IIFA 2014: Bhaag Milkha Bhaag Sweeps The Honours

It was ‘Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' all the way at the 15th edition of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Weekend. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's directorial venture bagged totally nine technical awards including best picture and best director as well as the best actor award for Farhan Akhtar.

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, a biopic on former Olympian Milkha Singh, saw Farhan etching out the role of the athlete with so much élan that he won many awards back home.

"I have received awards for 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag' but this is the first time I am receiving the award in the presence of Milkha Singh. It's a great moment for me and I am extremely honoured to receive the award," said Farhan in his acceptance speech. The actor received the trophy from his father and lyricist Javed Akhtar and actress Shabana Azmi.

In fact, it was a big moment for the Bhaag Milkha Bhaag team when Milkha Signh accompanied them on the stage to receive the best picture award.

An emotional Milkha Singh said: "I am thankful to IIFA for bringing me here and giving me respect. I have cried three-four times in my life. First, was when my parents were killed in front of my eyes, second, when I lost the gold medal at the Rome Olympics....

"Everyone thought I could win the medal but that went away. It was my bad luck. Before I die, I wish someone from India wins the gold medal. I want to see a gold medal and then go," said the 84-year-old.

"Third time I cried was when they made this film and I saw everything (my life's journey) on the screen. Whenever I see the film, I cry. When I was sitting here now, I was in tears seeing the love and recognition the film has got," he added.

The winning spree of Bhaag Milkha Bhaag continued with the best actress in a supporting role award for Divya Dutta and best story trophy for Prasoon Joshi.

Hosted by Farhan and Shahid Kapoor, it was all about glitz, glamour and loads of Bollywood "tadka", which the audience lapped up.