Farhan Akhtar reacts to Naseeruddin Shah’s Bhaag Milkha Bhaag comment

Farhan Akhtar has reacted to veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah's comment on his 2013 film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag after 12 years. The actor called the comment distasteful. Naseeruddin had slammed Farhan's look in the film and called the biopic 'completely fake'

Farhan Akhtar reacts to Naseeruddin Shah's comment on Bhaag Milkha Bhaag after 12 years: 'Distasteful'

Farhan Akhtar

Filmmaker-actor Farhan Akhtar has finally addressed Naseeruddin Shah’s long-standing criticism regarding his performance in his 2013 biographical drama Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. The 120 Bahadur actor called the comment distasteful.

Farhan Akhtar reacts to Naseeruddin Shah’s comment

During a new conversation with India TV, Farhan expressed his disappointment over the veteran actor’s remarks. He added that while he deeply respects Naseeruddin as a performer, the way in which the criticism was delivered felt “distasteful."

Farhan revealed that what hurt him most was that the comments came from someone he had known since childhood and also worked with. Farhan shared, "I have known him for so many years. We worked together in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. He has known me ever since I was a child. He’s 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.

Farhan also spoke about how he thinks he would have handled such a situation differently. The actor said he would have liked a private, respectful exchange rather than public criticism, saying, “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. If you’re passionate about 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."

Nevertheless, respecting Naseeruddin's opinion, he shared, "If he didn’t like it, it is his opinion, and I can’t change that. He’s entitled to it."

What did Naseeruddin Shah say?

For the unversed, back in 2013, Naseeruddin Shah sparked a controversy with his unfiltered opinion about Bhaag Milkha Bhaag and Farhan’s portrayal of the legendary athlete Milkha Singh. During an interview, he had said, “I don’t care about Farhan Akhtar, and I don’t watch his films," calling the biopic “a completely fake" version of the Olympian’s life.

He further said, “Farhan has no doubt worked very hard, but building 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 imagines that this was his life, that he looked like that. Doesn’t he have photographs of himself from the 1960s Olympics?"

Over the years, Farhan had stayed away from the matter until now.