Actor-filmmaker Farhan Akhtar has once again responded to veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah’s decade-old critique of his performance in the 2013 biopic Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. In a recent interview with India TV, Farhan described Shah’s public remarks as “distasteful” and voiced his disappointment that a person he said he had known since childhood would handle feedback in that manner.
Farhan Akhtar calls Naseeruddin Shah’s Bhaag Milkha Bhaag criticism: “To go in the press and say this… I found that distasteful”
“I have known him for so many years. We worked together in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. He knows me ever since I was a child. He is a great performer and a great actor, but the only thing that I didn’t like was that if you want me to improve in my work, then there is a way of communicating that,” Farhan said.
He recalled Shah’s interview from 2013, in which Shah had called Bhaag Milkha Bhaag “a completely fake” portrayal of the Olympian’s life. In that earlier interview, Shah had said, “I don’t care about Farhan Akhtar, and I don’t watch his films,” before going on to call the film “a completely fake” portrayal of the Olympian’s life.”
He added, “Farhan has no doubt worked very hard but building up muscles and growing your hair is not exactly working hard on your acting. At least he should have tried to look like Milkha. Milkha is mighty pleased by him and he imagines that this was his life, he imagines he looked like that. Doesn’t he have photographs of himself from the 1960s Olympics?”
Reflecting on how he would have handled it differently, Farhan said, “I would have picked up a phone and told the person to come home. I have watched your film and I found these points lacking, and if you’re passionate for acting, then you should work on these things. This is a way of communicating. But to go in the press and say this… I found that distasteful. Other than that, if he didn’t like it, it is his opinion, and I can’t change that he is entitled to it.”
Farhan also noted that while he respects Shah’s craft and legacy, he believes feedback among peers especially those who share a long history ought to be delivered with respect, rather than publicly dismissing someone’s efforts.
In spite of the resurfaced commentary, Farhan remains focused on his upcoming film 120 Bahadur, directed by Razneesh Ghai, in which he plays Major Shaitan Singh. The war-drama, based on the 1962 Sino-Indian War, is scheduled for release on November 21.
More Pages: Bhaag Milkha Bhaag Box Office Collection , Bhaag Milkha Bhaag Movie Review
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