Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra is known for choosing unconventional stories for his films, such as Aks, Rang De Basanti, Delhi-6, and Toofan. Despite being a box office failure, Delhi-6 has gained more love over the years and is considered more relevant than ever. After the failure of Delhi-6, Mehra bounced back with the successful biopic Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, based on the life of Olympian Milkha Singh.
Mehra explains that he wanted to tell a story about the partition of India, and found Milkha Singh to be a perfect character who was a victim of this tragic event. He wanted to weave the story of Milkha Singh’s life with the backdrop of the partition to create an inspiring tale. The partition of India holds a significant place in the history of modern India, being the largest human migration in the history of mankind. Milkha Singh, who witnessed the massacre of his family during the partition, managed to make his way to Delhi and overcome immense hardships to become an international icon in the world of athletics.
When Mehra met Milkha Singh to discuss the film, Singh initially asked him what he would like to eat. After getting to know each other, Mehra spent five days with Singh, listening to his life story and gaining his trust. Singh opened up about his experiences and shared emotional moments, such as when he witnessed the massacre of his family and when he lost the gold medal at the Rome Olympics. These moments became defining moments for the film.
Mehra shared the first and last scenes of the film with Singh, explaining how the film would begin and end. Singh was impressed with the story and agreed to let Mehra make the film, even accepting just Re1/- for the rights. Mehra then started the process of finding the right actors and began working on the music with Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.
Regarding the sequence of approaching actors, Mehra does not remember exactly, but he did approach Aamir Khan for the role. The details of their conversation are not mentioned in the interview.
Overall, Mehra chose to tell Milkha Singh’s story on celluloid because he found it inspiring and wanted to shed light on the history of India during the partition. He wanted to show how Milkha Singh overcame immense hardships to become an international icon and inspire the younger generation.