Farhan Akhtar And Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra On Meeting Fauja Singh At London Gurdwara: "He Hugged Milkha Singh"

NDTV

17-07-2025

New Delhi:
Farhan Akhtar and filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Sharma are gearing up for the re-release of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. The biographical sports drama was based on the life of Indian athlete Milkha Singh. The Flying Sikh, as he was called, had an incredible journey from being a refugee to being an Olympian.
While in conversation with the actor-director duo on the joy of seeing their film hit the screens again, we broached the topic of another incredible athlete who the sports world recently lost. Fauja Singh - the world's oldest British Indian marathon runner, who died on July 14, 2025, in a hit-and-run case. The incident took place in his birth village - Bias Pind, near Jalandhar. He was 114.
What's Happening
Farhan Akhtar and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra expressed deep sorrow at the death of another celebrated Sikh athlete, Fauja Singh. Just like Milkha Singh, Fauja Singh, aka Turbaned Tornado, had achieved International recognition. However, they were in different disciplines.
In July 2013, Milkha Singh and Fauja Singh met each other during the promotions of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag in London. As the two sports legends met at SRI Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara in Southall, London, it was a momentous occasion to cherish.
Farhan Akhtar recalls, "Yes, Fauja Singh was here in London. I remember meeting him. However, at that time, all of us were so caught up in the Bhaag Milkha Bhaag promotional junket that we didn't have the opportunity to spend much time with him. But I'm, of course, very familiar with him. I'm familiar with all his achievements. It is truly tragic how he died."
Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra shares, "We went to South London. We were at the gurdwara, where we offered our prayers, and Fauja Singh was also there. Milkha Sir and he hugged each other. It was so great to see them like that. Unfortunately, he died in an accident. He would have lived forever. It's just sad the way life took him away from us."
Fauja Singh Accident
Singh, a global athlete, was crossing a road in his birth village, Beas Pind, in Jalandhar. The incident took place on Monday, when he was hit by a vehicle. He suffered a head injury and passed away during the treatment.
The Punjab police were quick to catch the culprit. On Tuesday night, they arrested Canada-based Amritpal Singh Dhillon, who had rammed into Fauja Singh and then fled the scene.
Harvinder Singh Virk, Senior Superintendent of Police, Jalandhar Rural, shared details of their investigation and how they cracked the case in 30 hours.
In A Nutshell
The conversation was around one of the most celebrated marathon runners - Milkha Singh, as Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Bhaag Milkha Bhaag re-releases on August 8, 2025. The filmmaker and Farhan Akhtar also expressed their grief on the death of another marathon legend - Fauja Singh, who died in a horrific car accident on July 14, 2025.