Our Bureau
Mumbai
One of the best Bollywood biopics ever made, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is all set for its re-release on the big screen. The biographical sports drama is based on the life of Indian athlete Milkha Singh, famously known as ‘The Flying Sikh’, who overcame many challenges in his journey to become one of the greatest athletes in India.
Farhan Akhtar, who portrayed the character of Milkha Singh to near perfection, was in a conversation alongside Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra where they were asked about another great athlete who the world recently lost. World’s oldest British Indian marathon runner, Fauja Singh who was killed this Monday on July 14th, in a hit and run case in his birth village – Bias Pind, near Jalandhar. The legendary marathon runner was 114 years old.
Akhtar recalled meeting the legendary runner in London while they were promoting their movie. He stated how they could not interact much with him due to promotional responsibilities. The director also talked about Fauja Singh and how they met him at the gurudwara where he and Milkha Singh embraced each other in a warm hug.
Akhtar said, “Yes, Fauja Singh was here in London. I remember meeting him. However, at that time, all of us were so caught up in the Bhaag Milkha Bhaag promotional junket that we didn’t have the opportunity to spend much time with him. But I’m, of course, very familiar with him. I’m familiar with all his achievements. It is truly tragic how he died.”
Mehra shared, “We went to South London. We were at the gurdwara, where we offered our prayers, and Fauja Singh was also there. Milkha Sir and he hugged each other. It was so great to see them like that. Unfortunately, he died in an accident. He would have lived forever. It’s just sad the way life took him away from us.”
The tragic incident took place in his birth village Beas Pind, in Jalandhar, while he was crossing a road. He was hit by a vehicle which caused him a head injury and later the legendary athlete passed away in the hospital. The Punjab police on 15th July, arrested Canada-based Amritpal Singh Dhillon, who had rammed into Fauja Singh and then fled the scene.
