It was 2013 when actor Farhan Akhtar stepped into the shoes of legendary sprinter Milkha Singh for the latter’s biopic directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. The sports biopic released in theatres across the country and it received nothing but applause from fans as well as the critics. Right from the storyline inspired by Flying Sikh’s life to the motivational tracks, every single aspect of the movie was loved. The film managed to summarise Singh’s life from a victim of civil war to one making sports headlines in just a matter of 3 hours.
Having said that, did you know that prior to the release of the film, to mark the beginning of the shoot, the Indian athlete gave Farhan his shoes that we wore during Rome Olympics? Yes, Farhan quite literally stepped into the shoes of the late athlete. His gesture was seen as a metaphorical way of passing on his legacy to the Rock On actor and urging him to do justice to the role. Which Farhan sure did!
For the unversed, Rome Olympics held a special place in Singh’s sports career. During the 1990 Olympics, Singh finished fourth in the race and lost the bronze medal to Malcolm Spence of South Africa. Even though Singh made a record, it was heartbreaking to see him lose. The match in a way introduced India to the track and field discipline.
Farhan Akhtar and Milkha Singh during the time of the film shoot managed to form a special bond. Several photos of the two posing with each other made it to the news. On the passing away of the legendary sprinter last night, Farhan even penned a heartfelt note on Twitter. The actor shared that he is struggling to come to terms with his demise.
A part of his emotional note read: “And the truth is that you will always be alive. Because you were more than a large hearted, loving, warm, down to earth man. You represented an idea. You represented a dream. You represented (to you your own words) how hard work, honesty and determination can lift a person off his knees and get him to touch teh sky (sic)”.
Milkha Singh passed away last night after battling COVID-19 for over a month. Just 5 days ago, his wife Nirmal Saini too had left for her heavenly abode after testing positive for the deadly virus. May the legend rest in peace.
