An effort ball is when a fast bowler bends his back and produces something special. It is even more significant when the pitch has nothing to offer.

Om 3D is one big effort ball from Kalyan Ram and his team, on a flat dead story track. While there a few moments and quite a few twists, there is not enough  for the audience to say “we were bowled over by the film”.

Touted as ‘the first Indian action movie in 3D’ the movie does devote a majority of the screen time for action episodes. However, some of these action episodes fall flat both because of the lack of novelty and the purpose behind it. The ‘set-piece’ bridge chase and the explosions thereof, would have made more sense if the hero were chasing an international terrorist outfit, instead of resolving  a personal vendetta. Too much of  a ‘personal’ mission and too many ‘dark’ family twists, do not allow the canvass to be large enough for a full fledged action 3D film.

Kalyan Ram as the seething action hero is adequate,  but his ‘Sin City’ kind of narration (though required for leading the audience to necessary twists in the tale) gets on to your nerves after a while. Veteran actor Karthik is the surprise package and it is a great idea to dub his voice by another veteran–Ghantasala Ratnakumar. He holds his fort till the lead scene before the climax, which suddenly reduces his character to a charade.

After a long time the female characters have something to add to the story of the film, and they do justice. Rest of the characters played by senior actors  Rao Ramesh, Sampath Raj, Suresh, Sitara etc are just average and do not really lift the film to the net level.

3D technology wise the movie works for the most part and one will have to appreciate the effort of Kalyan Ram and Director Sunil to conceive and execute this risky project.  But, why did they decide to risk it on dead pitch instead of an original script like ‘Sahasam’? Hmm…

A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man – Joseph Campbell

Chandrasekhar Yeleti’s ‘Sahasam’ pretty much sticks to Joseph Campbell’s ‘The journey of a hero’. The hero (Gopichand) in Sahasam, is a ordinary security guard, who sets out on an unknown journey to retrieve his long lost inheritance. His quest takes him to danger infested areas in Pakistan and the adventure begins.

Chandrasekhar Yeleti’s screenplay allows enough time for Gopichand to build credibility for his character. The song during titles and the elaborate first fight add to Gopichand’s heroism without deviating too much from the main plot.

Technically, ‘Sahasam’ is pretty decent effort with VFX topping the honors. Specially in the second half,  Chandrasekhar Yeleti, uses VFX well to create the ambiance and thrills. He , brings back fond memories of Telugu old films directed by the likes of Vithalayacharya, K.V.Reddy and also that of  Indiana Jones series. Overall, a good watch for the discerning movie lovers who enjoy a good combination of experimentation and entertainment.

Sri picks quite a many cues from John Williams musical score for Indiana Jones trilogy, including a literal copy of the John William’s ‘The Map room’ score from “The Raiders of the Last Ark’

Raiders of the Lost Ark – The Map Room / Dawn

Just a few hours of screen time isn’t enough to portray an ordinary man’s life, leave alone a living legend like ‘Milkha Singh’. So, it is upto the filmmakers to decide which passages to make it to the final cut, to bring in their perspective.

In the case of ‘Bhaag Milkha Baag’ Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra-Prasoon Joshi choose to  dwell more on why he ‘bhaag’s rather than what happens when he does ‘bhaag’.

While there are a few very well conceived sprinting scenes, it is the portrayal of the inner turmoil of Milkha that takes most of the screen time, or rather it appears that way. The world within of Milkha dominates throughout the movie while you crave for his external battles and triumphs. And, at every opportunity to do so, the film makers decide to abruptly shift the scene, leaving those moments half cooked. Yes, one would love to know how a hero reconciled with his horrific past, but one definitely like to see more of this hero as himself and that too in action. With a 3hours plus movie length, it would not have been an impossible feat.

What works in favor of the film is the lead actor. Right from the very first minute of his appearance on the screen, Farhan Akhtar holds your attention. His transformation from a gawky wannabe to an elegant professional, is remarkable. Everyone in the theatre would have gasped when he runs for the first time without shoes and cheered when he makes it to the Indian team. Finally, when he walks into his sister’s house in the Indian team’s jacket, you are looking at Milkha Singh and not Farhan Akhtar. Even as the movie meanders with flash backs and tests your patience, it is the expectation of Farhan’s return that holds you to the seat.

The movie is a must watch for Farhan Akhtar and him alone. But one has to be prepared for the several pit stops aka flash backs, and wait patiently for the writer-director to put Milkha back on track.