Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Reveals Having Offered ‘Rang De Basanti’ To Farhan Akhtar

Filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has a keen eye for filmmaking and he has always chosen the perfect cast for all his films. His last film ‘Toofaan’ did exceedingly well on OTT and is having a World Television Premiere today on Zee Cinema.

Mehra opened up about how he has seen actor Farhan Akhtar grow over the years as he has not only worked with him in ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ and ‘Toofaan’ but had also offered him ‘Rang De Basanti’.

Speaking about Akhtar having grown immensely over the years, Mehra says, “Most certainly. When we made 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' together it was many years back. With every film, you grow and a lot of water passes under the bridge and that is the nature of the beast. If you don't grow you will stagnate.”

Revealing that he had offered ‘Rang De Basanti’ to Farhan Akhtar and how he spotted the acting talent in him, Mehra says, “That is what is called a directors eye, in a tongue in cheek way (laughs). It is my job. It is what I do. It is what I understand, and what I see in people. For me, anybody can act. For me, it is like you can teach a certain technique of acting, but not the soul of acting. If you see any child, they're the greatest actors. I have been lucky to have worked with so many kids. I learn acting from kids. With Farhan, I found his approach towards acting to be very natural. And I am saying about this from his life and not in a professional aspect. In his personal life, I found him to be very natural.”

Akhtar and Mehra have collaborated for two of the most well-made sports films in Bollywood history, ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag’ and ‘Toofaan’.