Bharat

About the film

Bharat (pronounced [ˈbʱaːrət] transl. India) is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed and co-written by Ali Abbas Zafar. It is jointly produced by Atul Agnihotri, Alvira Khan Agnihotri, Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Nikhil Namit and Salman Khan under the banners Reel Life Productions, Salman Khan Films and T-Series. The film stars Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Grover, Jackie Shroff, Disha Patani and Tabu. An adaptation of the South Korean film, Ode to My Father (2014), it traces India's post-independence history from the perspective of a common man, and follows his life from the age of 8 to 70.

Bharat was theatrically released in India on 5 June 2019, on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr. It received mixed reviews from critics, who appreciated the performances of the cast, story and screenplay, criticising the second half. The film earned ₹42.30 crores on its first day. It was one of the highest grossing films of 2019. It grossed ₹325.58 crore in its lifetime theatrical run, becoming a commercial success.

Plot

In 2010, Bharat Kumar, a shopkeeper in Delhi refuses to sell his store despite lucrative offers. On his 70th birthday, he tells his past to his grandniece, and the film goes into flashback.

Bharat, aged 7, along with his parents and siblings board a train to India with many other refugees for safety from the riots in Pakistan. He loses his baby sister "Gudia" in the chaos. Their father, Gautam, stays there to search for Gudia, after Bharat promises to care for the family. He moves to the imported goods store of Gautam's sister Jamuna and her husband Keemat Rai Kapoor, and meets a roadside circus worker, Radha. They two fall in love, and join The Great Russian Circus.

Bharat has gained a lot of fame over the years he has spent at the circus. His brother Chote suffers an accident while trying to emulate him. Bharat bids a tearful goodbye to Radha. He and his friend, Vilayati, look for jobs when the country is shocked due to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's death.

Production

Bharat is a remake of the South Korean film Ode to My Father (2014), which traces the history of South Korea parallel to a man's life, spanning from the 1950s to the 2010s.

Bharat began principal photography in mid-April 2018, and was shot in Abu Dhabi, Spain, Malta, Punjab, Delhi and elsewhere. Priyanka Chopra, who was cast as one of the leading ladies, opted out of the film days before filming her scenes. Nikhil Namit, CEO of Reel Life Productions, said that Priyanka quit due to her engagement to Nick Jonas. She was replaced by Katrina Kaif. Kaif shared the news on her Instagram account that filming was wrapped up on 5 March 2019. The climax was shot in Film City.

Soundtrack

The songs featured in the film were composed by Vishal–Shekhar, lyrics written by Irshad Kamil, with music arranger & producer Meghdeep Bose. Zafar wrote and composed the song "Zinda" with Julius Packiam. It is released under the banner T-Series. Devarsi Ghosh of Scroll.in positively summarised the soundtrack review as 'near-perfect.' Firstpost praised the song Chashni as "soul-stirringly beautiful." "Chashni" song was originally sung by Atif Aslam but was replaced.

Release

Bharat was released on 5 June 2019 on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, worldwide on 6000 screens including 4700 screens in India. The film was made available for video on demand on Amazon Prime Video in August 2019.

Reception

As of October 2021, the film holds a 32% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 19 reviews with an average rating of 5.3/10. Bharat received positive reviews from critics on release.

Renuka Vyavahare of The Times of India gave the film three and a half stars out of five, calling it "an exhausting, scattered watch despite the entertainment, humour and nobility it propagates". She concluded, "Bharat is well-intentioned, entertaining and doesn't succumb to the trappings of commercial potboilers". Priyanka Sinha Jha of News18, praising Khan for his performance rates the film with three stars out of five, and feels that the script is a bit lengthy and required 'sharper' editing. In the end, She says, "For all its virtues, Bharat falls short of becoming a tour de force, but it could turn into a crowd-puller." Trade analyst and critic Taran Adarsh concurs with Jha on script trimming and gives four stars out of five. Declaring it "smash-hit", he praises Ali for direction, Kaif, and Khan for performance. He feels that the film is an emotional journey that wins the viewers over. Manjusha Radhakrishnan of the Gulf News, also says that it would have benefited from trimming so finds the film 'dull', that is likely to test the patience of the audience. And, she gives it two stars out of five. Ananya Bhattacharya writing for India Today praised acting of Kaif and Khan but feels that the main attraction is Sunil Grover. She also rates it with three stars out of five and concludes that Salman has given his fans 'an out-and-out entertainer'. Rajeev Masand writing for News18,…

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