Milind Soman On Being A ‘Sex Symbol’ And Being ‘Objectified’ In The Industry

Milind Soman, the actor and supermodel blew us all with his charisma and persona when we first saw him in Alisha Chinai’s music video ‘Made in India’.

Today, he’s also a well-known fitness enthusiast who is often seen pulling off stunts that are impossible for a 56-year-old to even think of.

 

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A post shared by Milind Usha Soman (@milindrunning)

Having said that, he was not always a fitness junkie, often found running or practising yoga. There was a time when he used to eat a quarter kilo of chocolates every day and smoke 20-30 cigarettes a day.

But with his dedication, he turned his life upside down. Talking about how sports benefitted him, the ‘Bheja Fry’ actor told The Indian Express, “Sports helped me a lot. Self-awareness is the key to dealing better with life, to understanding who you are, and what you are. So from a young age, when you have a focus and you are working towards that every day and you are working with people who are impacting your focus—it gets you ready for challenges. It matters what your mindset is, and sports helped me and there was a challenge every day.”

 

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A post shared by Milind Usha Soman (@milindrunning)

Milind’s impressive physique is also one of the characteristics that attract his audiences to him. One might think he is being used as a sex symbol and sometimes objectified too.

Well, he thinks it’s his strength. Talking about being a sex symbol, he divulged, “I am not uncomfortable at all, it’s my USP (laughs). Okay seriously, you have to know what are your strengths.”

“It’s a business. If I’m uncomfortable with being a sex symbol, and being objectified, which I have been, right from the beginning of my career, then I shouldn’t be here. I was not bothered or uncomfortable with it, I was surprised, yes. I just did a music video, a song called ‘Shringaar’, and I don’t know why they called me—and it is an objectification of the male persona, and I don’t know why they took me at the age of fifty, and not someone at the age of twenty.”

 

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A post shared by Milind Usha Soman (@milindrunning)

Last year, Milind made headlines with his nude beach run on his 55th birthday. Speaking his mind about it, the actor said, “I didn’t think twice. What am I doing, I’m running on the beach, big deal.”

“When I did my first nude photoshoot, it was shot in Delhi, in the forest, and I was just walking around naked, and we were just taking pictures. Even after that, I could still do the nude photo shoot by the beach, and I know it was nothing serious. Some people may object, and some people might appreciate it. It’s human nature, everyone can’t like everything.”

True that! Not everyone will like everything. As long as you do things that make you happy and don’t violate other people’s rights, it should be fine.

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