If I remember exactly, it was on 13th July, 2001, give or take a few days, when me along with a filmi keeda friend watched Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's directorial debut - Aks. Both of us were mindblown by the badassery of Bachchan saab & Manoj Bajpayee and that rainy night we spent about 3 hours discussing the film, despite the fact that nobody else in the theater that we watched the film in got it. They all hated it. But me & my friend loved it. For weeks we would quote lines from the film to each other while others around us thought that we had lost our marbles. Na koi marta hai, na koi maarta hai; aisa main nahin kehta, tumhaari geeta main likha hai... Aah nostalgia!
But this post is about Mehra's latest offering; a biopic on The Flying Sikh - Milkha Singh. Aptly titled 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag', this is undoubtedly one of the best biopics made in this side of the hemisphere. Even those who know the epic story of the sprinter will be pleasantly surprised by the way the makers have chosen to narrate his story. We live in times where an entire generation (or most of it) will get to know of Milkhaji's life and times after watching this inspirational film. At least I knew only things that were a part of the general knowledge portion of our studies, but having watched BMB, I have new found respect for The Man.
The day I first saw the trailer of BMB, I knew it was a winner of a film. The moment I came to know of the special preview, me along with a fellow film fanatic made a sprint for it. From the word go, I was captivated by what was playing out on the screen. Surprisingly, not for one single moment I thought it was Farhan Akhtar essaying the role of Milkha Singh. He had BECOME the character. And then the filmmaker took over with his craft. With a non-linear style of storytelling the biopic sucked me into its universe so much so that I almost didn't mind the asshole beside me (not my friend) who was going on with his live commentary. And then there was a wailing kid. I wanted to kill all of them, but didn't as I was feeling INSIDE the film.
Prasoon Joshi reclaimed his place in the list of 'People I worship' thanks to his magik in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. What a writer & the lyrics are divine too, so double whammy! There were many scenes where my eyes turned moist, but there two scenes that involved Divya Dutta and Pavan Malhotra where I cried like the baby that was crying in the theater when the film began. There is no point in me telling you what happens in the film, you HAVE to watch it for yourself. I wouldn't be surprised if this film is made tax-free and is made a compulsory watch in the next few days.
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag has god-level art direction, editing (P S Bharathi), cinematography (Binod Pradhan) & divine music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. The child artist who plays Milkha junior is a revelation. Mehra's tribute to The Flying Sikh is worth its weight in cinema gold! Full respect to the entire team that created this masterpiece and kudos to Sonam Kapoor for being a part of this film where her screen time is almost as much as Abhay Deol in Raanjhanaa, but she still delivers the goods. Please do watch this film at your earliest possible convenience with you entire family if possible. Take your neighbours and assorted friends to watch it too, but please don't be douchebags and talk during the film. Switch off your mobile phones, sit back and watch the story of a legend of our times unfold & spellbind you.
Pairipauna Mehraji...
Please remember, zinda hai toh pyaala poora bhar le
Note to self: Likh Keyrun Likh
