By BollywoodMDB Team - Jul 12, 2013 08:34 AM

Rating: 4.5/5

One Line Review: A consummate biopic impeccably woven into a pastiche of sprint, drama, tunes and synergy.

Positive Points: Flawless script, Awesome direction, Excellent background score and cinematography, Mindblowing character performances, Inspirational and peppy songs, Superlative visual effects, Splendid costumes, Impeccable editing.

Negative Points: Unnecessarily infused adult scenes.

Plot: The story attempts to unleash the life pages of a legendary athlete Milkha Singh. Young Milkha Singh (Farhan Akhtar) lives with his family in Pind village. Milkha is emotionally very attached to his elder sister Isri Kaur (Divya Dutta). Milkha has a special place in his heart for his lady love Beeru (Sonam Kapoor).

To impress Beeru, he goes to try his luck in Army and that's what discloses the hidden sports-person inside Milkha. He decides to go into sports to fill his hunger for more and more food. This urge of Milkha makes him showcase his talent on various platforms. He ventures into sports world devoid of any monetary backing. At that time, Milkha gains valuable guidance from Ustaad (Prakash Raj), Ranbir Singh (Yograj Singh) and Gurudev Singh (Pawan Malhotra). Milkha goes on winning an assortment of competitions, fetching loads of medals for India and achieving name and fame.

In the year 1960, Milkha participates in Rome Olympics but fails to win it. At that time, Jawaharlal Nehru (Dalip Tahil) suggests him to go to Pakistan and beat the Pakistani players with his strength. Milkha denies going to Pakistan over some reason. Post this, Milkha plans to polish his sports talent to uttermost level to grab a big name in the world of athletics. Eventually, Milkha participates in the very significant race of his life and comes out with flying colors winning a gold medal.

Direction And Other Technical Aspects: In the season of reigning biopics, the director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has wonderfully enlivened the entire life-tale of the living-legend athlete Milkha Singh in 3 hours. The movie has amazingly encapsulated the great sprinter's perseverance as an athlete and a heroic persona. The talented director has carved the journey of sprinter Milkha Singh from milk to bagging a gold medal. Though the sports career of Milkha Singh is the prime focus of the film, it excellently deals with the ascending battle with his life, barriers in his path to success and the triumph at last. The director and the writer Prasoon Joshi have arrived with something more than a sports-flick, which covers every delicate and pertinent endeavor of the sportsman's life. This attempt of the director-writer duo makes one salute the power of Milkha Singh and successfully evokes the nationalism spirit.

The magnetizing screenplay possesses the power of keeping the viewers hooked to their seats. The visual effects in the film are fantabulous to make the film stand out of the crowd. Several scenes makes one spellbound, tickles one's funny bones, makes the eyes moist and finally leaves one speechless about the enchanting spirit of this athlete. This magnum-opus by the filmmakers does not fail to impress the viewers with its gradual unfolding of crucial events in sprinter's life. The flawless and impeccable direction of the film can easily ensure the way full of roses for this flick. The other appreciable element of the film is that the melodrama in the film is set within limits and does not impart overdose of it to the audience. The storyline oozes innocence and cherishable moments via simple storytelling. The art direction, editing and camera work of the film is worth to get applause. The film also boasts of electrifying background score. These components take the movie to an altogether diverse level.

Performances: The talented actor Farhan Akhtar is first time playing so much demanding role on his part in his acting career span. And he had perfectly shined as Milkha Singh undeniably and stole the show. His performance well mirrors his hard work behind the screen to essay the role convincingly. The graceful Sonam Kapoor, though appeared for fraction of time on the screen, looks good in her role.

Pawan Malhotra had provided full justice to his role as a coach of Milkha. No need to say, Prakash Raj, like his any other movie, has grabbed attention with his excellent acting skills. In case of Divya Dutta, she is getting better and better in terms of her performance and looks promising. Yograj Singh, the father of Cricketer Yuvraj Singh leaves an unforgettable impression. Dalip Tahil suits well as Jawaharlal Nehru.

Music: Music composers Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy had come up with fabulous and peppy songs like 'Maston Ka Jhund', 'Zinda', 'O Rangrez', 'Mera Yaar', 'Slow Motion Angreza' and 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'. Among them, 'Zinda' track sounds like a youth-anthem, while 'Maston Ka Jhund' seems undoubtedly lajawaab. The song 'Slow Motion Angreza' steals hearts with its melody.

Final Verdict: A perfectly woven piece of work, filled with excellent storyline. In all, a champ movie that will surely make a way for esteem, respect, praises and roses. The team of the film certainly deserves a standing ovation.