New Delhi, Dec 10 (IANS): Actor Farhan Akhtar, who is set to reprise the role of Milkha Singh in Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag", will start growing a beard and wear a turban to perfect his look as the legendary athlete.

Starting January 2012, Farhan will start growing his beard as he has refused to resort to an artificial one, said a source.

"Farhan is extremely excited to work on this project and wants his character to look completely real. That's why he is also going through intense training to get an athlete's body. After the release of 'Don 2', he will throw himself into the project completely," said the source from the film's unit.

Director Mehra confirmed the news.

"We will start shooting the film in mid-2012. So, for the next few months, Farhan will be working towards achieving his look in the movie. Both Farhan and I want his character to look as close to Milkha as possible," he said.

In the meantime, Farhan has already started working on his role. He not only met the athlete for tips, he has even taken Urdu lessons from his writer-father Javed Akhtar and Punjabi lessons from lyricist Gulzar for the film.

But before everything else, he is concentrating on the release of his directorial "Don 2: The King Is Back", starring Shah Rukh Khan, Boman Irani, Priyanka Chopra and Lara Dutta. The film will release Dec 23.