By Sukant Deepak
New Delhi, Feb 6 (IANS) How does it feel to be the most good-looking man in the room? “Well, doesn’t everyone like to be appreciated? But believe me, people want to meet me thanks to the fitness level I have maintained,” he smiles.
Actor and model Milind Soman, who was in Chandigarh on Sunday for Gilco’s ‘Run for Health Marathon’, and was recently seen in the movie ‘Lakadbaggha’ stresses that cinema is not really high on his priority list. “It is happiness that I value most.”
And this is something he wants to deal with in his next book. Soman, who wrote ‘Made In India’ tells that several publishers have been pushing him to write another one – on fitness and health, but it is ‘happiness’ that he wants to explore in his next one. “I am glad we have started talking a little more about mental health. There is a debate on what is more important, but they are both interconnected, and that is something I would like to focus on – practical tips and understanding. Also, let us not forget that fitness means different things for different people.”
For someone who exercises 20 minutes a day, fitness is all about doing a little bit every day and not going overboard. He feels that the mindset with regard to fitness, especially after the Pandemic has changed. “It is also a very new topic. Around 60 years back, nothing was needed because people, in general, were very active – everyone did not have vehicles and did everything themselves. Today, we are extremely dependent on technology. The pandemic nailed it that the virus is everywhere and all you can do is keep the body strong. Now that requires effort, but more than effort, it requires insight into yourself.”
Soman feels it is important to choose one’s exercise based on goals considering everybody has his/her strengths and weaknesses. “You need to identify the latter and work on it as weaknesses amplify with age if nothing is done to arrest them.”
Ask him if the term ‘supermodel’, synonymous with his name is a media creation, and he responds – “Absolutely. Modelling is an industry, and each one (industry) has a requirement. When they needed supermodels, they made them.”
Talk to him about the many outages he has experienced – the Tuffs commercial, trolling owing to his marriage, and reference to RSS in ‘Made in India, Sonam says while living in a democracy it is important to hear everyone, and everybody has a right to opinion. “It’s a different fact that we don’t know how to deal it.”
The actor, who has just completed the movie ‘Emergency’ says whenever he is offered an interesting role, he goes for it.
Calling his mother, who started trekking at the age of 60 as inspiration, Soman who successfully completed the Ironman Triathlon remembers being bitten by the running bug when he participated in the Mumbai Marathon (2004) for the first time.
“I was 38 years old. After the Mumbai Marathon, I ran from Delhi to Mumbai. I did Iron man when I was 50 and people could not believe it because most Indians cannot move when they touch the age of 50. We have to realize our capabilities. Our life span has increased and cannot afford to slow down at 40. The body follows the mind,” he concludes.
(Sukant Deepak can be reached at sukant.d@ians.in)
–IANS
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