Directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, the 2013 sports drama Bhaag Milkha Bhaag was based on the life of the Indian track and field sprinter Milkha Singh. Farhan Akhtar portrayed the late athlete in the film and received enormous praise from audiences and critics for his brilliant performance.
But before the actor-singer-director came on board, the filmmaker had approached Aamir Khan, Hrithik Roshan, and Ranveer Singh for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, and all of them refused to be a part of the biopic.
In his autobiography The Stranger In The Mirror, Mehra wrote, "I narrated the story to Hrithik Roshan, whom I have always seen as a very intense actor. Hrithik sent me a beautiful message, ‘You’ve completely screwed my life upside down.’ However, he passed it as he was already committed to his franchise Krrish." The director even added that Aamir Khan, with whom he had made the National Award-winning Rang De Basanti, refused Bhaag Milkha Bhaag saying, "Yaar Mehra, this one is not for me."
After his first two choices refused the film, Rakeysh held auditions for the film and found Ranveer Singh to be the perfect candidate to portay Mikha Singh on the big screen. "He (Ranveer) was thrilled with the part and so was I with his audition. But then even he passed it for reasons I will never know. I have always respected the decisions of other artists – we all have our own headspaces", the director added. He concluded that Farhan Akhtar agreed to do the film after fifteen-minute narration.
Bhaag Milkha Bhaag has been among the most critically-acclaimed biopics in Hindi cinema. It earned Rs 108 crore net in India and Rs 168 crore gross worldwide, as per the entertainment tracking portal Sacnilk. The sports biopic also won two National Film Awards, one was the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and another was the Best Choreography to Ganesh Acharya for the track Maston Ka Jhund.
Apart from the Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara actor, the film also starred Divya Dutta, Pavan Malhotra, Yograj Singh, Art Malik, and Prakash Raj in pivotal roles, with Sonam Kapoor in an extended cameo appearance.
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