- Farhan Akhtar appeared on India TV’s Aap Ki Adalat with Rajat Sharma and was seen getting emotional while remembering his last phone call with Padma Shri Milkha Singh.
- Farhan Akhtar on Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
- When Milkha Singh gifted his Olympic shoes to Farhan
- Farhan broke down while remembering his last call to Milkha Singh
Farhan Akhtar appeared on India TV’s Aap Ki Adalat with Rajat Sharma and was seen getting emotional while remembering his last phone call with Padma Shri Milkha Singh.
Actor-producer Farhan Akhtar, known for completely immersing himself in the character and making it look effortless on screen, appeared on Aap Ki Adalat with India TVC Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Rajat Sharma. He opened up about his best film to date, ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’.
While talking about the 2013 film, Farhan spoke at length about his last phone call with Padma Shri recipient and the late athlete Milkha Singh.
Farhan Akhtar on Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
Farhan Akhtar shared interesting anecdotes about late Milkha Singh, ‘The Flying Sikh’, while doing his film, ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’. “To do the role of a 17-year-old sprinter was a challenging one. I practised for 8 months on a 400-metre track at Mumbai’s Priyadarshini Park for this role. There were athletes from the police, Western Railway, and the Navy practising on that track. One day, Milkha Singh came. He spoke to each one of the athletes for nearly two hours. It was an amazing thing to see. I gradually realised the role I had to play. When he met me, he said, let us jog on the track; we will talk at the same time. A man in his late seventies had the zest of a 17-year-old athlete even at that age. I then decided why I can’t do this role in my thirties,” the actor said on Aap Ki Adalat.
When Milkha Singh gifted his Olympic shoes to Farhan
Farhan also revealed on Aap Ki Adalat that when he went to Chandigarh, Milkha Singh gifted him the shoes that he had worn at the Rome Olympics. Sharing another ancedonte from the film, the Bhaag Milkh Bhaag actor added, “There was one interesting incident. There was a romantic scene in the film with an Australian girl. We asked Milkha ji whether he had any objection to this romantic scene. Milkha Ji blushed. His face turned red, but Aunty Ji (his wife) said, ‘Nahin nahin, aap dikhaiye, inke toh itne saare affairs the, hamare milne se pehle.’ He was a heartthrob in his young days (laughs).”
Farhan broke down while remembering his last call to Milkha Singh
Asked about the days when Milkha Singh was in a Chandigarh hospital because of Covid, Farhan became emotional. There were tears in his eyes as he said, “His daughter rang me up in Mumbai and said doctors said her father was in his last stage. I requested her to give the phone to his dad. I spoke to Milkha ji for the last time on the phone.”
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag was a blockbuster success at the box office.
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