Bharat (2019) Review!!

Synopsis – At the cusp of India’s birth as an Independent nation, a family makes an arduous journey to freedom at a cost. A young boy Bharat, makes a promise to his Father that he will keep his family together no matter what.

My Take – There is no denying of the fact that Salman Khan has indeed now become the biggest crowd pulling superstar to come out of Bollywood. Such is his pull and strong fan base that even a film as atrocious as Race 3 (2018) ends up clocking 303 Crore at the worldwide box office.

Ever since the release of his 2010 corny yet old school entertainer, Dabangg, the ‘Bhai’ of Bollywood has been laying siege on Indian box office records annual coinciding with the Eid holiday, hereby restoring much of his once tarnished reputation and diminishing returns of the preceding years. And this year is no different.

Re-teaming with writer/director Ali Abbas Zafar, following the success of Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) and Sultan (2016), to officially remake the 2014 South Korean film Ode to my Father, here, Salman Khan is once again a survivor, whose bruised, battered, still-staggering bulk remains maintained till he is 70, and vanquishes bad guys and spills out important life lessons better than anyone else.

Without making it sound like I’ve hated the film, I was indeed surprised by how strong and all heart the core of the film was. Yes, this is a typical ‘Bhai’ entertainer that his fans love, and yet manages to sprinkle in a little for the rest of us too. An element only seen in Khan‘s collaboration with director Ali Abbas Zafar, who manages to provide what his fans desire from there on screen god, all the while never losing his own voice and style as a filmmaker.

The film is filled with drama and humor, sometimes funny, but mostly cringe-worthy yet throughout its run time, which despite a faulty narration, manages to keep you engaged with its solid emotional connect, hereby making sure this film places itself a few notches higher than Salman Khan‘s last few films.

The story follows Bharat (Salman Khan), a 70-year-old family man, who on his birthday reminisces his incredible journey from 1947 to 2010. Still haunted by the loss of his father (Jackie Shroff) and his younger sister during the partition, Bharat as an eight year old moved to India with his mother (Sonali Kulkarni) and other younger siblings, to start a fresh life, with an assurance that his father will find him at his aunt’s shop and a promise to uphold about keeping their family safe and secure.

Taking a shelter in his aunt’s home, Bharat pairs up with a young orphan, Vilayati Khan (Sunil Grover), and does every possible work – from shoe polishing to car wash, all in order to sustain a livelihood for his family, which eventually leads them to become a part of The Great Russian Circus.

While as a youngster, Bharat along with Radha (Disha Patani), a trapeze artist, become the main attraction of the circus, however, when he realizes the influence of his risky job, he quits. With Vilayati being his best friend doing the same.

Following a lot of hardships, the two finds themselves employed as laborers in an oil mining company in the Gulf, under the supervision of Kumud aka Madam Ji (Katrina Kaif). Bharat’s life keeps taking unexpected turns, and eventually, he ends up working on Navy ships as well before taking charge of his small family business. Years pass, yet Bharat and his family hold on to the hope of seeing their missing loved ones someday.

In comparison to his usual films, here, Salman Khan is thrown into a highly complex story line. Not only is a Korean original to be adapted and Indianized, but since the history of our nation is even more complicated, the story had to ring true for its emotional core as well as content. Thankfully it does, as the film is high in terms of emotional quotient.

While the initial portions is a bit less engaging, due to the absence of better buildup to the drama that was created in the crucial partition sequence, the film makes up for it a few moments before the interval, in a mine tunnel. The scene creates a much needed sense of urgency and a perfect setup for Bharat to emerge as a savior.

Sure, the chronicles of Bharat and Vilayati are often outlandish and bizarre but it is Salman Khan and Sunil Grover‘s earnestness and their great camaraderie that keeps the momentum going even when the film goes down. Here, Ali Abbas Zafar‘s direction is taut, as he has helmed all the emotional scenes quite tactfully and those scenes are bound to hit you. You will find yourself shedding tears at several junctures in the film.

The Partition scenes are also so well-shot that I quickly thought of Gadar: Ek Prem Katha‘s haunting arrival of the corpse-laden train sequence. The initial portrayal of the Partition and later efforts to reunite families separated at the time may seem emotionally over-wrought to some, but I confess I was reduced to tears in both segments.

The film very well depicts the plight of people from both sides, who lost their loved ones during the partition. However, the forced insertion of the National Anthem in a much-later sequence felt clumsy, forced and unnecessary.

Shot in various locations in Spain, Abu Dhabi, Malta and India, a significant strength of the film is its outstanding cinematography (Marcin Laskawiec).

Nevertheless whatever problems the film faces, they lie majorly in the first half. The film often gets sluggish, making it monotonous. Although the songs are good to listen, there are too many that disrupt the flow of the film. The film loses its gravity when certain silly moments are inserted in the film for no good reason.

The silliest sequence in the film shows African pirates, who hijack a ship, dancing on Amitabh Bachchan‘s songs, and they free all the hostages unhurt only because he is a fan of Hindi music.

The makeup of the characters also leave a lot to be desired. Shown to be in their late 60s, almost all the characters including Salman Khan never look their age and often look more in their 40s.

What’s worse is that the film aspires to be progressive by reminding the viewer that live-in relationships are fine in modern times. For example, Kumud questions Bharat on whether her aspirations matter to him or if he sees her only as somebody who can look after his mother and shop in his absence. Such moments are, however, few and far between in a film that packages stereotypes and markets Salman Khan as the central character in a series of star-spangled sequences.

However, to his credit, the megastar has done his job with reasonable efficiency. From being a 20-year-old up until in his 50s, Salman Khan excels. However, his performance as a 70-year-old remains uneven and hard to digest. Katrina Kaif, as always, looks drop dead gorgeous and once again delivers a great performance. Kaif also has some of the best dialogues in the film, and it seems she has enjoyed playing the character thoroughly.

Unsurprisingly it’s Sunil Grover who shines the most among the three. From comedy to the emotional scenes, Grover digs into a meaty role and delivers big time. Disha Patani looks glamorous, but has a very small role to register any form of impact.

Jackie Shroff in a brief role is the soul of the film, and his performance leaves a lasting impact. Tabu too is excellent in a small role. However, in supporting roles, Sonali Kulkarni, Kumud Mishra, Nora Fatehi, Brijendra Kala and Shashank Arora are wasted. On the whole, ‘Bharat’ is a mild entertainer which despite its narration faults is uplifted by its emotional drama.