Bhaag Milkha

Bhaag
Movie Analysis
 About the Movie
 Bhaag Milkha Bhaag traces Milkha Singh’s
scarred childhood brutalized by India’s partition.
 He finds purpose in life when romance blooms
with Beero (Sonam).
 Joining the Indian Army, where his mentor
(Malhotra) inspires him to take the big ‘leap’.
 Thereon, Milkha just runs. Barefooted, bruised,
and with the weight of a suffering soul.
 He goes on to break records, but faces
heartbreaking defeat at the Rome
Olympics(1960).
 He takes it in his stride, overcomes his
catastrophic past and ultimately emerges a
winner.
 Goal Setting
 After failing to qualifying for the Melbourne
Olympics, he goes to his coach and asks him to
write down the world record for the 400m.
 His coach writes it down on a tissue paper –
45.8 (which was, in fact, inaccurate) and this
paper remains with Milkha till he knows he can
achieve that digit. He also writes the digits next
to his God, so whenever he prays, his goal is in
front of his eyes.
 This is a reassurance to all those athletes who
are made to write their goals and stick it in their
rooms. Always keep the goals visible and most
importantly – measurable and specific.
 Visualisation
 I don’t know how many who saw the film
noticed that everytime before the race Milkha
Singh would visualise his race path which
would allow him to estimate his race time.

 He did it before the race when he took his

position on the running block. As we sport
psychologists emphasize the importance of
mental rehearsal or visualising how you
would perform before the event, he did the
same! It also helps athletes re-focus.
 Motivation
 In certain instances from the
beginning of the movie, Milkha
Singh’s motivation is depicted. In the
beginning, his motivation is clearly
extrinsic – milk, to have two glasses
of milk in the Army.
 But later on, the motivation turns
internal and feelings of patriotism
and mastery lead him to become the
‘Flying Sikh’. Internalising goals and
intrinsic motivation always lasts
longer.
 Dedication & Discipline

 After failing to qualify for the

Melbourne Olympics, he internalises
his goals and works on it. The amount
of dedication could be seen in even
when he does not stop training in the
rains!
 Social Awareness
 Milkha Singh was aware about the
conditions around him and the
partition that had affected his
perception of togetherness.
 He lost his home, the people he loved
and his friends. He has lost a part of
his life which will near be the same
for him. The good memories have
been scarred because of the partition.
 Relation Management
 Milkha’s focus was towards hard work
and self management. He had a goal
which pushed him, though he did not
have a good relation with his coach his
he pushed himself towards the goal.
 He did not let the relation affect his
progress. Whether he had to run a long
distance to get milk or to run and runs
in order to earn the Indian blazer.
 Last but not the least he kept running
towards his goals across the globe
making his country proud.