Congress leader Charanjit Singh Sapra has gone on record to say that filmmaker Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has not honoured his commitment of donating a certain portion from his film's profit to legendary sportsman Milkha Singh's trust.
Sapra says, "Milkha Singhji is a family friend; recently he told me that Rakeysh Mehra is yet to give his trust 10 per cent of the profit he made from the film, 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'. Turns out that Milkha Singhji has received nothing so far."
It may be recalled here that Milkha Singh had only taken one rupee from Mehra when the filmmaker had showed an interest in making a film based on his life. Sapra says, "Milkha told me that he did not ask the makers to donate any money to the trust but it was Mehra who offered to do so after the film's release. That said, the filmmaker has not honoured this promise. Milkha tried to get in touch with him but there has been no response.
This is why Milkha asked me to speak to Mehra and I have done so. But now I am being told that there is a dispute and Mehra still hasn't got his share from the other party (Viacom 18)."
The politician says that he can't believe that Mehra does not have enough money to donate to Milkha's trust. He says, "The film won appreciation and it also did good business across the world. I am sure Mehra must have got a certain amount from the film's revenue; he could easily give a portion to the trust as the film got made in the first place because of Milkha Singh."
He adds, "Milkha helped the film's crew get permissions to shoot in stadiums, not to mention liaising with the army. I will speak to Mehra again." The filmmaker was unavailable for comment, but Milkha replied, "I'm in England; I'll come back and talk."
