He is an old hand in the Punjabi film industry, an accomplished sportsman and of course, father of Yuvraj Singh, the comeback kid of Indian cricket. And now Yograj Singh is back on the silver screen, playing the coach of Milkha Singh in the Farhan Akhtar-starrer Bhaag Milkha Bhaag.
“I wanted to be the greatest cricketer but it never happened. And then came Yuvraj who fulfilled my dreams,” says Yograj. About his entrance into the film industry he says, “One fine day I land up in the Punjabi film industry not knowing anything about acting at all. And after a few years I was known to Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan. And last year I got the lifetime achievement award.”
“I have been a latecomer in life. My father was 72 when I was born. It was his fourth marriage. He was a hunter and lived in the Corbett Jungle and Kaladhungi forest. He was the first Punjabi to settle there, in 1957. He was a strict disciplinarian, almost like an Army general.”
About his role in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, he says, “One fine day I was sitting at home thinking of going to the mountains and meditating when I got a call from Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra offering me the role. I thought he was joking as there are so many great actors. Even now I always pinch myself to see if it is real.”
“After watching the rushes, Rakeysh praised me a lot. I play Ranveer, the coach of Milkha Singh,” he says.
For Yograj, reel life resembles real life a lot. “Whatever I did for Yuvraj I do for Farhan in the film. I was a strict father. Waking him in the wee hours and trying to make him tough… In the film my character takes Milkha Singh to Ladakh and he is unable to perform up to the mark. While performing this role I was thinking about Yuvraj all along. I definitely identified with the father-son relationship. Even Farhan seemed like Yuvi to me.
“My wife and Yuvi’s grandmother would always hate me for making Yuvi slog so hard. But I wanted him to be strong and be able to face the world. Making him fearless, like what my dad did to me, has definitely helped Yuvi survive all the hurdles in his life.”
“I know that death is inevitable, but it is survival of the fittest. I have tried to pass this fearless attitude on to Yuvi. If it was not so, Yuvi would not have made it in the world of cricket.”
About Yuvraj’s battle with cancer he adds, “I knew about it, when I took Yuvi to the doctor at Mohali, I declared what Yuvi was suffering from. But Yuvi always took it lightly. He always said, ‘Dad I am not a kid, I will gargle and be alright’.
“When they went to America for tests I prayed for his well-being. One day Yuvi called me and said, ‘If I have to die, I must die only after I win the World Cup… pray that I win the World Cup… pray that I take a rebirth in your family again.’
“He played until the lump became two and a half kg. Yuvi’s mother is strong, so I left everything on her.”
“The first thing Yuvi did after he left the hospital was to meet me; we were shooting at JNU. He gave the clap for my first scene. We were together the whole day. It was like a son showering blessings on his father.”
However, the father-son relationship has had its share of ups and downs. “It pained me a lot when Yuvi left my house and took my younger son Zoravar with him. Today Zoravar has nothing to do, he has no profession; he has indulged in alcohol, parties and is a spoilt brat, somewhat like Yuvi. Today he feels he should have been under my strict as well as protective wings. However, I am trying my level best for him to come out of all this.”
While Yograj still feels the pain of missing out as a cricketer, he is upbeat about signing a film with Ameesha Patel. And as far as cricket is concerned, there’s always rebirth. “In my next birth I will try to become a renowned cricketer,” he says.