The 'Rock On' actor also went on a liquid diet thrice in 13 months to get an athlete's body. As per reports, Farhan not only had an intense and strict regime but the actor also sweated it out for 13 months in the gym to get the perfect look. And second, because the role was anything unlike the actor had done before. One, because of the massive physical transformation went through. Today, the intense sports drama completes seven years and we decided to walk down memory lane.īhaag Milkha Bhaag was a physically exhausting film for the actor for two reasons.
Farhan Akhtar played the titular role and transformed drastically to get into the shoes of Milkha. The biopic was based on the life of Milkha Singh, a national champion runner and an Olympian popularly known as The Flying Sikh. One such film which has been exceptionally good in the last few years is Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. While Aamir Khan in Dangal put the sport of girl wrestlers under the spotlight, Priyanka Chopra as Mary Kom took inspiration to a whole new level with her heartbreaking story. Biopics have also been well received by the audiences and in turn been inspiring and motivational to say the least. From Mary Kom to MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, actors and actresses have gone all out to look the part and train hard for their respective roles. Production company: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra PicturesĬast: Farhan Akhtar, Sonam Kapoor, Dalip Tahil, Prakash RajĮxecutive producers: P.S.Bollywood has treated the audiences' scores of biopics on sports persons over the years. That is a patriotic message that is exhilarating indeed. But with Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, he takes no shortcuts in depicting the literal blood, sweat and tears Singh shed in his pursuit of excellence. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has been called a patriotic filmmaker: he was lauded as the director of Rang De Basanti, a 2006 film that captured India’s youth on the brink of rebellion, and his works also include the 2011 documentary Bollywood: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told. Blunt, who make the long, uncut hair of Milkha’s Sikh faith appear entirely natural on Akhtar. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s background score is powerful in all the right parts, and special mention must be made of the excellent wig and hair work by Avan Contractor and B.
Mehra himself makes a small, comical cameo as an airline pilot on Milkha’s first flight. Mehra has taken great care in casting Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, with sensitive performances from Divya Dutta (as Milkha’s devoted elder sister), Sonam Kapoor ( Raanjhanaa, Delhi 6) as a brief but important love interest, Prakash Raj as a hard-driving army leader, and especially Pavan Malhotra as a compassionate mentor, the first trainer to spot Milkha’s potential. PHOTOS: Life After the Olympics: How 15 Athletes Made Their Way to Hollywood In one memorable scene, the adult Milkha has a vision of his 12-year-old self, and for once in his life, comes to love and accept the boy within unconditionally.
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Prasoon Joshi’s screenplay does not tell Milkha’s story chronologically, instead relying on a series of flashbacks that can seem unclear until the end of the film, when Milkha travels back to his home town to experience a moving catharsis. But beyond the impressive physique he has cultivated for the role, Akhtar has captured a sense of focus and piety that led Singh to rise from his humble beginnings as a post-Partition refugee and small-time crook to national champion. He trained hard for a year and a half before the start of shooting, including a regimen in mountainous Ladakh at 14,000 feet. The smart, sinewy Akhtar does not look like the typical Bollywood hero, which is one of the factors that Mehra says led him to choose him for the role after a casting search that took him as far as Canada, the UK and the U.S. Since then, he has earned accolades for roles in films such as Rock On!! and 2011’s delightful bromance Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. He made the shift to acting under the radar, in the little-seen 2005 festival film The Fakir of Venice. He is known as a writer and director, with his 2001 release, Dil Chahta Hai, redefining the youth genre, and Don and Don 2 cementing Shah Rukh Khan’s reputation as an action star. Its length - bloated by several overlong segments and superfluous songs - and the complexity of the India-Pakistan rivalry at the core of the story may prove offputting for non-Indian audiences, but the film is likely to attract healthy returns at the box office within India.įarhan Akhtar’s intelligent performance is a highlight of the film. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag has opened wide for an Indian release in the U.S., in 140 theaters.