Farhan Akhtar Birthday: kahaan hain toophaan Mr. Farhan Akhtar? by Ali Peter John

He was about to release his first film 'Dil Chahta Hai' with his best friend Ritesh Sidhwani as his partner. I was to meet him at the Otters Club on Carter Road. There was already a lot of buzz in the industry circles about the film! Farhan did most of the talking and the film's director sounded like a young man as he kept talking about the film and especially about its stars, Aamir, Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna besides praising its actresses. Loaded, Sonali Kulkarni, Preity Zinta and Dimple Kapadia, who he reiterated played 'mind-blowing roles' But more than his film, he talked about his love for the play and their love for the play made me Reminded me of our first meeting. It was with Shekhar Kapur, who was all set to make his debut as an actor in Dev Anand's 'Ishq Ishq Ishq'! He kept looking at the ocean outside my office window and kept saying how much he loved swimming and how he knew how. What was his destination?

It was Farhan's first show for friends in the industry at Chitra Theater and there was excitement that I have rarely seen. And as the film did, I could find most people in the theater seats rooting for the director with a bright future, a son who doesn't have to depend on his famous father, lyricist Javed Akhtar, and his mother, Honey Irani and their friends. He was clearly a young man who made his way and what I and others thought during the screening was evident when the screening was over and Farhan was welcomed with open arms and warmth!

'Dil Chahta Hai' became a cult film and Farhan went on to make other films, all of them given great challenges from a capable, skilled and extraordinary talent.

He wasn't going to be satisfied with being a director though and when he took on the role of an actor, it felt like he really had to make up his mind about what he wanted to do. But with time, Farhan proved that he can sail two boats at the same time and with the same kind of success and same kind of acceptance by the audience and especially the youth. He was at his best in 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag', a biopic on the world famous Indian athlete Milkha Singh, who was probably the first Indian to make it big at the Olympics. According to a very reliable source, he is an athlete in his own right. The eighties had now given up the rights to his story for a token amount of just one rupee, but only with the condition that a major portion of the film's earnings would be spent on encouraging play among the poor and downtrodden!

The film was another cult film in which Farhan was involved and he made a promise to himself that he would make more films based on sports and players.

It was the success of 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' that has now inspired Farhan to make his next, 'Toofan', this time based not on a real life character but a fictional one.

Farhan is going to make his sports based film in which he has to play the role of a boxer. In the first statement Farhan has said about 'Toofan', he said, 'I am playing the role of a player, but it is a fictional character. I have always played actively in my life, whether it was football, volleyball or swimming! But training, especially for films like 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' and 'Toofan', is naturally a part of who I am and something I enjoy a lot. I think, I feel in terms of my basic physical and mental development. Sports have played a huge role!

Farhan talks about how being a part of and playing any sport can be a very good teacher because as a result of training from these films, he has imbibed a lot of qualities on a personal level, and also has a knack for other sports. It may make a difference. The way they play their lives 'There is discipline that you inherit from playing any sport. It affects the way you concentrate on things. It puts you in a positive frame of mind, teaches you about team work, success and how to deal with loss. There is a lot to learn just by being part of a team. On asking Farhan if films are also a platform to highlight different sports and celebrate sports personalities and their much-deserved wins, he says, “We have had some amazing sports heroes in our history. Their stories can be shared and we should celebrate the career of a player or players. There have been many ups and downs in his career, and he has struggled all the way to the top. There is a lot of drama in the game. But more importantly, there are a lot of positive messages that can be taken from such films, especially for children. “The way Farhan talks about the benefits of sports, he seems like a very good coach or an experienced player of any of the most challenging sports.

Other details about 'Toofan' will come only when Farhan has made up his mind about them.

Farhan was not the first choice to play the role of Milkha Singh

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra was planning to make a biopic on the life and times of Indian athlete Milkha Singh, who missed out on winning a huge fortune at the Olympics. He was looking for an actor who could do justice to the role.

After thinking about several other actors, they finalized Akshay Kumar who was very excited to play the role. But, there was a big challenge for him in Milan Luthria's 'Once Upon a Time in Mumbai Dobara'.

It was even after much deliberation that Mehra chose Farhan Akhtar and Akshay Kumar still regrets his decision of not doing 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'!