New Delhi: More than a decade after Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, brought Milka Singh’s extraordinary journey to the silver screen, his daughter Sonia Sanwalka has shared what happened behind the scenes. How Milkha Singh met Farhan Akhtar, how it inspired the film’s title and why the Flying Sikh sold the rights to the movie for just Rs 1.
In a recent interview on an online podcast, Milkha’s daughter revealed that the first time her father met Akhtar was after the actor had been finalised for the role. The two met at a running track, where Milkha Singh insisted on running alongside him. When Akhtar asked what the athlete expected from the film, he said that he wanted people to know how much hard work had gone into his journey.
The story behind the story
The title of the film is rooted in one of the darkest memories of Milkha Singh’s life during the Partition. While the director was listening to him narrate his life story, the athlete recalled how, after witnessing the massacre of his family, he was running toward his home when his father saw him and shouted, “Bhaag, Milkha!” It was from this deeply emotional moment that the director picked the title of the film, his daughter recalled.
Speaking about why Milkha Singh sold the film rights for just Rs 1, she said her father never gave importance to materialistic things. He believed that keeping the amount symbolic would make it easier for the film to be made and inspire more people.
“He used to say that if a Milkha is born in even one person after watching the film, then everything has been achieved,” she said.
The bond between Farhan Akhtar and Milkha Singh extended far beyond the screen. Milkha gifted his running shoes to Farhan. “They connected really well. They could talk to each other like friends,” Sanwalka said.
She also recalled that when Milkha was on his deathbed, Farhan texted her to ask about his condition and later spoke to him over the phone. She does not know whether her father heard him, but believes he did. Besides his family, Farhan was among the few people Milkha deeply loved.
“He was going to miss him a lot… and he was like a father to him,” she recalled Farhan Akhtar saying.