The film itself is well intentioned and shines a light on an important figure. But it’s too long and too unfocused to leave a lasting impression. I’m going with two-and-a-half out of five for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. Watch it for Farhan Akhtar’s sincere performance.

As it has turned out, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is more the overlong, overblown Singing-Dancing-Flying Sikh, than just the triumphal, true Flying Sikh.

For a film about sprinting and clocking shortest timings possible, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag moves at a snail’s pace and goes on for over 3 hours. And while the protagonist purportedly possesses tremendous focus, the film seems to lack that very quality.

It is very rare to see a Bollywood actor this committed to his/ her role, to totally become someone else. I wish I could find any other reason to recommend Mehra’s three-plus hour film that attempts to be an epic, but is really thin in plot and goes in so many different directions before it finally solves the so-called mystery: Why would Milkha Singh not run in Pakistan?

One can well imagine the huge wave of disappointment that would have assailed the nation when, at the 1960 Rome Olympics, the legendary Milkha Singh missed a medal in a photo-finish. Over half a century later, the overstuffed cinematic re-enactment of that 400 metres race and the historical and biographical events leading up to it is no less of a downer.

Not for a moment undermining his efforts, I would like to call this as a serious case of miscasting. Farhan’s body language and diction seemed too ‘posh’ to have been brought up in the rustic conditions that Milkha Singh was. In fact, the boy who played younger Milkha was far more believable. A tad unfair comparison maybe, but Irrfan’s effortlessly believable portrayal of ‘Paan Singh Tomar’ kept coming back to me.