MILIND SOMAN on Fearlessness, Fitness and Self-Love
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A Times of India publication Europe’s No. 1 Style Magazine Easy Chic Volume 13 Issue 4 July 2020 MONEY & THE MILLENNIAL Your Guide To The Unstoppable Save Smart MILIND SOMAN On Fearlessness, Fitness and Self-love ALL-STAR LINE-UP THEof Fashion, OGStyle &s Entertainment COVER STORY From the COVER STORY EDITOR’S A in hismile shoes Milind Soman is in a race against himself, and DESK believes that he must finish strong Photographs BIKRAMJIT BOSE/FEAT.CAST Fashion Director PASHAM ALWANI Words B A R R Y R O D G E R S Button-down shirt, Michael Kors Collection Trucker jacket, straight fit jeans, both, ` 4,599 and , price on request; ` 3,299 respectively; wrist bands, worn throughout, Levis, Milind's own 24 JULY 2020 Page JULY 2020 24 25 FEATURE From left to right: On Cyrus Sahukar: T-shirt, jacket, FEATURE Jack & Jones, jeans, Tommy Hilfiger, sunglasses, sneakers, both Cyrus' own On Cyrus Broacha: T-shirt, Dsquared2 at The Collective, jeans, Tommy Hilfiger, sneakers, Nike On Anu: Printed dress, Dhruv Kapoor, unsuspecting people with hidden cameras ready sandals, Charles & Keith to record their reactions. And even when the cameras weren’t rolling, the prankster in him was always eager to find his next victim. Once, on April Fool’s Day, he made his wife prank call LAUGHTER comic Kunal Vijaykar to desperately request him to pick her up from Film City at 7:30 am. Words RADHIKA AGRAWAL “By the time we called again, he had already Styling OJAS KOLVANKAR left. He took three hours to come back, and he Photographs KEEGAN CRASTO was super pissed with my wife, and that was RIOT beautiful – because it was all my idea,” he laughs. The OGs of comedy talk Having seen comedy transform in front of his very eyes, Broacha has had to find his about the then and now place time and again in a cultural movement of the Indian comic scene he had once led from the front. “People like Vir Das came onto the scene, became ‘professional’ comedians and screwed everything up for us (laughs),” he says. While what was funny two decades ago is still funny, the medium itself has ack in the 90s, comedy in changed. “Now, everything is so structured that Indian culture was limited it feels like you have to get a degree in comedy, hile we’re still trying to find to what we saw on the big like in medicine.” For him, staying relevant is screen – caricature-like not important. Like any ordinary person, he just Shakespearean fools that wants to continue doing what he loves to do. Boffered some sort of comic relief in an “There is too much pressure for us to be icons otherwise intense storyline. As a genre, it and set standards. I just want regular work, was often clubbed with other genres to fill that’s all,” he says. gaps in the plot. But all of this changed new ground and make sense reinvented himself from poster boy to one with the emergence of the second wave of television, as MTV and Channel V NEVER A started shelling out original content. Led realised that playing no longer part of a tribe. “What I really by oddballs such as Cyrus Sahukar, Cyrus characters helped respect about those days is that I had a DULL MOMENT: Broacha, and Anu Menon, the comedy him express himself playground to try out different things,” he CYRUS space began to morph into something better. Sahukar says. In today’s day and age, consistency is unfamiliar, yet fascinating. Perhaps for started creating a everything. Sketches have found their way BROACHA of the newly established of the most influential fitness and wellness the first time, we wanted to tune into a niche for himself onto the Internet, but in a shorter format. music channel not just to listen to the top with shows such as “With social media, you just can’t afford to The one thing you should know tunes of the day, but to watch these guys MTV Fully Faltoo, be lazy. But sometimes I also feel that it may about Broacha is that he is never W rant, play pranks and portray a hundred Piddhu The Great, and stop you from creating something magical,” playing a part. He is as funny, norms of maintaining social and physical different characters. Simi Girebaal, which he says. Every idea you have has been goofy and sarcastic in real life as Today, with comedy specials being were spoofs of real googled by hundreds of people before you, he is on TV. And so, in an industry enthusiasts; our cover for July features a streamed on every OTT platform, shows personalities, films and and therefore, plagiarism becomes a problem. that was dominated with attractive MADHURA DEOKUTE, being sold out every weekend, and sketches content. “It was tricky Sahukar believes that the solution is making models and a very defined cool going viral on social media, it’s safe to to do it in a country comedy more personalised, so that every quotient, fitting in was not an say we’ve come a long way. While still like India, because story and piece is authentic and different. option for him. “Everybody at the ODD ONE OUT: not entirely acceptable to some, the idea some of our stuff is already so funny. How But that’s not the only issue comedy MTV auditions was extremely Beauty Assitant distancing, we’re constantly throwing of being a professional comedian is not as CYRUS SAHUKAR do you spoof a spoof?” he laughs. But the has to battle. We live in a very politically serious, and I just couldn’t bear it. laughable as it used to be. But none of this bigger problem he faced was in the way charged environment and comedians are It was easy to stand out because personality that’s already toplined many would have been possible had the right Sahukar was not cut out to be a typical people viewed comedy, i.e. through punch not free from censorship. So, how does one I was simply not interested,” he tone not been set by the OGs of comedy, VJ. When he entered the space, he was lines. Building character-driven spoofs took say what they want to, without attracting recalls. Having been an on-screen EARTH BANDRA CAFÉ @ WATERFIELD, SURAJ TIWARI, SURAJ the ‘weirdos’ that came into the space and surrounded by a ton of young, successful some time, but it eventually paid off – so trouble? “India is a very touchy country and host, actor, author, podcaster and LEHAN AND SHWETA JAIN, DEVADHIA changed it for the better. We sat down people who had very distinct personalities. much so that the parodies became more at the end of the day, you are on your own. comic, there’s very little Broacha back to more carefree times. And here’s with Sahukar, Broacha and Menon to talk “I couldn’t understand how they could popular than the originals. So, I don’t blame people for staying away has not done. But his most about the good ol’ days and how they stay so ‘on’ all the time. I was quieter and Once he quit MTV in 2010, things from political comedy, but I have a lot of Pagepopular stint was MTV Bakra, in Fashion Interns Fashion Hair and make-up a magazine cover, Milind Soman. Shot compare to the situation today. more thoughtful,” he recalls. And so, he began to change for Sahukar. He was CourtesyLocation respect for people who are pursuing it.” which he used to play pranks on 54 JULY 2020 how we’re hoping to inject small cheer – just before we went under lockdown, 48 by getting a bit nostalgic with an issue with masks and plenty of hand sanitiser packed with features that will get you in around, we chat with him about staying BEAUTY the mood to reminisce. relevant, exploring his body’s responses BEAUTY From the original kings and queens and self-love. of comedy, who brought their brand of SUPER This issue, we’re also talking to you, stand-up, roast and reality-based TV troupers our readers, about a few raging issues that Make way for the catwalk’s coolest set of ‘It’ girls Photographs ARSH SAYED Fashion Director PASHAM ALWANI Words shows to your screens long before it HENA DESAI he age of the supermodel may be a are taking precedence currently, including thing of the past, but for most of us who Tgrew up idolising these women, they they were also the forces that normalised dusky meant much more. They were the faces who skin tones and diverse beauty in the media. This transcended the clothes they wore, and attained month, we’re celebrating these dynamic ladies who such recognition as to be called celebrities in their continue to lead the pack – whether it’s on the exploded on digital, to genre-pioneering own right. With distinct styles and perseverance, ramp or off, as successful stylists, entrepreneurs and more. Take notes as they tell you how to be a looking after your mental health. Plus, cut above the rest. designers (read Rohit Bal, Tarun we’ve even got some expert advice on Tahiliani, Abraham & Thakore, Rajesh CAROL GRACIAS “Look at models from back in the day and the first thing that grabs your attention is their distinct personalities. another matter we’ve got our minds on, They were unique in how they looked and even walked on the ramp. Today, beauty is being cloned – everyone wants to look alike and ape someone else.