NEW DELHI: Indian director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra who just directed Bhaag Milkha Bhaag said on Tuesday that he is planning to release the film in Pakistan, The Hindu reported.
“One of my Pakistani friends had tears in his eyes after watching the film and he was confident that it will bring the two countries closer together,” said the director.
The film is based on a yesteryear’s star athlete Milkha Singh, who was also known as the “Flying Sikh”.
“I was fascinated by Milkha right from childhood. I came across his autobiography in Gurmukhi. His son Jeev was instrumental in getting us the film’s rights,” said the director.
Mehra said that Farhan Akhtar, who plays the character of Milkha will also be visiting Pakistan along with the rest of the crew.
The director asserted that making the film was a challenge and forced him to “sell my Gurgaon flat and my wife’s shares,”. However, it is an important story, he added.
The film plays upon the theme of Partition and will have Milkha participating in a sports event in Pakistan. After all, the sobriquet of the “Flying Sikh” was given to the athlete by General Ayub Khan.
“Farhan will always be remembered for immortalising Milkha Singh on the screen just like Amjad Khan was known as Gabbar Singh in Sholay and Amitabh as Vijay in Deewar,” said the director.