Here’s a first look at Farhan Akhtar as Milkha Singh in Bhag Milkha Bhag

Tushar Joshi (BOMBAY TIMES; April 3, 2012)

Farhan Akhtar has done it. Managed to metamorphose into Milkha Singh for the film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, that is. And the resemblance is uncanny.

But Akhtar’s preparation for the role was not limited to just looking the part. He studied pictures and videos of the world famous athlete to get the body language right. He even met Singh’s trainer Havaldar Gurdev Singh to take notes on how he trained the Flying Sikh.

Directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag is Farhan’s first biopic. An insider reveals, “He was quite nervous because Milkha is a legendary sportsman. He had to imbibe everything, from his look to his body language. Over the past year-and-a-half, Farhan has been training rigorously for the role.”

Since Akhtar has a high metabolism rate and tends to lose weight quickly, he had to workout every single day to maintain the physique he has built for the film. In fact, when the crew was shooting in the town of Firozpur in Punjab, a gym was kept open 24×7 so he could use it whenever the time permitted.

Interestingly, the gym owner’s mother — who is a huge fan of the athlete — was astounded by Akhtar’s resemblance to Milkha. Says Mehra, “Farhan has transformed himself. When you see him, you can only see Milkha Singh.”

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