Budhia Singh – Born to Run review: A historic but controversial run

Rating: 3/5

It’s raining biopics in the Hindi film industry. Often these subjects speak of valour, triumph, history, and (sadly) some even glorify crime. If there was one biographical film that wouldn’t tread along standard lines, it had to be the story of Budhia Singh, the child marathoner who shook the world with his epic run at the tender age of five.

Ten years after a boy from the slums of Odisha became the world's youngest marathoner, Odisha man and debutant director Soumendra Padhi has churned up a first feature film on Budhia Singh.

Born in a rough ghetto of Bhubaneswar, Budhia (Mayur Patole) is sold by his poor mother Sukanti (Tillotama Shome) to a travelling salesman for Rs800. The boy, though, isn’t safe in the abusive salesman’s hands and soon finds his way back home.

Stricken by poverty, Sukanti requests a local judo coach and orphanage owner Biranchi Das (Manoj Bajpayee) to look after her child. Das buys Singh from the abusive salesman and brings the child under his wings.

An inappropriate conduct by little Singh leads to Das punishing him by sending him on a run. However, he forgets about his action and hours later is shocked to learn that the boy was still running. He senses that the four-year-old has the gift of running and starts training him for marathons. Das longs to see Budhia represent India in the Olympics one day but first he prepares Budhia for a marathon 70km run from Bhubaneswar to Puri.

 Word soon spreads about the child’s prowess, but the prospect of having a little child go through a marathon doesn’t amuse the child welfare department headed by Mahashweta Mallik (Chhaya Kadam). What was initially mere opposition from the child welfare department snowballs into national/international controversy with opinions divided on whether the child should be allowed to pursue his dream. The dissenting voices turn the screws on Biranchi Das, with Mallik wanting him jailed.

Back then, the Budhia Singh story was largely seen, gauged and judged from the eye of the media. What went on behind the prying eyes of the media remained a mystery. That’s the void Padhi’s Budhia Singh – Born To Run aims to fill. In that sense, this is not exactly a sports film, but more a film on the mentor-disciple relationship and all the brouhaha surrounding Singh’s marathon run.

Padhi succeeds in giving a balanced account of all the happenings around Budhia Singh. For a debutant, he shows tremendous maturity in handling the various diverse characters and conflicts. He doesn't romanticise Budhia or Biranchi's dreams, nor does he demonise those creating hurdles for them. It was brave of the director to depict a rather sinister side to Budhia’s mother Sukanti, yet he is also sensitive to her plight. Similarly, the Odia man is likely to ruffle a few political feathers, questioning the motto of the then political czars with regard to Budhia Singh.

Manoj Bajpayee is making biographical films a habit. After doling out stellar performances in Aligarh (2016)  and Traffic (2016), he does an amiable job as Biranchi Das. For all his mentoring, the late Biranchi Das remained a controversial figure and Bajpayee displays this shade of duplicity immaculately. His obsession with Budhia completing the race and achieving the Olympic dream makes you wonder whether he is a tough taskmaster or there is more to him than meets the eye.

Perhaps the only criticism against Bajpayee could be that he hasn’t quite acquired an Odia accent. Then again, the director and the producer have to sell the film to a pan-India audience. Biranchi Das is not the finest role Bajpayee has executed but it’s seldom that one can find a flaw with the actor.

Young Mayur Patole, who comes from a humble background, has sweated it out for this challenging role. He has very few words, but like Budhia Singh, he lets his talent do all the talking. His haga aur bhaga (shat and ran) dialogue will be cheered for years to come.

Tillotama Shome isn’t a name that will ring a bell, but those who have watched films like Shanghai (2012), Children Of War (2014) and Qissa (2013) will be privy to the talent of this theatre artiste. One may loathe Sukanti, but her conduct is just a chilling reminder of the harsh realities of life in many parts of the country. Shome displays Sukanti’s helplessness, her imperfections, appropriately. How we wish to see more of her in mainstream cinema.

Among others who deserve a mention are Das’s wife Dipti, played by Shruti Marathe. She loves her husband but isn’t fond of his obsession with Budhia. Marathe plays the doting wife to the T. She will win you over purely with her smile, and leave you sobbing with her tears.

It wouldn’t be appropriate to judge Budhia Singh – Born To Run by the usual yardstick, for here is a real-life tale that touched the conscience of the nation. The one criticism you can make is that for a film on a marathoner, Budhia Singh is anything but a marathon film. Though the runtime is listed at 112 minutes, the film actually winds up few minutes earlier. Like Budhia’s record run, the events in the film unfold thick and fast. Given the massive coverage the Budhia story got and the various facets to it, you wonder whether Padhi could have explored it some more.

Budhia Singh is just 14, and he still has an Olympic dream to achieve. Life is a marathon, and Budhia has only taken the first few steps. There are many hurdles to clear. You never know, a few years down the line, Soumendra Padhi could script Budhia Singh – Born To Win.

Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Mayur Patole, Tillotama Shome, Chhaya Kadam
Director: Soumendra Padhi
Runtime: 112 min