Budhia Singh Born To Run Review

The story of Budhia Singh is stranger than fiction. Budhia Singh is born in a slum in Bhubaneshwar, Orissa. His family is so poor that his mother sells him for just over 800 Rs. A Judo trainer 'Biranchi Das' takes him under his wing and discovers that the little boy has almost a super human ability to run. Biranchi Das trains Budhia to become a Marathon Runner. At the age of 4, Budhia makes history by running 65 KMs in 7 Hrs and 2 Minutes. Budhia's coach gets murdered. Local authorities take Budhia away and he grows up, largely forgotten. Budhia is now 14 and hopes to make it to Olympics some day.

The story of Budhia is a distinctively Indian tragedy. The circumstances are so appalling that it is impossible to decide who is the villain here. Debutante director Soumendra Padhi doesn't pick sides. He dramatizes the facts but he doesn't gloss over the ugliness. Biranchi is driven by complex motives. He thrives on the attention and power that Budhia's talent gives him. His training methods are awful. At one point he makes Budhia runs by dangling a water bottle in front of him; but Biranchi also gives Budhia the affection and purpose that he needs. Manoj Bajpayee plays a difficult and sometimes unlikable man with humanity. All the kids in the film are amazing esp Mayur Patole who plays Budhia Singh.

The repeated visuals of various marathons make the movie a bit sluggish. We don't really get into the head of Budhia to find out what drives him to run and run and run. Despite these fault lines, Budhia Singh's story stays with you.