Actor-director Farhan Akhtar appeared in the latest episode of India TV’s Aap Ki Adalat and responded to a host of queries from Rajat Sharma.
Film actor, director, producer and singer Farhan Akhtar made several interesting revelations during his interview with Rajat Sharma in his iconic show ‘Aap Ki Adalat’. On a controversy about ‘ignoring’ the contribution of Aheer community soldiers in his latest movie ‘120 Bahadur’, Farhan Akhtar said, “There would have been no controversy had I named my movie ‘Major Shaitan Singh’, but the film was about the entire (Charlie) Company. That’s why I named it ‘120 Bahadur’, to highlight the role of all the 120 brave soldiers in the famous Battle of Rezang La.”
Farhan said, “Recently, we released a teaser of that movie in which there is a dialogue, ‘Aheer Hain Hum, Pyar Se Mangogey Toh Jan Bhi De Dengey, Par Desh Ki Baat Aayi Toh Ek Kya, Sau Ki Jaan Bhi Le Lengey.’ A man who was consistently trolling me for ignoring Aheers on social media sent me a message yesterday saying, if you had used this dialogue in your earlier teasers, we would not have trolled you.”
Asked about the change that has taken place in Ladakh since he produced Lakshya in 2004 and ‘120 Bahadur’ now, Farhan Akhtar replied, “There has been a lot of change in infrastructure and road connectivity. During the shoot of Lakshya, there were no cellphones, and we had to stand in a queue outside a single PCO. Only Bachchan Saheb had his satellite phone. But one thing has not changed – the hospitality and love of the people of Ladakh.”
Milkha Singh
Farhan Akhtar revealed interesting anecdotes about the late Milkha Singh, ‘The Flying Sikh’, while doing his movie ‘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 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.”
Farhan said, “When we went to Chandigarh, Milkha Singh gifted me the shoes that he had worn at the Rome Olympics.”
“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 they, hamare milne se pahle.” He was a heartthrob in his young days.” (laughs)
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.”
Sridevi slipped on sets
Farhan Akhtar revealed how he almost lost his job as an assistant cameraman while working in Yash Chopra’s ‘Lamhe’ when Sridevi fell on a slippery film set during shooting.
Asked by Rajat Sharma why he made Sridevi fall, Farhan replied, “Main koun hota hoon Srideviji ko giraane wala? I was an assistant cameraman. I was the seventh or eighth cameraman. The main cameraman was Manmohan, or Manji, who was sitting on a crane and watching through his viewfinder. The scene was Srideviji gets bad news, and she starts to dance out of frustration. She first spoke to the choreographer Saroj ji (Khan). The chief cameraman told me he noticed something shining on the floor. I took a pail of water and cloth to dry the spot. Suddenly, Srideviji came forward; she slipped, flew through the air with legs akimbo, and fell smack in front of me. There was ‘sannaataa’ (silence). A pin-drop silence. I thought my career in films was over. I am grateful to Srideviji. She suddenly started laughing, and when others saw her laughing, they too guffawed with her. It is because of Srideviji that I am sitting here today in Aap Ki Adalat.”
