Farhan Akhtar animated about portraying Milkha Singh in ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’

Director-turned-actor Farhan Akhtar, who recently picked up a prestigious award for his impeccable performance in ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’, is all set to play the legendary Olympic runner Milkha Singh in Rakeysh Mehra’s ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’. The role requires Farhan to portray a Sikh sprinter and, despite all its challenges, Farhan is keyed up & animated as he speaks about the project.

Opening his heart to the tabloids, the man who gave us ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, quips that he never had any lingering doubts about essaying the character. After hearing the script, he was quick to give his nod since it would be a big privilege and honour to portray a high-statured character like Milkha.

The film is being made by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (whose ‘Rang De Basanti’ still tugs at our hearts) and that’s another reason why to look forward to it. Farhan, who is 38, is buoyant about the project since the film is a biopic of a real-life legendary character. It’s also an interesting phase for ourBollywood that has now started to explore territories beyond the convention.

Modern-day film makers are bold, confident and keen on painting a biopic on the silver screen. Ashutosh Gowariker’s portrayal of historical characters of Jodha Akbar & Surya Sen and Shahrukh Khan’s role of a legendary hockey player in ‘Chak De India’ are noteworthy cases. As Farhan rightly points out, people now-a-days are not overtly sensitive about their personal lives and this allows a filmmaker to assert his creative liberty.

Giving us an insight into ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’, Farhan concedes that the film shall be made with authenticity without unwarranted drama. Farhan’s latest brush with the big screen was as the director of ’Don 2’ which will be showcased this year in the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival. It would be interesting to see how Farhan uses his skills to play the ‘Flying Singh’.