Mumbai, Jul 9 (PTI): Pakistani actress Meesha Shafi is making her Bollywood debut with Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's 'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag', a biopic on the legendary sprinter Milkha Singh.

The model-singer, who made her film debut in Mira Nair's "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" will be seen in her first Hindi film with Farhan Akhtar, who is playing the title role of Milkha Singh.

She is playing the role of Perizaad, who is the best friend to Akhtar's onscreen character of the iconic sportsman.

"Our cultural heritage and stories are deeply rooted that its natural to relate to cinema being made here. Bollywood has a huge audience in Pakistan and Pakistani music has a vast listenership in India," Meesha said in a statement here.

"Both countries are doing an immense service by bridging gaps and reaching out to the people. Bollywood and Pakistan have an age-old relationship," she said.

The film, also starring Sonam Kapoor, Divya Dutta, Pawan Malhotra and others releases on July 12.