Actor-director Farhan Akhtar has reiterated his opinions over Naseeruddin Shah's ten-year critique of his performance in the 2013 movie Bhaag Milkha Bhaag. In a recent interview with India TV, the 51-year-old reiterated Naseeruddin's 2013 remarks, calling them "distasteful," and expressed sorrow that someone he had known since boyhood had decided to openly disparage his work.
"I've known him for a very long time. At Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, we collaborated. He has known me since I was a young child. He's a fantastic actor and performer, but the only thing I didn't like was that there wasn't a method to let me know if you wanted me to do better," Farhan remarked.

In 2013, Farhan's portrayal of Milkha Singh and Naseeruddin Shah's direct approach to Bhaag Milkha Bhaag caused a stir. "I don't care about Farhan Akhtar, and I don't watch his films," he had stated in an interview. He went on to describe the movie as "a completely fake" depiction of the Olympian's life.
" Farhan has undoubtedly put in a lot of effort, but growing your hair and gaining muscular doesn't really translate into hard work on your acting. He ought to have at least made an effort to resemble Milkha. He makes Milkha very happy, and he imagines that this was his life and that's how he looked. He has pictures of himself from the 1960s Olympics, right? Back then, Naseeruddin had said.

In 2025, Farhan stated in the interview that he would have wanted to deal with the problem directly if it had been reversed.
"I would have called the person and instructed them to return home. After seeing your movie, I felt that these aspects were lacking. If acting is your passion, you should focus on these areas. This is a means of communication. However, to say this in the press... That was disgusting to me. Apart from that, Farhan stated, "If he didn't like it, that's his opinion, and I can't change it. He's entitled to it."