Bharat Movie Review: Age old ideologies with newness

Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif in a still from Bharat

Bharat
U/A: Action, Drama
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Cast: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Grover, Disha Patani, Jackie Shroff
Ratings:

Bharat is bhai's Eidi for his fans. This year, Salman Khan's treat for his loyalists is a film, which is an official adaptation of the Korean film, Ode To My Father (2014). The story begins with a fairly-aged looking Salman Khan (60) with salt-and-pepper hair, having the physique of a 40-year-old. As the movie begins, we're unsure if his fans will accept 'bhai' in this look; while the greys do their bit, Salman's efforts on voice modulation appear to be forced. On the other hand, Katrina Kaif does justice to her part.

Bharat isn't like any other Salman Khan film, where the actress is merely eye-candy or has a blink-and-miss appearance. Katrina has an equally meaty role, which she has portrayed with dedication and sincerity. Her command over the Hindi language is incredible. However, the focus on Katrina's dialect made us miss her expressions throughout. The sweet-and-sour relationship between Salman and Katrina is adorable, and their chemistry is bang-on. Talking about Sunil Grover, who has been mostly seen playing comic roles, comes across as a breath of fresh air. The comedian-actor is like Salman's shadow, essaying the role of Khan.

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The first half of the film has Salman's journey from a child to a 25-year-old, where he is seen doing some daredevil stunts with Disha Patani. The sizzling beauty features barely for a few minutes in the film, but will surely leave an impact on the audience. Disha and Salman's 'Slow Motion' is definitely one of the major highlights of the film. There is a subtle love connection between the two, but nothing materialises of it. Salman's character's tryst with life has been such that he has to quit the circus job and start afresh to keep up the promise he made to his father (Jackie Shroff) on August 14, 1947, during the Indo-Pak partition. The latter part of the movie is about Salman keeping up to his father's promise of protecting his family. The partition separates Salman from his father and sister and the belief about his father and sister returning to their lives keeps him alive. Tabu also has a special role in the film, along with Nora Fatehi, who impresses the audience with her mesmerising belly dance. Their cameos in the film were equally justified.

Check out the trailer here:

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The first half also had a few scenes, which were over-the-top, quite Salman Khan-esque. But Bhai can do anything, right? From bashing goons at the age of 60 to packing punches, everything is possible when Salman Khan is on the big screen. In the pretext of showcasing six different stories, and the not-so-evident age gap in Salman's character fails to register his looks. This makes us lose the connection somewhere in this Ali Abbas Zafar directorial.

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Bharat is not a patriotic or a jingoistic film, it has all the elements required to make a full-fledged masala pot-boiler. With some age-old ideologies sprinkled with newness, Salman Khan's Eidi will entertain the audience. Since it's an Eid release, we did miss the flavour of the festival in Bharat. With a supporting cast comprising Sonali Kulkarni, Aasif Sheikh, and a few others, the film is definitely a family entertainer.

Also Read: Bharat runtime: Makers strip Salman Khan starrer down from 3 hours; here's why

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