Film Review By: Rizwan Asad & Shaheen Raaj Bharat “Bharat Is A Super Entertainer With Emotions As Its Strong USP” Banner: Real Life Productions, T–Series & Salman Khan Films Producers: Atul Agnihotri, Alvira Khan Agnihotri, Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar & Nikhil Namit Director: Ali Abbas Zafar Star Cast: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Tabu, Disha Patani, Sunil Grover, Satish Kaushik, Jackie Shroff, Sonali Kulkarni, Mushtaq Khan, Brijendra Kala, Anant Vidhat Sharma, Aasif Shaikh, Nora Fatehi, Manav Vij, Shashank Arora, Kashmira Irani, Ivan Sylvester Rodrigues, child artiste Barbiee Sharma, Kabir Sajid, Aaryan Prajapati & Matin Rey Tangu, Kumud Kumar Mishra, Ayesha Raza Mishra, Rajiv Gupta & Meiyang Chang Music: Vihal-Shekhar & Julius PackiamIn Bollywood, a film that covers an entire lifespan of a character is very rare & is only seen in biopics. Hollywood has done that quite often in fictional films but in our cinema, it has rarely been witnessed. Blockbuster director Ali Abbas Zafar, after delivering 2 of the Rs. 300 crore grosser’s, is now back with Bharat. It stars Salman Khan in the lead & he is seen in variant of avatars as he ages through the film. The looks of the superstar Salman Khan has indeed been appreciated. So the scripted scenario of Bharat unfolds the journey of a man & a nation together. The story begins in the year 1947 in Mirpur village near Lahore, Pakistan. Bharat (Salman Khan) is a kid & his father Gautam Kumar (Jackie Shroff) dotes on him. This is the time of the Partition & Bharat & his family is compelled to leave for India. At the railway station, Bharat is climbing on top of the train with his sister Gudiya (Barbiee Sharma) when she falls down on the railway platform. Gautam Kumar has already managed to safely climb atop the train but he goes down to search his Gudiya. But before that, he gives his watch to Bharat & assures him that he’ll be back. He also tells him to go with his mother Janki (Sonali Kulkarni), brother & sister to Gautam Kumar’s sister Jamuna’s (Ayesha Raza Mishra) shop, namely the Hind Ration Store in Delhi. Bharat & his family cross over to India & thus go to the ration shop as asked by Gautam Kumar. They are quite poor & Bharat starts doing odd jobs. Bharat soon grows up as a dashing young man (Salman Khan) & he & his childhood friend Vilayati (Sunil Grover) join a circus. Here he comes across the sizzling Radha (Disha Patani). Both Bharat & Radha get into a relationship while also doing death defying stunts. However when Bharat realizes his stunts might be influencing youngsters to do the same without proper training, he quits the circus. He goes to an employment exchange office where he meets Kumud (Katrina Kaif) & gets smitten by her. Bharat & Vilayati are sent to the Middle East to work in the oil fields. The money is good but not as much as he expected to earn. Hence, Bharat decides to work in the dangerous underground mines. Kumud who is now in love with Bharat stops him from taking up the project since she’s aware that the risk is quite high. Bharat however still takes up the work. All is well at first but 21 days later, an explosion takes place in the underground mine. It seems near impossible for Bharat & his other colleagues to come out alive. What happens next forms the rest of the crux of the film. Bharat is based on the 2014 Korean flick named Ode To My Fatherwhich was directed by Yoon Je-Kyoon. The story has been Indianised very well & the important events of the post-Independence India like the death of Jawaharlal Nehru, rise of unemployment, 1983 Cricket World Cup finale, era of liberalization & globalization, emerging trend of redevelopment et al are well inserted in the narrative. Director Ali Abbas Zafar & Varun V Sharma’s screenplay is effective & keeps the viewers engaged from start to finish. The emotional sequences especially are quite well written. Ali Abbas Zafar & Varun V Sharma’s dialogues are simple & sharp & even quite funny at some places. That apart Ali Abbas Zafar’s direction is topnotch. Unlike his previous films, Bharat is in a different zone altogether but Ali Abbas Jafar handles it all like a pro. The film changes tracks every 15 to 20 minutes & to handle such a film is not a cakewalk. For instance, after the tragic Partition scene, the film gets a bit comic & even quite colorful in the circus sequences. The switch however happens quite seamlessly & this can be seen throughout the film. On the flipside however, the humor is forced in a few scenes & doesn’t make the desired impact. Also, the National Anthem scene seems unwarranted for & could have been written in a better way. Bharat begins very well, showing the 70 year old Bharat & his life in Delhi. One might feel that the makers perhaps have shown too much at this point. But one need not worry because there’s a lot that the principal character goes through in his life & it slowly gets unveiled. The childhood portion is moving while the circus scenes are vibrant & entertaining. The real fun however begins once Bharat meets Kumud & later when he starts working in the Middle East. Till this point, there hasn’t been much conflict in the tale. But it finally enters the narrative once Bharat & his teammates get trapped. The manner in which the film goes on a high at this point is seen to be believed. The 2nd half gets better thankfully. The scenes of the ship are quite good & watch out for how the humor is so well infused in the sequence where the pirates attack the vessel! The best however is reserved for the pre-climax. An interesting development takes place here & it’ll surely bring tears to the eyes of the viewers, a la Bajrangi Bhaijaan which was released in the year 2015. Besides the film ends on a justified note! Vishal-Shekhar’s music is good but could have been better. “Slow Motion”is the top song of the lot followed by “Chashni”. “Aithey Aa”is well choreographed. “Zinda”is exhilarating. “Tupreya”, “Aaya Na Tu” & “Thap Thap”are okay. Julius Packiam’s background score is better & exhilarating, especially in the emotional scenes. Vaibhavi Merchant & Adil Shaikh’s choreography is appealing, especially in the “Slow Motion”& Aithey Aa”. Marcin Laskawiec’s cinematography is captivating & some scenes are very well captured. Rajnish Hedao’s production design is quite rich. Ashley Rebello, Alvira Khan Agnihotri, Veera Kapur Ee & Lolveen Bains’ costumes are authentic & also very, very glamorous. The ones worn by Katrina Kaif & Disha Patani stand out. SeaYoung Oh, Parvez Shaikh & Dave Judge’s action is not too gory & is appropriate. Rameshwar Bhagat’s editing falters in a few places but overall, it’s commendable, considerable the expansive storyline. Performance wise Salman Khan as expected rocks the show. He is dashing & entertaining in each & every avatar. And he seems convincing in all these makeovers. In the circus scene, he’s supposed to be below 30 years ago & it comes out just right. Even as an old man, he fits the part & makes subtle changes in his speech, body language et al. His fans are surely in for a treat! Katrina Kaif looks ravishing & performance wise, she is first rate. She gets to essay a very well-written part & she does justice to it. Her conversation with Salman Khan while munching on shawarma, a muslim non-veg dish is quite memorable. Sunil Grover gets a lot of screen time & is almost like the 2nd lead of the film. And he makes good use of the opportunity & would surely be appreciated. Jackie Shroff’s screen time is very limited but he has a crucial part & he makes his presence felt. Disha Patani is sizzling & has a fine screen presence. Tabu as Mehek has a powerful cameo. Aasif Sheikh as Mehek’s husband stands out with his characterization & humor. The kid actors namely Barbiee Sharma, Kabir Sajid as young Bharat, Aaryan Prajapati as young Vilayati & Matin Rey Tangu as young Jimmy are adorable. Nora Fatehi as Sussan looks quite hot but is wasted. Sonali Kulkarni, Kashmira Irani as Mehek, Kumud Kumar Mishra as Keemat, Ayesha Raza Mishra, Shashank Arora as Chhote, Rajiv Gupta as Gulati & Ivan Sylvester Rodrigues as Gupta are quite decent. Meiyang Chang is hardly there but his look is quite badass. Tail Piece: On the whole, Bharat is a super entertainer with emotions as its strong USP & Salman Khan like never before. The superb combination of Salman Khan, emotions & the release period coinciding with Ramzan Eid will ensure fireworks at the ticket windows. At the box office turnstiles, it will fetch bumper profits for all concerned. Period!
