Bharat is perfect Eidi for Salman Khan fans from Bhai. He does stunts with aplomb, dances with glory, romances with elan in slow motion, rescues people just like a caped crusader twice and also works towards Indo-Pak unity. Yes, his shirt also comes off as well when he does a full monty to get himself weighed. What more can you ask for, really?

Salman Khan in and as 'Bharat' grows through the narrative which begins with partition and its repercussions on the people of the country. How a line between Hindustan and Pakistan had its impact upon the common man and his familial ties. Ali Abbas Zafar's 'Bharat' is a window to your past which will give you a ticket to revisit history in three hours.

Early on in Bharat, Salman Khan declares in signature Salman Khan style: yeh sher buddha zaroor ho gaya hai lekin shikaar karna nahin bhoola. That line summarizes everything that's admirable and flawed in the star's new film. It's admirable that Salman, who has built his colossal career largely playing a specific supersized persona, is willing to age onscreen. That our first glimpse of him is as a 70-year-old man with grey hair and furrowed brow. Director Ali Abbas Zafar pushes Salman into a new space.

The stories of lives torn asunder due to Partition and of the reunion of loved ones after years of separation make for an emotive watch. It makes you leave Bharat with some amount of connect, despite the overt mawkishness and accompanying in-film promotion for Zee TV that comes riding on it. Otherwise, in an effort to have an epic sweep, in terms of time, place and emotions, Bharat is way too ponderous and plodding.

Salman Khan has often explained the rejection of his earlier Eid release, Tubelight, as thus -- the film came out on a festival and people expected to be entertained; instead they left the theatre crying, and the film flopped. As much as a Salman Khan film can flop. That is why Bharat -- despite finding its origins in the heart-wrenching Partition of India, and being linked to it till its climax -- is primarily an entertainer.

In Ali Abbas Zafar's Bharat, one of the characters (played by Jackie Shroff) picks a key moment in India's history -- the Partition massacre, no less -- to channel his inner Dev Anand. But try singling out Shroff's this one indiscretion, in a movie which features instance upon instance of poorly timed acting choices, cheap laughs and godawful characterisations.

At a crucial point in Ali Abbas Zafar's new venture, the titular protagonist's father appears to him and says: "Desh logon se banta hai, aur logon ki pehchaan unke parivaar se hoti hai. Tujh mein poora desh hai, Bharat." (A nation is made up of people, and people's identity comes from their family. The whole country resides in you, Bharat.) It is a line that at once sounds profound but means little. It also encapsulates the essence of Bharat: a film that wants to be profound but ends up meaning far less despite its bull's-eyes.

Why do people go to see a Salman Khan film? You will not find the answer to that question in the reviews of his films. You will find the answer to that question in a single screen theatre, on Eid morning, as boy after boy hoots, cheers and screams his lungs out for this one man. Upar Allah, neeche dharti, beech mein tera junoon. It is that junoon that makes a Salman fan get out of her or his home on Eid day and watch their superstar on the big screen. One more time. Year after year.

Salman Khan's latest Eid offering is likely to get off to a rapturous start. One got a hint of what was in store as soon as Khan walks into the frame as a grizzly, 70-year-old Bharat! That's right, he does play a septuagenarian but one with a flamboyance that even a 30-year-old would envy.

BHARAT is about the journey of a man and a nation together. The story begins in 1947 in Mirpur village near Lahore. Bharat (Salman Khan) is a kid and his father Gautam Kumar (Jackie Shroff) dotes on him. This is the time of Partition and Bharat and his family are compelled to leave for India. At the railway station, Bharat is climbing on top of the train with his sister Gudiya (Barbiee Sharma) when she falls down on the station.

No one loves being a hero more than Salman Khan. With Bharat he gets the biggest and most lavish canvas of his career to showcase his heroism across different ages. A remake of the Korean drama Ode to my father, Bharat is set against the backdrop of partition and narrates the story of a son (Salman Khan) who lives his life waiting to fulfill a promise made to his father (Jackie Shroff) during their brutal separation.

Based on the South Korean blockbuster ODE TO MY FATHER, the Indian version is written for screen by Ali Abbas Zafar and Varun V. Sharma. BHARAT is a journey of a boy born in Mirpur village near Lahore in Pakistan before partition. The boy is named Bharat (Kabir Sajid - as young Bharat) by his Father Gautam Kumar (Jackie Shroff) a railway station master. Its circa 1947 and the demon of partition forces Bharat and his family to leave Pakistan and take refuge in India.

Bharat is bhai's Eidi for his fans. This year, Salman Khan's treat for his loyalists is a film, which is an official adaptation of the Korean film, Ode To My Father (2014). The story begins with a fairly-aged looking Salman Khan (60) with salt-and-pepper hair, having the physique of a 40-year-old. As the movie begins, we're unsure if his fans will accept 'bhai' in this look; while the greys do their bit, Salman's efforts on voice modulation appear to be forced. On the other hand, Katrina Kaif does justice to her part.

In Khan's latest movie Bharat, he is, on paper at least, a victim of Partition who works hard to improve his lot, falls in love but sacrifices its prize - marriage - for a promise made to his father, and always does what is best for his clan, community and the nation. Ali Abbas Zafar's movie is meant to be about a flesh-and-blood character, rather than an extension of its megaladon-sized movie star.

There are few idiosyncrasies attached with the movies of certain stars - Shah Rukh Khan's spreading his arms, emotional angle in an Aamir Khan film & 'no animals were harmed' certificate during Salman films (just kidding). We're so obsessed with Salman having an entry scene; Ali decided to shoot a stand-alone scene as Bharat's first scene and shabbily patched up with the film. In short, Bharat gets partitioned during 1947 from his father; now he has an entire family to take care of.

A little boy who is forced to be responsible early on, grows up with no regret of a non- existent childhood. He in fact makes it his life goal to put his family before him. The film follows the journey of Bharat (Salman Khan) over the course of several decades as he navigates the ups and downs of life.

One Word Review... Bharat: SMASH-HIT. An emotional journey that wins you over... Salman is the lifeline. He's exceptional... Katrina excels... Ali Abbas Zafar blends humour + emotions wonderfully... Slight trimming needed... Get ready for #Salmania. #BharatReview