Farhan Akhtar’s Bhaag Milkha Bhaag not Milkha Singh’s first reel story

Recalling the making of the documentary,Deepak Haldankar says,“It was my first assignment. I was 20 years old then,and very excited to start my career with Milkha’s story. We started shooting the documentary only after we had done a thorough research on him. It was a 17-day outdoor project. We stayed in Amritsar and spend more than 12 hours everyday with the man himself. It was a good learning experience for me.” He further adds,“We became friends during the shooting,and often went on hunting trips in those 17 days. When the documentary was complete,we submitted it to NFDC. They released it in over 15,000 theatres and garnered a good response for it. What made the documentary very popular is that it had Milkha talking about himself; it was clearly the USP of the film.”

Ask him about BMB,and Haldankar describes it as an ‘experience to watch a film on Milkha Singh release on such a large scale after 43 years’. “The way it is shot is so beautiful. I liked the narrative style of the film,” he gushes,adding “But there were many things which were added to dramatise the narrative of the film.”

Reel v/s Real

How the documentary The Flying Sikh – Milkha Singh differed from the film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

*While Milkha Singh’s presence in the documentary made it realistic,BMB gets a larger-than-life dimension with its narrative.

*The footage of the races in the documentary are real. You can see what really happened during the races.

*Though the footage of Singh losing the 400 meters race in Rome is there in the documentary,it however does not show him turn back to look at the athletes behind him. In fact,Haldankar,who has seen the real race footage numerous times,maintains that it is not there. It contradicts the film and reports about the athlete losing because of him turning back to look at those behind him.

*The documentary shows Milkha admitting that he got joined the military after being rejected three times. The film,on the other hand,shows him getting an easy entry into military.

*While the documentary focusses on Singh’s achievements,career and his life after retirement,the film focusses more on his personal life and emotions. According to Haldankar,the Sonam Kapoor angle in the film could be for dramatic effect and not the real life thing. While the documentary featured Singh’s marriage to national level volleyball player,Nirmal Kaur,it is absent in the film.

*Singh’s interest in other sports like badminton and hunting was not explored in the film.

*The film delves on the athlete’s life till his win at the Lahore Stadium,but the documentary explores Singh’s life after retirement.