Milind Soman: I need at least three sweets a day!
Model and actor Milind Soman is now a popular name among fitness enthusiasts. Milind, who’s seen crisscrossing the country’s roads barefoot, often along with his septuagenarian mother and wife, was recently in Kolkata to flag off a 10K run. We spoke with him on his fitness journey and upcoming film, Emergency, while he enjoyed the popular Bengali sweet cham cham. Excerpts:
Do you run regularly?
I have been running regularly every Sunday, for one event or the other. Otherwise, I don’t run a lot, but I try to be regular. Sometimes, I don’t run for a long time, because I’m travelling or something.
You said you don’t run a lot. But is there a target?
I’d like to run about 70 kilometres a week. But it doesn’t happen. So if I have half an hour, I do five kilometres. If I have two hours, I do 20 kilometres.
How do you manage to run barefoot?
It’s all about the technique. If you run using wrong techniques, you can get injured. But that is true to anything you do in your life. You do something in the wrong way, there will be bad consequences. If you do it correctly, then it will be fine. There is a myth that running is bad for the knees but I would say, running wrongly is bad for the knees. I run barefoot mostly because I don’t feel the impact at all. It’s all about the correct posture.
How would one know the correct posture?
One wouldn’t know, one has to find it out, because it depends on your physiology. It depends on the weight of the different parts of your body, and how your body will adapt to the movement of running. Running is a natural movement like swimming. In swimming too, your strokes will be different from others, because the length of your limbs is different from others. There is no strict grammar; nothing is right or wrong. So, it all depends on how the body is efficiently trying to propel you forward, whether you’re swimming or you’re running. The important thing is, if you’re starting to run, don’t start fast. Start slow and short distances. Maybe you can walk faster or jog initially so you understand the movement as to how your body is responding and gradually increase the pace, so that it’s a learning experience. Every time you run, you learn something new about it. In whichever running posture you are comfortable in, maintain that.
What was your inspiration behind running?
It was the story of marathon I had heard when I was a child. The story about Pheidippides, the Greek messenger who ran from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory that the Greeks had over the Persians, at the Battle of Marathon. He ran a distance of some 42 kilometres. When the Mumbai Marathon was announced in 2003, I said I must do it at least once because of such an amazing story. I did the half marathon in 2004, the first Mumbai Marathon and I really enjoyed it. Everybody told me it’s going to be really tough, you know, I was 37-year-old, I am Indian... they said that the Americans and the Europeans are different, their food is different, their DNA is different. People are always there to dissuade you. I ran, I finished it easily, I really enjoyed it, and started running more. I started, I then ran 25 kilometres, then 30 kilometres, then 40, and then I did a full marathon. Then I did 50 and I ran from Delhi to Bombay. I run regularly for fun. I don’t run to lose weight or be fit. I’ve been the same weight from the age of 19 till now. That’s for 40 years, I’ve been exactly the same weight, 80-81 kg. So that is one of my biggest achievements, and I have had the same weight without dieting, exercising, and without any experts telling me what to do and what not to. The second biggest achievement is that I have never been injured. Even though I have represented India in swimming, I represented Maharashtra for 15 years, I did Ironman, I did Ultraman, I ran from Delhi to Bombay, I did more than 100 marathons, I never had an injury.
What’s your diet like?
I have no diet, just eating at least three sweets a day is a must!
Your film Emergency is releasing in 2025. How was it playing the role of Sam Manekshaw?
He’s an amazing guy so it’s been a great honour to play Manekshaw, and I hope that people see it in that light. I think Kangana Ranaut has done a great job as Indira Gandhi. I saw some of the shots and some scenes. She’s fantastic and I think all the casting is quite interesting.