Farhan Akhtar on his preparation for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

By Subhash K. Jha -

January 17, 2012 - 10:39 AM IST

Farhan Akhtar has not only begun to grow his hair and beard to be ready to play a Sardar, he has also changed his lifestyle completely. On a breathless note, he is running for his life. Every morning he is up before his children, to put in those extra hours of practice for his role as Milkha Singh.

Says Farhan, "Yes, there is radical change in my lifestyle. I've a training session every morning from 6.45 am to 8 am. I wrap up my athletic activities by 9 in the morning. In any case, the film industry is not awake before 9 am. And yeah, late nights are being avoided. Even after the Tom Cruise party, I was home by midnight."

Playing the Olympian sprinter Milkha Singh is proving to be a far bigger challenge for Farhan Akhtar than he had bargained for. Farhan is being trained to run like a professional sprinter.

Says the director-turned-actor, "At the moment it's just a morning session. I am being trained by a gentleman named Melvin who trains Central Railways athletes. But as we get closer to the shooting there would also have to be an evening session with an Olympian trainer."

Farhan says his whole physical language is undergoing a change with the sprinter's training. "It's a whole new world. Running to be a professional athlete is very different from just plain running. It's like a whole other science I am learning. But my trainer is happy with the progress. Pleasing him has become a benchmark for my progress as a runner."

Farhan says the morning running regime has transformed his entire lifestyle. "After running in the morning I feel a lot fitter. I am all charged up, raring to go each morning. A month ago when I was skipping gym to edit Don 2, I felt sluggish. That heavy feeling is gone."

As for the change in diet, Farhan shrugs, "I am avoiding food that I was in any case not too fond of. I do have a relatively athletic frame."

Farhan says when director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra approached him with the role of Milkha Singh, Farhan was enthused. "I saw it as one more bracing challenge as an actor. I did read Rakeysh comparing me with Balraj Sahni. I don't know what prompted the comparison. But recently, I read an interview of Balraj Sahni where he said he often questioned his choice of profession as an actor since being an actor one had to be an extrovert. Like him, I too am an introvert."

Farhan met Milkha Singh briefly. "That was very rushed. Now I hope to meet him in leisure. But I am not going to imitate his personality. I'd rather like to adopt his philosophy. Trying to replicate his speech and mannerisms would make the role restrictive and rehearsed. It's important for me to understand his take on life and sports. Everything will flow smoothly from there."

Farhan is also growing his hair and beard to play Milkha. "I couldn't possibly fake that Sardar look. So yeah I'm going to keep growing my beard and hair until March when we start shooting."

Farhan would be the next Sardar hero after Sunny Deol, Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn, and the first non-Punjabi Sardar.

"Is that an achievement?" wonders the bemused Sardar-to-be, who will also have to learn how to tie the turban. "I am playing someone who is iconic. I can't afford to get it wrong. But the role's authenticity is what makes it exciting for me. If I can pick roles that can surprise me and the audience, I've achieved what I set out to as an actor."