The sheer joy of watching someones hard-work come to life on the screen is inspiring indeed. To portray Milkha Singh's struggle and achievements and his zeal to succeed at the world stage, required an equally earnest and dedicated effort by the filmmakers. This effort is reflected in Bhag Milkha Bhag, and is what makes the film commendable.

Farhan Akhtar's tough physical training for this role pays great dividends on screen. The races look pretty convincing because of Farhan's effort and soon you find yourself cheering for Milkha, if not loudly in the movie-hall then at-least in your head.

The non-linear narrative of the film keeps the movie engrossing, so although you know the basic outline of the story, you can't really guess what would happen next. The story is narrated by Milkha's coach Gurudev Singh played brilliantly Pavan Malhotra by who first recognizes the Milkha Singh's talent.

The women in Milkha Singh's life play a very important role, be it his elder sister (played by Divya Dutta)who single handedly brings Milkha up, or the love of his life (Sonam Kapoor) who is the reason why he changes his unruly ways. Although one must add, that the part where Milkha goes on a romp after a party with Stella(Rebecca Brooks) during the 1956 Melbourne Games does look a bit forced.

Some people may have qualms with the dance sequences but personally they were quite enjoyable and didn't jar the narrative. Keep an eye out for the song with Sonam Kapoor who plays Milkha Singh's love interest in the film. The shot with them both on top of a bridge with green, swiftly flowing water below was captured beautifully.

The director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has a signature style which is apparent like from his previous films- Rang De Basanti and Delhi-6. He can merge music and visuals to great effect. Although in some scenes a little bit of restraint in the stylistic details and drama could have certainly helped.

To emerge as a world leading athlete from India just after independence, when I suppose sports facilities weren't great, with the scars of the partition deep in his mind is some achievement. We salute you Milkha Singh! One must commend the efforts of the filmmakers to bring the story to us.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag works for two basic reasons. One it is based on the story of a sports person whose personal life is dramatic enough to keep you engaged apart from its racing track achievements and second it is played by Farhan Akhtar who plays his role as if he is really Milkha Singh himself. Farhan Akhtar excels playing Milkha Singh like Ben Kingsley excelled playing Gandhi. Farhan Akhtar seems to be enjoying every bit of the movie. When he runs, he runs like a tiger. When he dances, he dances like a pure Punjabi. When he loves, he loves with innocence and passion. Farhan Akhtar can easily be given all best actor awards of 2013. All supporting actors give their best. Divya Dutta is excellent, Sonam Kapoor looks fresh, Pawan Malhotra and Parkash Raj's performance are heartwarming. Music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy is first rate and awe inspiring. Rakeyesh Omprakash Mehra like an expert captain provides movie its uniqueness, technical perfection, soul and purpose. Like an every fantastic experience, this also comes with its dull moments. Movie takes around extra half an hour before reaching to its finale. Rangrezz song could have been avoided and prolonged sequences of Milkha's achievements could have been shortened. Dilip Tahil playing Pandit Nehru looks like a missed stroke. At the end, you can safely say, you had a great time running with Farhan Akhtar for more than 3 hours. Run to your nearest theater now to watch this powerful biopic.

I would certainly be disappointed if this movie doesn't get nominated for the best foreign language film in the academy awards. Farhan Akhtar is like the epitome of dedication towards Milkha Singh's character. He was running like a pro. Cinematography was just amazing. Many shots were just breathtaking. Direction was just perfect and the casting was sensibly done. Parallel storytelling kept the movie balanced between Milkha Singh's life and his sports career. The trio of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy did their job as always.

But one of all, Farhan Akhtar rocked. He has always given his best in every field he has ever stepped in to. Respect for Farhan Akhtar, respect for Milkha Singh, the true hero.