Put on your patience caps for three hours, and try it. There’s enough bang for the bucks here.

Cinematography is ace (Binod Pradhan); the music (Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy) heightens the drama. Prasoon’s writing is powerful, lyrics are pure poetry and emotions robustly sweep the scenes with few dialogues. While there’s a lot to marvel at, a hint of the director’s over-indulgence in the art, results in a long ‘runtime’ and prolonged scenes that distract.

I recommend a national holiday for the entire nation to go and see this movie. It makes the other recent high-profile acclaimed films look hopelessly inadequate.

Some lives are made for the big screen. Milkha Singh’s certainly is one. It has everything. Finally, Mehra proves that it is possible to make a good biopic while the events that transpired are still relevant and the characters involved are still alive.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag will have you captivated with its grit and enigma. Made with panache, it’s hard to take your eyes off Farhan Akhtar, who enriches Milkha Singh as a surreal charismatic figure beyond the realms of flesh and blood! I am going with a 4/5 and applause for the film’s team. This one is so moving and scintillating that such films are a reward to the audiences for bearing through the fiascoes!

BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG is sure to win accolades, admiration, respect and esteem, besides emerging as a champ. Reserve the applause for Milkha Singh and the team behind BHAAG MILKHA BHAAG. Give it a standing ovation!

The film may belong to Akthar, but in the final analysis it is the work of a director in complete control of his material, and his craft. Mehra has helmed ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ into a compelling story and an exemplar of cinematic brilliance; that it is also an inspiring tale almost seems to be a by-product.

. It’s brutally honest in telling a great sporting story. Watch this film to realise greatness doesn’t lie in winning but in picking up the gauntlet. Taking a challenge. Working hard. That is true inspiration.

What works for the movie apart from Farhan is the sports theme, the races, which give you that ‘live’ stadium feel, and the moments of brilliance in between.

What goes against the film is its length. It clocks 3 hours eight minutes. There are unwanted songs (two of them) that pull the narrative in the opposite direction. Apart from that, the picturisation of the song when Milkha comes to meet Sonam is confusing. Something you saw in the eighties when fillers were needed to mask a poor script.

‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ may not impress an average moviegoer, for it comes across as a very slow film. But it will certainly leave you with a sense of pride for having the legendary athlete as a fellow countryman.

If you are a patriotic Indian, you will be left teary eyed and your head held high.

At three hours and nine minutes, it’s the longest biopic in a generation in India [just two minutes shorter than Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi]. But Bhaag Milkha Bhaag doesn’t numb the bum. Instead, you might find yourself sitting comfortably through this one because you finally have an Indian story you can applaud without apology.

BMB deserves every ounce of praise for the filmmakers’ conviction on display. When you’re done watching Rakyesh Omprakash’s epic effort, you’ll come out of the theater wanting to run. And be a better person. This, right here, is the film’s ultimate victory.