Sonam Kapoor did Bhaag Milkha Bhaag for ₹11, reveals Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra

Director Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra revealed in his autobiography, The Stranger in the Mirror, co-written by Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta, that Sonam Kapoor charged only a token amount to appear in his film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.

The sports drama, about the life of sprinter Milkha Singh, starred Farhan Akhtar in the lead role. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra wrote that he shared an ‘amazing journey’ with Sonam Kapoor when they worked together in Delhi-6, starring Abhishek Bachchan.

He wrote, according to Pinkvilla, “Sonam Kapoor benevolently accepted to play a guest appearance for a princely sum of ₹11 only for her brief portrayal of Biro.”

The filmmaker continued, “She chose to accept ₹11. She had a special appearance in the film. Both of us shared an amazing journey with Delhi-6 before that. She told me that she is needed for just 7 days for the shoot and she praised us for trying to say something so beautiful, about the partition of this country and the spirit of Milkha Singh. So she wanted to contribute to the film as well. It was very nice of her.”

In his book, he also wrote about the devastation that Delhi-6’s commercial failure caused in his life. “I was going deeper and deeper into a dark hole. Unable to take it anymore, I drowned myself in alcohol,” he wrote, and added, “I wanted to drink myself to death — to sleep and never get up…”

But he also had some fun anecdotes, as well. Like the one about Daniel Craig auditioning for a supporting role in Rang De Basanti, at around the same time that he was in contention for the role of James Bond. Ultimately, the actor chose Bond, ‘and the rest, as they say, is history’, Rakeysh wrote.

Sonam was last seen on screen in a cameo in AK vs AK, in which she played a version of herself. Her last starring role came in The Zoya Factor. She will next be seen in the thriller Blind.