Bharat (movie) - a rant

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I was excited when the trailer was released and glad to see Ali Abbas Zafar choose the trajectory of India since 1947 till 2010 as a subject. But I was disappointed at the execution. He chose the convenient parts of our history and has woven a fairy tale around it. Yes, I am proud of our culture and heritage and our unity and our patience but also, what about the alienation in a new country, the struggles of every day life? I am glad they did not show Salman as a demigod throughout and kept him human, except when he grows old (he is athletic, even at 70 years. LOL.).

The script writer chose to insert comedy at such sensitive subjects like stuttering and stammering (even Golmaal had done the same, remember?). The story is about Salman's journey since independence--from partition to the unemployment struggles to 1983 world cup to liberalisation to the new wave in India. The first half is excruciatingly hard to like--I enjoyed the circus part but disliked Salman's forced speeches of patriotism. The script grabbed pace in the second half (which is watchable). Also, the costume designer did such a shoddy job of the 60s and 70s (strappy blouses, really?) - the side characters had a better ensemble.

While I admire the efforts of the cast and crew to drive us through our political history and ensuring Katrina speaks decent  Hindi, Salman emotes well and the supporting cast don't overdo in fawning over him, I wished they had done a better job at the research and utilised the talent of Sonali Kulkarni, Kumud Mishra. I was glad Sunil Grover's role was not chopped and was lengthy enough to savor it.

Please watch the movie only if you like Salman and Katrina and their chemistry and want to refresh our history (again, the better part of it).

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