Milkha Singh and golfer Jeev Milkha Singh at a press conference to present the shoes that the Flying Sikh wore in the 1960 Rome Olympics to Farhan Akhtar who stars in the biopic Bhaag Milkha Bhaag which is being made by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra here on Tuesday. (HT photo)
“We were hoping to bring in Milkhaji’s birthday along with his family at Farhan Akhtar’s home. But as of now, all the plans stand cancelled,” says an insider. “Keeping the loss of Bal Thackeray in mind, it didn’t seem appropriate to plan a celebration.”
Farhan, who plays Milkha in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s film, had specially invited the sprinter and his family to celebrate the
occasion with him and his team.
“The plan included Farhan hosting a birthday party in honour of Milkhaji before launching the first look at a five-star hotel in the city. But Milkhaji, Rakeysh and Farhan weren’t keen to go ahead with the celebration at such a sensitive time in Mumbai,” adds the insider.
While Farhan and Rakeysh remained unavailable for a comment, the film’s spokesperson confirmed the news, saying, “The entire team felt that it would be inappropriate to celebrate Milkhaji’s birthday or the launch of the film’s first look at this time.”