The film’s many ties to the city

In fact,the anticipation had been building ever since the trailers were out. Milkha,who took part in the Rome Olympics in 1960,missed out on a medal in the 400m race by a whisker. The way he overcame obstacles on life to become the top Indian athlete,is legendary.

“Making a biopic on him was important,especially for junior athletes. His life story is very motivating as he has seen the highs and lows in his life. The way he trained for big events like Asian Games or Olympics,is very inspiring,” said Ravinder Chaudhary,the general secretary of Chandigarh Athletics Association. “He was a world-class athlete. The way he performed and won medals in those conditions,and became among the top four best athletes in the world,is legendary,” he added.

There are plenty of reasons for the city athletes to watch the movie.

Firstly,Milkha belongs to Chandigarh. Also,during the initial stages of the film,Milkha and Farhan Akhtar,who is enacting Milkha in the film,spent time training at Post Graduate Government College,Sector 11,Chandigarh.

There are other attractions for the city residents to watch the movie. Aman Handa,who is a student of DAV College,Sector 10,has worked as Farhan’s dummy in the film. Then,there is 12-year-old Japtej from Mohali,who is playing the role of young Milkha. Also,Yograj Singh,a cricket coach and Yuvraj Singh’s father,is playing Milkha’s coach in the film. “We had booked the tickets in advance because we know it will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The books on him are hardly available and despite being a legend,the young generation hardly know him,” said S K Joshi,coach at Sector 7 Sports Complex.