Jul 14, 2013 11:46 PM
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Being a big sports lover and knowing quite a bit about "The Milkha Singh", it was but obvious that this was the flick I was looking forward to. But what it turned out to be in actual was a huge disappointment. I had gone to watch the glorious achievements of a Champion athlete, but what I witnessed was a manipulative and exaggerating stuff of a man who goes from nowhere to everywhere.
I would put the whole blame on Prasoon Joshi and Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra as from the content which they had, they could have made a master-piece out of it. Most of the story revolves in flashback where Pawan Malhotra, coach of Farhan (Milkha), answers the question as to why is Milkha not ready to go to Pakistan. I wonder how he knew all what was shown there-after. It looked like a complete mismatch.
At the time of Independance, Milkha witnesses what one cant even imagine and that is the fully blooded dead bodies of his family members. Uff.. that was frightening.. took my breath away. Milkha struggled throughout his life. The incidents show-cased were worth a watch. He just ran and ran and ran for various reasons be it for a glass of milk, relief from few exercises, getting famous, being a Champion, personal battle etc.
Pawan Malhotra and Yograj Singh(Ranveer Singh) were shown giving him tips and preparing him to be the best 400 m runner in the World. He had personal battles with former National Champion, Pakistan Champion and with the World Champions in the Olympics. He more often then not gave his best shot with full dedication.
What was shown in this way too long 3hr 8min movie was the fact that he struggled throughout his life, ran for survival, had romance with a couple of girls here and there, sang lots of songs day-in and day-out etc. And just in a 2 min clip, a list of the various Championships he won was shown.. Thats it.. Ohh hello.. Then what did we go for to see in the movie if not for his glorious achievements?? No answers folks.
A song would creep up every 15-20 min dont know for what reason. And that too, no song is worth getting inspired from. Zinda could be said that it was a necessity and should have been there. He even sang Apne Hi Rang Mein while dreaming about Sonam Kapoor(Biro) and all this was siad by Pawan Malhotra in the train. Great.. he knew everything. I wonder if Milkha Singh would have actually done it.
Sonam Kapoor is in a very small role but whenever she comes, it is refreshing for the eyes. I havent seen a girl more beautiful then her in a salwar kameez.
Coming back to the story, dere's Divya Dutta as Milkha's sister and she stays young forever..right from Milkha's childhood till he is adult. She had also survived the post-independence battle and was an integral part of Milkha's life. Dont know how she survived and how she found Milkha. Wont reveal more. Also, the way she was forced into doing what she does wasnt necessary to be shown. It looked a complete fake.
Some of the scenes were simply unbelieveable and cant be true. Drinking or eating 2 buckets of ghee in front of the policeman and people cheering, breaking the National Record when he is totally injured and barely able to stand forget walking or running, its not human. Totally impossible. The injury wont be there or it would be a very minor one, not the one shown here.
On the other hand, there were a few good scenes as well. Milkha handing over the Gold Medal to Pawan malhotra, giving Diamond earrings to his Sister, interaction with his old friend, slapping himself after realizing his mistake, the efforts put in were truly outstanding.
Milkha was a small thief turned Army man turned Athlete. 1956 Melbourne Olympics showed more of his off-field drama and his short - affair with an Australian then his on-field actions. if this looked short, what was shown about 1960 Olympics was that he was leading until half the distance, then turned back, memories of family re-lived and he comes home 4th. Whew.. horrible.
The end was even bad. He went to Pakistan and won the Friendly Challenge and was given the title of "The Flying Sikh". They showed that the Pakistan coach and Khalik were insulting him and all such things. Not wanted. I hate this mentality that once you beat a Pakistani, you forget everything else. What about the defeat in 2 consecutive Olympics despite being a genuine contender?? No emphasis was laid on it.
Rakeysh Om Prakash Mehra disappoints big time. He could have easily shortened the length by about 45 min. His direction was also patchy. Prasoon Joshi didnt knew what exactly he wanted to portray. Poor. Screenplay was fairly good. Music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy was simply pathetic and unwanted.
Farhan Akhtar puts in a whole-hearted effort and has made a good athlete type of a body. Shows good emotions but is way too irritating to hear. Just not good enough. Sonam Kappor is wasted in such a small role although she looks beautiful. Divya Dutta is excellent. Pawan Malhotra shows how good an actor he is. Yograj Singh is average. Prakash Raj is good in his small role. Acts with utmost ease. Rest of the crew was ok.
All in all, i'm deeply disappointed by this flick. Wanted much more from this biopic. Unnecessary tracks and songs totally spoil it. Movies like Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, Lagaan, Paan Singh Tomar, Iqbal are way better then this. I wanted to see a larger part of his life in a better way then this. I would rate it 2/5..
