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Indian Express

Milkha Singh said Jawaharlal Nehru ‘manipulated' him to go to Pakistan after Partition horrors, recalls Dalip Tahil: ‘He changed my life'

Dalip Tahil played a small but impactful role as Jawaharlal Nehru in athlete Milkha Singh's biographical film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. In a recent interaction, the actor recalled meeting the legendary athlete himself and how Milkha opened up to him about the pivotal role Nehru played in his life. In a recent interaction with Red FM Podcasts, Dalip shared that he had asked Bhaag Milkha Bhaag's team to arrange a meeting with Milkha Singh, as the athlete was the only one who had actually met Jawaharlal Nehru. The actor believed that hearing about Nehru from Milkha himself would help him portray the leader more authentically on the big screen. 'Jawaharlal Nehru had a big role in Milkha Singh's life and I got to know about it after meeting the athlete himself,' Dalip shared. Dalip Tahil recalled Milkha Singh confiding in him that he didn't want to go to Pakistan after being invited to take part in the 200m event at an international athletic competition in Lahore in 1960. The athlete, who was born in what is now the Pakistan side of Punjab, had witnessed the brutalities of Partition up close — Milkha Singh's parents and siblings were killed during the Partition — and he was reluctant to return to Lahore 13 years after the traumatic event. However, Milkha told Dalip that it was former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru who convinced him to take the trip in order to help ease tense relations between the two nations. Opening up about the meeting, Dalip Tahil said, 'Milkha Singh talked to me for 4 hours and we spoke a lot about Jawaharlal Nehru. He told me, 'I didn't want to go back to Pakistan but Prime Minister Pandit Nehru told me to go and he manipulated me by making me the Captain of the team.' Nehru wanted a civilian with a stature to visit Pakistan at that time to amend the bridges, he didn't want to send a politician. Nehru knew what had happened with Milkha ji during partition, so to get him to go back there, he convinced him by making him the Captain. Milkha Singh couldn't say no to Nehru.' Dalip went on to say, 'Milkha Singh told me that he was treated so well in Pakistan. He said, 'I couldn't believe the contrast.'' Dalip also shared a hilarious anecdote. He said, 'After winning the medal in Pakistan, when Milkha came back home, Nehru ji asked him 'what reward you want?' and he responded, 'I want leaves.'' Dalip recalled Milkha Singh's wife's reaction and said, 'She quipped, 'If he would have asked for 100 acres of land, we would have had so much land by now,'' Dalip recalled, adding, 'Milkha Singh told me that Jawaharlal Nehru changed his life.'