Director: Soumendra Padhi
Star Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, debutant actor Master Mayur Patole, Tillotama Shome, Shruti Marathe & Chhaya Kadam
Music: Sidhant Mathur & Ishaan Chhabra
Debutant director Soumendra Padhi has really tackled the sports genre oriented movie Budhia Singh – Born To Run with finesse. In fact Budhia Singh – Born To Run is an inspirational tale of human spirit, endurance & sacrifice. And giving the director a perfect support are his cast & crew. Hats off to all of them.
The scripted scenario of Budhia Singh – Born To Run kick – starts with a set up of the divine Puri in Bhubaneswar. It is here that the 5 year old Budhia Singh (Mayur Patole) is introduced. He gets sold off to a local merchant by his impoverished mother, for a mere Rs. 650. There enters the “social entrepreneur” Biranchi Das (Manoj Bajpayee), who runs a judo coaching classes for the young albeit orphaned children. When he gets to know about Budhia Singh has been sold off to a man, he rescues Budhia Singh and convinces Budhia Singh’s mother to allow him to be kept with him, while he gets her a job. Delivering a chance punishment to Budhia Singh, makes Biranchi Das discover the former’s “God – gifted” talent to run relentlessly without even an ounce of tiredness. There after he starts coaching Budhia, with a sole aim of creating a world record. And when the news of Budhia’s athletic talents reaches the media, he, not only becomes an overnight sensation, but also the toast of the entire Bhubaneswar state. Biranchi Das gets so very involved in coaching Budhia to become an international marathon star, that he, unintentionally, starts overlooking his own family. And when the non – stop achievements & the records created by the 5 year old Budhia reaches its pinnacle, the Child Welfare Board’s committee members try to bring down Biranchi Das as well as Budhia Singh.
Writer – director Soumendra Padhi really deserves a special mention for his excellent directorial treatment of this real life story in tandem with Manoj Kumar Khatoi as the cinematographer, Sidhant Mathur & Ishaan Chhabra as the music composers & Shivkumar V. Panicker as the editors. The extra special highlight of the film is the picturisation of the marathon run sequences from Puri to Bhabuneshwar.
Performance wise the 2 pillars of the film are Manoj Bajpayee as the coach Biranchi Das & debutant Master Mayur Patole as the main protagonist Buddhia Singh. Both of them are simply outstanding. In fact Master Mayur Patole really steals the hearts of the cinegoers. He literally lives the role by getting into the skin of his character Buddia Singh. Manoj Bajpayee the seasoned actor has once again proves that he can sink his teeth into any character than be it a homosexual or a coach. No doubt that both Manoj & Mayur complement each other with a perfect & bang on chemistry. And lending the duo an adequate support are the other actors like Tillotama Shome, Shruti Marathe, Chhaya Kadam et al.
Tail Piece: Budhia Singh – Born To Run is a realistic, heart warming & heart touching movie. But this National Award film will surely score on the Box Office turnstiles in the long run.
