Divya Dutta Reveals Having A 'Huge Crush' On Farhan Akhtar; Says 'I Didn't Want To Play His Sister...'

Divya Dutta, who played a pivotal part in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, recently shared that she initially turned down the movie due to her “huge crush” on Farhan Akhtar. In a recent interview with Pinkvilla, Divya revealed that she declined the role as she didn’t want to play Farhan’s sister.

She said, “I wasn’t doing it because I had a huge crush on Farhan at that time. I said, ‘Why should I play his sister?’ Rakeysh said but you are an actor, you are a professional. I said yeah but… you know…”

However, the filmmaker explained that it was a brother-sister story and she accepted the role.

In his memoir, The Stranger In The Mirror, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra had revealed that Divya Dutta was his ultimate choice for the role in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. He considered himself fortunate to have reimagined the conventional portrayal of a sister, who is often showed as a mere accessory or a figure of sympathy for the protagonist. “I am blessed that I was able to reimagine the stereotypical sister who is rarely more than an insignificant prop or object of pity for the protagonist via my role in the film,” he wrote.

During the course of the interview, Divya recalled a memorable incident from the filming of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. She recounted how, when she arrived on set a day early, director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra introduced her to someone. To her surprise, it was Farhan Akhtar, who had transformed himself into the character of Milkha Singh. Taken aback by the look, she had said, “This is not Farhan at all. This is Milkha.”

During filming, Divya remembered a touching moment when Farhan Akhtar’s character, Milkha, gifted her character gold earrings. She revealed that while acting out the scene, she couldn’t help but wonder how it would conclude. As the scene reached its peak with her character saluting Milkha, everyone on set was deeply moved, leading to a heartfelt group hug.