Budhia Singh: Born to Run (2016) Poster

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7/10
We should support this movie otherwise we would also be accused of opposing this God gifted talented Budhiya Singh
dineshprakash5 August 2016
I rarely request to watch any movie but this time I beg you to watch it. Perhaps success of this movie will create enough stir to let this sun shine on time. Director and writer Mr. Soumendra Padhi work is very good. Without taking anyone side he has tried his best to be in truth side which is proved by showing very positive character ,Biranchi Das, crossing limit to make his point listen. Movie will provoke you to do something for world's youngest marathon runner Budhiya Singh. Director has enhances every scene with his vision and shot taking. The way he has captured Budhiya's collapsing scene by making screen dark and hazy is very good but it should have been less in duration. Environment created of Budhiya's childhood residing area is very real, like kids smoking half puffed Beedi thrown by elders. This movie is a tight slap on system and hard pat on our self that how could we ignore such things happening in our country. As a writer, director work is just OK till first half. It is slow and gives feel of docu-drama but after interval it makes you captive, you can feel the anger, anguish and frustration as if you are just witnessing all that happening in front of you. In first half when Biranchi Das first notices Budhiya's talent is a bit unreal as he was shown running since morning till late evening, which is indigestible a bit. Dialogues are perfect. There should have been some gradual establishment of his talent. Climax is shot in very intelligent way. It leaves the desire impact without showing violence. Background score and mixing are very good. Need to be especially mentioned. Credit goes to sound designer Subhash Sahu. Performance wise the kid Mayur Mahendra Patole as Budhiya Singh is fantabulous. He gives goose bump just by look in his eye. Manoj Bajpayi as Biranchi Das is pitch perfect as usual. Shuruti Marathe as his wife is very good. Tilotama Shome as Budhiya's mother is impressive. Gajraj Rao as minister's secretary and Gopal Singh as local leader are too good. Hats off to Viacom 18 and independent producers Gajraj Rao, Subrat Ray and Shubhamitra Sen for supporting such type of project.
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8/10
Budhiya – Born to win is a must watch
binducherungath6 August 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Budhiya- Born to Run, another masterpiece sports biopic on the wonder boy marathon runner, is a film by Soumendra Padhi. This film was earlier titled as Duronto, and it has already won National Award of Best Children's Film. Budhiya, a child prodigy, who indeed was born to run, created a world record, by running 48 marathons in a year's time, when he was just 5 years old. It included his running 65 Kms in 7 hours 2 minutes from Puri to Bhubaneswar in 50 degree temperature in 2006. This milestone earned him Limca Book of Records. The film focuses on this wonder boy, the Youngest Marathon runner, his wonderful relationship with Coach Biranchi Das, shallowness of our system, politics, power play, hypocrisy of the officials etc.

Biranchi Das (played by exceptionally great actor Manoj Bajpai), who runs a Judo Training School for orphan children and forbidden / poor children at his home. He is also shown to be inclined towards social reforms. His source of income is shown from a restaurant and a salon. His wife Gita (Shruti Marathe) is his great support system in his endeavours. Budhia, the titular character played by Mayur Patole, was born in a slum in a very poor family, extremely impoverished upbringing. His mother Sukanti (Tilotama Shome) sells him to a vendor for Rs. 800. Biranchi Das spots Budhiya and brings him home, rather buys him back. Budhiya starts staying along with 22 other children at Biranchi's place. Biranchi was astonished to explore that this 5 year Budhiya had the potential to run non-stop. Biranchi decides to coach Budhiya for marathons. It is interesting to see the bond between Biranchi and Budhiya. Biranchi and Geeta adopt Budhiya. It is incredible to see Budhiya breaking all the barriers of being a child and running marathons like an expert at such a tender age, where he does not even know to tie his shoe lace.

Biranchi and Budhiya were all over the headlines in Print and Electronic Media which covered Budhiya's marathon running spree. But these accolades and the limelight later on created hurdles for Budhiya. Child Welfare Department intervened to question such a small child's capacity to run such marathons. Budhiya was not given permission to run Delhi based Marathon at the last moment. Biranchi, a non-conformist in his own manner, was not ready to pay heed, and took head-on challenge with the Child Welfare Department. He further trains Budhiya to run one of the record-making marathon, i.e. a distance of 65 Kms from Puri to Bhubaneswar. He covers the distance in 7 hours 2 minutes.

The film does convey Biranchi's methods of strict training for Budhiya, it also shows the other side to it by displaying footage of leading sports / technology personalities voicing their concern over such strenuous training and runs for Budhiya. Many questions were raised by the system. But Biranchi had answers to all of them quoting the example of golfer Tiger Woods and footballer Carlos Chera.

Obviously Biranchi could not fight the power play. Ultimately Budhiya was banned from running till he is 18 (now he is 14 years old) and he is in a Kalinga Sports Academy in Odisha.

What all events transpired which led to Budhiya's ban? Though this coach-coachee's relationship and fate is known by the world, let me not reveal, what happens to Biranchi? How did the authorities succeed in taking Budhiya away from Biranchi and put him in hostel ? It forces one to ponder, if a child can be allowed to play different sports viz. cricket, badminton, football etc, do swimming and compete in these areas as well, why can't a child like Budhiya, whose potential lie in marathon running, be allowed to run? Why this bias towards Budhiya? Biranchi dreamt of making Budhiya participate in 2016 Olympics (Rio), which coincidently started today a day after this film's release. If Budhiya was not banned, India could have had an Olympic medal surely to its credit. The film showcases the shallowness of the existing system and also the power tussle. An athlete usually faces hurdles and challenges during a race, but the hurdles before Budhiya was like putting an end to a brilliant runner's innings.

What to talk about the performances! It is amazing to see Manoj Bajpayee effortlessly slip into every character which he plays on screen. He brings various facets of his character Biranchi live on screen: the enthusiasm of Biranchi on exploring Budhiya, his passion to take care of orphan kids treating them as his own, his drive in running Judo Training School, his frustrations / fighting with the system, his daring attitude to take head-on with the authorities / politicians.

Mayur as Budhiya is awesome. He brings so much credibility to the character. He is a natural performer. Rest of the kids at Biranchi's place are also such wonderful natural performers, bring so much freshness with their simplicity.

Tilotama Shome as Sukanti – Budhiya's mother and Shruti Marathe as Gita – Biranchi's wife are also very good. Gajraj Rao is also very nice. Rest of the characters are also good. Born to run anthem is very motivating and inspiring. It will give you goosebumbps for sure.

It is sad to understand that Budhiya still does not have the right to run. He says that he still can run, it is just that he needs a coach like Biranchi.

Budhiya – Born to win is a must watch film. Although, this story was supposed to be told earlier, the sincerity with which this film is made, probably may inspire the system to lift the ban on this wonder boy Budhiya, bring him back to tracks, facilitate him to fulfill the dreams of his selfless coach Biranchi Das and also to make a mark for India at Global level.
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9/10
Amazing story telling... Budhia, forgotten runner; Biranchi, an unheard hero
vks_vishwa20 October 2016
Amazing story telling can be seen in the movie. Budhia, the long distance runner kid was a prodigy, but the kind of twists and turns that entails his life due to political pressures and interests is beautifully narrated by the movie. The movie constantly revolves around the relationship between the coach and the student; coach's undying spirit to make Budhia an Olympic runner; Budhia's spirit to run; the politics being played around Budhia's success story; the strange role of Budhia's mother. All in just one package, that too beautifully done. You just enjoy the journey. One can see the strong performances by each character. The best one is by the coach, Manoj Bajpayee, as usual. The kid has given the best he could. Coach's wife's role can also be seen as being played well by Gita. Overall a good acting, story and emotions.
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10/10
This movie was entertaining with fast pace and effective storytelling
ptsh-swain7 August 2016
Storytelling-9/10 Screenplay-10/10 Based on true event-yes Over Dramatization-No Factual-yes Inspiring-Yes Social message-Yes Originality-9/10 Climax-Unpredictable even though its based on true story.I would recommend people from all society to watch this movie.After a long time Bollywood has come up with a movie which is not only based on true events but also factual without taking any sides.Kudos to the director and production house who have done a tremendous job of getting the right cast for the movie who looks all real for a time.Manoj bajpayee has done a tremendous job.The kid is superb in running shots.
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10/10
Poignant and touching film
indianature22 March 2017
I was on a flight and had seen all the mainstream movies on offer when I chanced upon Budhia Singh : Born To Run. I vaguely remembered reading about this film when it was released but somehow never got around to seeing it. Now was the opportunity!

What a film. I was entranced from beginning to end with the saga of wonder runner Budhia and his ill fated coach Biranchi Das .

The unknown child actor Mayur Patole was exceptional as the super runner boy Budhia. Manoj Bajpai was superlative as Biranchi Das. Actually everyone essayed their role brilliantly. The sets were realistic, the editing tight and the plot held the interest throughout. How much of it was from the true saga and how much embellished I do not know. Suffice it to say that this is an exceptional film.

The conflict remains of whether the child Budhia was pushed too hard for his age or not,or whether his talent was being given the push it deserved to make him a marathon champion. By all accounts, Budhia is not doing well in his SAI hostel.

If you have missed this movie, do see it.
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6/10
Can the film pull the real Budhia back on Track
kumarvarun198910 September 2016
Can a movie change a life? After watching Budhia Singh: Born To Run, you wish for a miracle. Or anything that can help a young prodigy unlock his enormous potential. At the age of four, Budhia ran the 65 km between Bhubaneshwar to Puri in a little over seven hours, and was featured in the Limca Book of World Records as the 'youngest marathon runner in the world'. His feat, amazing for someone so young and frail, was lapped up by the media, and he began being hailed as Odisha's pride. Overnight, he became a star; so did his controversial coach Biranchi Das, who rescued him, some said, from one kind of exploitation only to exploit him for his (Biranchi's) own glory. As is usually the case with films which state that they are 'inspired by' true events, instead of calling themselves bio pics, we are left wondering how much is fact and how much fiction. Some thorny things are bravely introduced and then left hanging: there is a build-up, for example, to a potential dope test scandal, but the result of Budhia's test is left hazy (did it even happen?); do Biranchi and his wife have other means of income (they are shown collecting money from a few establishments in one throwaway scene; in the rest, they run a judo school cum orphanage); does Biranchi really think that depriving such a little boy of water in such searing heat during such a long race is a good idea or is he just being harsh and cruel (overtly concerned characters are shown asking these questions); does he do this because he really wants the boy to proudly participate in the 2016 Olympics (the date is mentioned loud and clear a couple of times) or are his efforts geared towards gaining personal publicity? Does the boy's mother (Shome) understand the gravity of 'selling' her little boy to a travelling salesman, or is she truly confused and naïve? Are those politicians who can't stand Biranchi's guts as venal as they are made out, or have they been outlined too much?
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10/10
"Budhia Singh — Born To Run" Review: This Movie Has Legs
manoranjanenter6 August 2016
Extraordinary in every sense, a must watch super biopic of a 5 year old boy ,world's youngest marathon runner. Superbly narrative and directed story by ‪#‎SoumendraPadhi‬ ....Lastly cheap politics ruin the career of a wonder boy to No one ‪#‎BudhiaSinghBornToRun‬ It is neither average Bollywood fare nor is it just another sports- themed potboiler designed to magnify the heroics of an achiever.

It does no superfluous huffing and puffing. It instead probes the multiple social and emotional strands, and the dramatic highs and treacherous lows, linked to the incredible true story of Budhia Singh.

By age five, the Odisha boy had run nearly 50 marathons under the tutelage of an obsessive coach Biranchi Das.
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7/10
More than a movie, it's a documentary or a movement against the selfish system of our country
ankitcom29 December 2016
More than a movie, it's a documentary or a movement against the selfish system of our country. This story has been kept very truthfully and honestly. Hard to review a movie that hits you back so much. Manoj Bajpayee has hit the right chord where other actors are not really equally supporting him. A decently directed film that implants something into the minds of the viewers.

Storyline Rating: 3

Acting Rating: 3 Manoj Bajpayee: 3 Mayur Mahendra Patole: 3

Direction Rating: 3

Music Rating: 2

Cinematography: 2

Editing: 3
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9/10
Heart-warming, awe-inspiring, true story.
yasubmj1 November 2018
Rarely, we stay back and see the end titles of a movie. Budhia Singh, makes you stay, till the very last title is shown. The true story of a 5 year old marathon runner, who went in to history and record books, by running a 65 km marathon in Orissa - inspires and connects us, to the very real world of Budhia. Here nothing is perfect. A mother who sells him off, a coach who is strict and singly focussed on making him a marathon runner, a media that swings from his side to the other, a government that is vehemently opposed to his running, imposes a ban even. A very real world. What does Budhia do. He runs. No complications stop him or affect him. Mayur is brilliant in portraying that simplicity of Budhia the child. Manoj bajpayee as his stubborn coach is just superb. Inspiring true story, excellently told and acted. Must-watch.
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7/10
Meritorious Mayur.
riddhimaakaritu30 April 2020
Great performance by the kid Mayur. And by Manoj as always.
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10/10
A dream of India drowned in monogamy of dirty politics and disgust of enemies
ribhav-roxxx75 January 2017
Warning: Spoilers
A beautifully crafted story filled with the essence of "Forest Gump" with an Indian aroma to it, this time a real story, not a fictional one. It showcases the beauty of a dream, a dream of a coach and a 5 year old to make the country proud in Olympics. The movie roams around how this child prodigy ready to conquer the earth with his legs and his coach re-encouraging his ability to shatter records.A poverty struck Budhia is sold for a small amount of money by his mother and coach Biranchi Das takes him to his home,he accidentally notices that the 4 year old has immense amount of stamina and then he starts to train him, with more kilometers in his target, Budhia seems to be unstoppable. He makes the record of becoming the world's youngest marathon runner. With some records broken and an eye on the 2016 Olympics ,he prepares for a walkathon of over 400 kilometers while controversies begin to revolve around the 5 year old, soon a turn takes place with the life of this child as country's dirty politics forces a ban on this kid to run in order to protect him from child abuse and the coach is accused of harassing the child for his own galore. This monogamy leads to the murder of a dream and end of the dream.In a turn of events,the coach is murdered and this beautiful dream has been in coma ever since over 10 years today.The movie portrays and throws light upon the corrupted system of the country and showcases how people would join hands together to stop someone from getting success rather than supporting them.A movie with a run-time of one hour and fifty minutes approximately, it'd keep the viewer engrossed throughout the movie and maintains it charm till the end. This heart-breaking story of Budhia and his dreams drowning in the mud of our country's dirt will bring up heartfelt emotions and pain in one's mind.

"Budhia still wishes to run. All he needs is a Biranchi."

A true masterpiece.

Brilliant music, fabulous direction, and top class acting by Manoj Bajpai add seven stars to the movie.

A very exquisite piece of acting by Manoj Bajpai and Mayur Patole playing their respective roles.Beautifully directed by Soumendra Padhi.

Probably India's best sports movie ever made.
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2/10
good topic but poor movie
triptox22 June 2021
It was a good topic and a much better movie could have been produced, but the direction and screenplay did the story more harm than justice. The movie was very bland and quite monochromatic. The inexperience and lack of skills of the first time director showed through very evidently, and last but not the least, Manoj Bajpayee keeps his streak of poor acting alive. No question he was one of the best actors in the industry at a time, but he is certainly the most overvalued actor in the industry today. It looks like, the producers sign him to make a quick buck by using his old stardom. He has become a tried and tested shortcut for producers who dont have much budget, who dont care if the movie is well made or not, all they want i to make a quick buck by starring Manoj Bajpayee and selecting a hard hitting, sensitive topic. But they dont wanna do justice to the script or the cause. And the saddest thing amongst all this is, the Manoj seems like he has become very comfortable with this sort of filmmaking, where he keeps getting signed even after delivering a less than a mediocre performance. He has gone from one of the best actors to the most overrated actors in the industry. Viwers are finally realising that low budget producers are using Manoj as a kind of click bait and that Manoj is more than happy being one.
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10/10
Must Watch movie for everyone every age...
vijayhappy-9950513 August 2018
Warning: Spoilers
I just finished .....and the first thing I feel is Mr. Biranchi Das was heart and soul for Budhia and he died just because of Dirty Politics....please just watch it.....it's a real story.....so well described.... Manoj bajpyayee acted superb....Budhia Singh is the only rising star(Marathon) till today.....so we should support him ...
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10/10
One of the best Indian Sports movie
hXz0r325 August 2019
Shows true face of corrupt politicians who can screw down India in anyway. Indians should learn something deep down under dirty politics from this movie
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10/10
Eulogy on Indian crab mentality
amitnayar12 August 2016
Warning: Spoilers
You have to be a crab to survive in India. The only way to get fresher air at higher altitudes is to step over other crabs. In case you find fresh air without climbing, before you breathe it in, a dozen other crabs would have jumped on you. Once you get used to the suffocation, occasionally a climber will step over you.

Trivia: Gemma Atwal whose documentary inspired the film said "There was a small part of Biranchi Das, the boy's coach, that reminded me of my own adoptive father, who took in a rag-tag band of eight unwanted kids from diverse Hindu, Sikh and Muslim backgrounds, and gave them a stable upbringing. Similar to Budhia's mum, my birth- mother belonged to the lowest Hindu caste and lived in extreme poverty."

The movie reminds you how fickle Indian media becomes feverishly evangelical erupting with live news returning equally fast to its eternal malaise. To highlight this I am appending comments from Gemma Atwal that just won't resonate with Indian media:

"Perhaps some people (read Indian media) would say that Budhia has been released from the man who enslaved him, but for this small boy, he's lost the only loving advocate and mentor he ever had. I had been having these conversations with Biranchi where he was saying that, 'There were people who want to take me out' and 'My days are numbered.' He was saying crazy things, like, 'If anything happens to me, please take care of Budhia.'"

Although I haven't seen the documentary, the movie seems to be an amplified message of the documentary in a more Indian flavour format. It's obviously made its mark on me. The movie perhaps also remotely takes a jibe at another Indian cliché that motherhood precedes fatherhood by showing a foster father who is truer to the adopted son than his own birth mother.
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8/10
What keeps us alive? Our passion or motivation? Or is it our social constructs?
ridi-arahan17 July 2020
The movie is a great example of a movie with all the elements done right. It's a real story, heartbreaking, bold and inspirational. The entire team did a great work to make it a beautiful and hard watch. The two lead characters Bajhpayee stole the show along with the kid. Another good thing about the movie is it's raw, real and straightforward storytelling, keeping the supporting elements intact and also focusing the main idea of the movie. The movie did not try to glorify the characters, just put them the way it should be. It's a must watch movie. Highly recommended
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10/10
Underrated rating shows still audiences need to be get matured.
kunal-nitw-hood26 April 2020
Phenomenol..Very less distorted facts..And ofcourese its Manoj vajpayee.See urself and review again
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10/10
A must watch
mominulhoquenaz22 August 2020
I don't usually write a review, infact this is the first time I am writing a review on a film. I can't believe how these movies goes unnoticed by everyone. And my respect for every producers and directors who despite of knowing that they wont earn a penny from the movie makes these kind of gems.
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9/10
Please watch it for Budhia !
SatyamHainHum5 July 2021
There are many forgotten heroes in India, Budhia is just one of them, if someone is making efforts to introduce them then please cooperate!
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9/10
Nice movie
Harshithnagraj24 February 2021
It's a fast paced biopic based on bhudhia. It's a good movie in terms of writing and acting. And a inspiring biopic. Overall a great film.
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