar as Milkha Singh is the heart and soul of this film. With his strenuous efforts to get his athlete look and his careful imitations of a runner's body language along with his ability to perform casually make us feel connected and makes the biopic a winner.
- Not far off is the boy cast as young Milkha. A majority of the emotional scenes are loaded on him and he performs with aplomb.
- The Army coach shows more than a coach connection very well & the national Coach does a pretty fine job.
- Shankar Ehsaan Loy's tracks like Zinda, Mere Yaar &Bhaag Milkha and the background music are backbones to the training routine scenes and the slick editing is clearly noticeable.
- I come to Omprakash Mehra last for a reason; Appreciate him for backing his idea and producing a film on one of the athletes worthy of celebration in the country and giving a tacky narrative that is between commercial cinema and a biography.
What Doesn't?
- There are goof-ups aplenty. Milkha Singh had never broked world record like what the film proclaims & that is a major sin on part of a film-maker - An insult to the viewers and the achievements of Milkha as well.
- Also, the film focuses on 2 unwanted love stories in which space it could have provided more on Milkha's exploits in the various competitions.
Farhan and his kid counterpart take this biopic to appreciable levels!
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