Supermodel and fitness evangelist Milind Soman talks with this writer about big screen, barefoot running, and empowerment of women.

In 1995, Milind Soman and Madhu Sapre, both supermodels, set India on fire with their print ad for a shoe brand. Back then, supermodels ruled the ramp and celebrities were not showstoppers, but that era has long passed. Models also tried their hand at acting and John Abraham is a product of that age. Soman, who has acted in a handful of films, including 16 December, was last seen in Bajirao Mastani.

When asked why we don’t see him more often on the big screen, he said, “I don’t get that many offers. If I got more offers you would see more of me on screen. It’s not that Bollywood is treating me badly, I’m sure when directors and producers will think of a character that fits me they’ll call me. That’s how it happens.” “I’m interested in acting, it could be any role, whether about sports, politics, war, anything. I like to be surprised. If somebody came to me with a sports idea I might not be that surprised, but if somebody came to me to be a politician, or to be a general in a war, or a policeman, things I don’t have much experience playing I would learn a lot. If they cast me as a sports person they would definitely learn a lot (chuckles),” he added. He will be seen in a web series soon, but he kept the details under wrap.

What keeps him high on the trends list isn’t just his barefoot running or fitness challenges. Trolls had a field day at his cost when he married his girlfriend, Ankita Konwar, who is 34 years his junior. But having been in the industry for three decades already, he handled the negative attention with aplomb. “I’m not bothered about the trolling related to our age gap. To me, it’s important what I think, what I know and what I believe. The people around me are important to me, their opinion can matter but not anybody else’s doesn’t. I find it quite amusing  because it’s a reflection of our society, not a reflection of me,” he said.

Soman has become a fitness icon and created Pinkathon, a platform to empower women. Those associated with the movement share the belief that a healthy family, nation and world begins with empowered women. “The first step in empowerment is taking control of your own health, respecting yourself and understanding and celebrating the value you bring to your family and society,” he said, adding, “I have learnt a lot about our society, the way it functions, about women and what stops them from taking care of their health. I really enjoy creating experiences for myself and for other people. It was about creating a space for women, where they can get together as a community. It was to see if women would take it up if we created this space and they have come a long way.”

“Empowering women is about motivating them towards self belief, understanding themselves not just physically, but also mentally and emotionally. Encouraging them is to motivate them to make a decision to go out and get what they want,” he said. “It’s not easy. Sports, running or physical activities are only tools to understand that because when you do something like running it is to focus on yourself,” he added. It motivated women enough that a 103-year-old woman, Mann Kaur, took up the challenge. Other women who inspired him during the course of the marathon through the years are Laxmi Agarwal, an acid attack survivor and Mandavi Garg, a blind mountaineer.

He said, “The kind of stories they have is really inspiring. What these women have overcome and what they have done with their lives is absolutely encouraging.”

The marathoner had also taken up running barefoot across cities in which he was joined by his mother, Usha Soman, who was 78 then.

“I like barefoot running, I prefer it. I think it helps me be a better runner. I have been doing it for seven years. I started in 2011, it encourages me to run with a better posture, balance and more efficiently,” he said.

Writer: Ayushi Sharma

Courtesy: The Pioneer

Supermodel and fitness evangelist Milind Soman talks with this writer about big screen, barefoot running, and empowerment of women.

In 1995, Milind Soman and Madhu Sapre, both supermodels, set India on fire with their print ad for a shoe brand. Back then, supermodels ruled the ramp and celebrities were not showstoppers, but that era has long passed. Models also tried their hand at acting and John Abraham is a product of that age. Soman, who has acted in a handful of films, including 16 December, was last seen in Bajirao Mastani.

When asked why we don’t see him more often on the big screen, he said, “I don’t get that many offers. If I got more offers you would see more of me on screen. It’s not that Bollywood is treating me badly, I’m sure when directors and producers will think of a character that fits me they’ll call me. That’s how it happens.” “I’m interested in acting, it could be any role, whether about sports, politics, war, anything. I like to be surprised. If somebody came to me with a sports idea I might not be that surprised, but if somebody came to me to be a politician, or to be a general in a war, or a policeman, things I don’t have much experience playing I would learn a lot. If they cast me as a sports person they would definitely learn a lot (chuckles),” he added. He will be seen in a web series soon, but he kept the details under wrap.

What keeps him high on the trends list isn’t just his barefoot running or fitness challenges. Trolls had a field day at his cost when he married his girlfriend, Ankita Konwar, who is 34 years his junior. But having been in the industry for three decades already, he handled the negative attention with aplomb. “I’m not bothered about the trolling related to our age gap. To me, it’s important what I think, what I know and what I believe. The people around me are important to me, their opinion can matter but not anybody else’s doesn’t. I find it quite amusing  because it’s a reflection of our society, not a reflection of me,” he said.

Soman has become a fitness icon and created Pinkathon, a platform to empower women. Those associated with the movement share the belief that a healthy family, nation and world begins with empowered women. “The first step in empowerment is taking control of your own health, respecting yourself and understanding and celebrating the value you bring to your family and society,” he said, adding, “I have learnt a lot about our society, the way it functions, about women and what stops them from taking care of their health. I really enjoy creating experiences for myself and for other people. It was about creating a space for women, where they can get together as a community. It was to see if women would take it up if we created this space and they have come a long way.”

“Empowering women is about motivating them towards self belief, understanding themselves not just physically, but also mentally and emotionally. Encouraging them is to motivate them to make a decision to go out and get what they want,” he said. “It’s not easy. Sports, running or physical activities are only tools to understand that because when you do something like running it is to focus on yourself,” he added. It motivated women enough that a 103-year-old woman, Mann Kaur, took up the challenge. Other women who inspired him during the course of the marathon through the years are Laxmi Agarwal, an acid attack survivor and Mandavi Garg, a blind mountaineer.

He said, “The kind of stories they have is really inspiring. What these women have overcome and what they have done with their lives is absolutely encouraging.”

The marathoner had also taken up running barefoot across cities in which he was joined by his mother, Usha Soman, who was 78 then.

“I like barefoot running, I prefer it. I think it helps me be a better runner. I have been doing it for seven years. I started in 2011, it encourages me to run with a better posture, balance and more efficiently,” he said.

Writer: Ayushi Sharma

Courtesy: The Pioneer