MUMBAI: A few actors refuse to sign a film despite having dates and liking the script because the remuneration is not as per expectations. But there have been others who have reduced their fees or worked for free to support a project they believed in or owing to personal relations with the filmmaker. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra has talked about this in his autobiography ‘The Stranger In The Mirror’, co-authored by Reeta Ramamurthy Gupta.

Rakeysh had directed Delhi-6 (2009) that had Sonam Kapoor as the film's leading actress. Both enjoyed working with each other, and the filmmaker decided to get her on board for his next, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (2013). However, she had a brief appearance in the film as the fictional muse of Milkha Singh, played by Farhan Akhtar.

Rakeysh wrote in the book that "Sonam Kapoor benevolently accepted to play a guest appearance for a princely sum of Rs. 11 only for her brief portrayal of Biro." He added that she lit up the screen every time she appeared in the film. The actress also has fond memories of it.

The filmmaker was all praise for the actress. He wrote, "Sonam understood that the film was not a love story - it was about a Partition survivor's tryst with his horrific childhood, and that Isri Kaur, the sister, was his only connection to a past that he was reluctant to both own and discard."

He shared, “She chose to accept Rs. 11. She had a special appearance in the film. Both of us shared an amazing journey with Delhi-6 before that. She told me that she is needed for just 7 days for the shoot and she praised us for trying to say something so beautiful, about the partition of this country and the spirit of Milkha Singh. So she wanted to contribute to the film as well. It was very nice of her.”
 
Credits: Bollywood Hungama