- 2 months ago
Mumbai, Maharashtra: In an exclusive conversation with IANS, Actor Milind Soman expressed his excitement about his upcoming web series 'Kaattaan'. He said that fans of mystery thrillers will really enjoy the show. During the conversation, Milind also shared his experience of working with actor Vijay Sethupathi. He spoke in detail about the differences between the working styles of the South film industry and Bollywood. Apart from that, the actor discussed several topics including Mumbai, fitness, freedom of speech and how he manages to stay fit even at the age of 60. Milind also revealed that he plans to celebrate his upcoming wedding anniversary may be in Spain next month. He further mentioned that despite receiving a lot of female attention, his wife does not feel insecure about it. Towards the end of the interview, the actor urged audiences to watch his upcoming OTT release, adding that people who enjoy mystery and suspense will definitely find the series very engaging.
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00:00So welcome to INS. Thank you. It is an absolute pleasure to have you with us here on board today.
00:06Firstly, I mean, you all have come here for Kaatan, right? That's right. So firstly, tell us something about the
00:12movie and also your role in the movie, in the series.
00:15Yeah, actually. So Kaatan is, it's a mystery thriller. I think that would be the genre. And I think everything
00:27about it is mysterious. So when you see the trailer, which I saw, in fact, just a couple of minutes
00:33ago, you see this severed head. It's just a head and the head is smiling. Of course, it's the head
00:40of Vijay Sethupati.
00:41But why there is a severed head, you know, what is the whole story behind it is actually what the
00:47series is about. And every character has this kind of mystery around them. You don't know why they're there, where
00:55they've come from, what they want. You know, all those things are kind of mixed up.
01:00And it is, the backdrop is mafia and smuggling and black money and drugs and all of that. So it's,
01:07it's interesting because things are opened up as you, as you watch. So it's kind of a revelation.
01:16So an unusual kind of plot line. It's not linear. There are lots of things happening at the same time.
01:23So it's fun. I think it'll be fun to watch. I've not seen it.
01:28But I think the story as it was narrated to me was, was very, very interesting. And the characters are
01:33very interesting, especially mine and Vijay Sethupati, of course.
01:39I was offered my first Tamil project about almost 15, 17 years ago. And I did that film. It was
01:48called Pachakili Mutvicharam. Very nice film directed by Gautam Menon. I was playing a bad guy.
01:54And then I did another three or four Tamil movies where I was playing a bad guy. And then I
01:59got fed up with playing the same, same bad guy in every movie. So I said, okay, no more movies
02:05in which it's a bad guy. If you have a good guy, then you call me. I don't care if
02:10it's a cook or a gardener or, you know, secretary or grandfather, anybody, but I'm not going to play the
02:17same kind of villain again.
02:19So then almost seven, eight, maybe 10 years, you know, I said no to a lot of films, Tamil and
02:26Telugu and so on, till I did this film called Doctor. And in Doctor, I played the mentor of the
02:32main character and it was nice.
02:33And then this was the second project that came. Again, it was a positive character. So I was already inclined
02:38to say, okay, let's do it. Because number one, it's Tamil and they have a different way of looking at
02:44characters and looking at stories.
02:46Then they told me the story I thought was really, really interesting. And the kind of structure it had, the
02:51kind of flow it had was unusual. I said, okay, this is nice.
02:55And the character that they wanted me to play again was a kind of mysterious gray shaded. So not a
03:02villain, but not a good guy because he's in a bad world.
03:07You know, so even though the relationship, the story is, the relationship in the story is very important with, between
03:15Vijay Sethupati and my character, which is Sivetan and Muthu.
03:18We are not working for the benefit of society, for se. Like I said, the backdrop is smuggling and so
03:26on.
03:27And there is a lot of violence in the film and shooting and fighting and all of that.
03:31But I liked the story. I liked my character. I liked the fact that it was with Vijay Sethupati.
03:38And I liked the people who were doing it. You know, the Jio Hotstar team was great. The director, who's
03:45a national award-winning director, the producer.
03:48Very, very nice people to work with. And with Vijay itself, he's so, makes everything so comfortable.
03:57You know, he's so accessible. You can talk to him about anything. And even within the scene, when you're working,
04:03there is no tension as such.
04:06Everybody wants to just collaborate and make something good. So that's, those were the reasons that I did it.
04:12And I think I overall had a very, very good experience.
04:15Great. So if I'm not wrong, the show has been shot in Kerala, right? Most of it? Or how's it?
04:21Different places. Kerala also, yeah, in the south. There was nothing shot in the north.
04:26Okay. I just wanted to know that how, how is it, when you talk about infrastructure-wise, or you talk
04:33about environmental-wise, right?
04:35So South versus, not versus, South and Bollywood, right?
04:39I don't think there are a lot of films shot in Mumbai Film City anymore.
04:48But I have shot a lot in Mumbai Film City in the 90s. But I think that at that time,
04:56the requirements were different.
04:57And I was shooting television at that time.
04:59So if you really want to shoot real outdoor locations, you have to go to those locations, whether it's a
05:05Hindi movie or Hollywood movie or Tamil or Telugu or any language, you have to go to that location.
05:10So if there is a forest required, you have to go to a particular kind of forest. And then you
05:16want a particular elephant. I mean, you have to go there, you know?
05:20So it's like that. When there were some scenes that were shot in Chennai, on the outskirts of Chennai, you
05:26know, particular kind of road is required, shops, you know?
05:29So you have to go there and shoot that. So they shot in every place that was required.
05:35Okay. And also, you know, when we talk about shooting with the team, right?
05:40Yes.
05:40Down here, I mean, with the Indian industry, also with South film industry.
05:44Yeah.
05:44What is that staff difference that you, because you've worked there pretty, quite some time, so what's the staff difference
05:51do you feel as an actor?
05:55I think in the South, they're much more relaxed. That's what I feel.
06:01That there are no, that you have to navigate and negotiate. Not that I have to do any of that,
06:07but I can see how everybody works.
06:09You know, it's much easier to get things done, I think, and get things done on time, to get things
06:13done quickly, to negotiate any kind of obstacles that come up, because it's not easy to shoot.
06:19Right.
06:19And especially if you're outdoors, then there are weather variations and so many things that are happening.
06:24So even for the unit, it's not an easy job.
06:27But I feel when you're working in South India, and especially in Tamil, I've not done Malayalam, so I can't
06:32say, but the unit works very seamlessly.
06:38And they're collaborating very well with each other, that is what I've felt, and I've worked in Hindi movies as
06:44well, but I can't, you can't really generalize, because each unit is different.
06:48And I think a lot of it depends on the producer, particularly.
06:52The producer will decide how the team works together.
06:57Right, right, right.
06:59Also, when you talk about fans, right, as such, so Hindi ke apne fans na, ya Marathi ke fans na,
07:05a lot of it, kaap tap tap.
07:06And when we talk about South Indian films, South Indian fans, South stars, they say, Freedom of God, you talk
07:14about Drajnikan sir, Kamal Asan sir, you talk about Vijay Sittapati sir.
07:18Yes.
07:19So, unke liye, unke fans ke liye, woh next godlike hai, godly hai, right.
07:24So, do you feel that, jab hum, as a star, as an actor, jab fans itne possessive or obsessed ho
07:31jate hai, so it becomes difficult for you as a public person to actually have your life out there?
07:37Not for me.
07:38For them, yes.
07:40Have you also encountered such fans?
07:44Yes, but not in general.
07:46I'm not in that category of popularity where I can't walk on the street.
07:51I can walk on the street.
07:53And if people come, I can run away also.
07:55Do you feel you're not in the category?
07:57No, no, no.
07:58Not at all.
07:58I run on the street all the time.
08:00Yeah.
08:00I run.
08:02And I walk around.
08:04So, I find the problem is when I go and sit somewhere.
08:07Because then people can gather and that could be an issue.
08:10But I always felt that, you know, I don't want that compromise with my freedom where I cannot walk on
08:14the street in my own country or in my own city.
08:18And so, I'm very happy with the space that I'm in.
08:23And also, when people come to me, and of course, if they come to take a picture, they have to
08:27do push-ups.
08:28So, when people see other people doing push-ups and then they hesitate to come.
08:37So, I think I've created an atmosphere around myself which has kept it a little comfortable for myself.
08:42Okay.
08:43Yeah.
08:43That's right.
08:44And, you know, if I may ask that at 60, you don't look 60 at all.
08:51Yeah, but that's because 60-year-olds today don't take care of their health.
08:54I think I look like a very normal 60-year-old.
08:56Really?
08:56Yeah.
08:58Probably.
08:58It's such a notion in everybody's head.
09:01Yeah.
09:02Yes.
09:02Exactly.
09:03Exactly.
09:04When we recently saw your birthday post by Ankita, we were like, 60.
09:08We were like that.
09:09So, to be honest, I mean, what, obviously, we're seeing your fitness, you're swimming in the sea, and all of
09:15that, and following it, is really commendable.
09:18But, I want to know that when you say that this is how an ideal, a normal 60-year-old
09:24looks like,
09:24why do you think that majority of people in today's world, right, don't look 60 the way they should look?
09:33Because they're disconnected from themselves.
09:36That is the way we have been encouraged, you know, in the last, say, 50, 60 years, with the advent
09:44of very, you know, big transformations in technology and so on, advances,
09:50that we have been encouraged to, you know, give up our inherent abilities.
09:58Like, for example, if there's a lift and a staircase, you'll take the lift.
10:03Like, I, 99% of the time, if there are stairs in the lift, I will take the stairs.
10:11And I will climb the stairs three at a time, not just one stair at a time, three at a
10:14time.
10:15Because that's my opportunity to exercise.
10:17I don't go to the gym.
10:19I don't have a trainer.
10:20I don't have a, you know, anybody telling me what to do.
10:23I don't have a nutritionist, dietitian.
10:25It's, I have to decide what I need to do.
10:27And I try to incorporate that into my, into my lifestyle.
10:31So, it's my lifestyle.
10:32I don't have a workout.
10:33I don't work out.
10:35I have a lifestyle.
10:36And with that lifestyle, I am able to do whatever I want.
10:39Like you said, I swam in the sea.
10:40I swam 15 kilometers in the sea.
10:42I don't usually do it.
10:43It's just the challenge that I picked up for myself that let me try this and I did it.
10:48Or even running marathons.
10:49I don't train to run marathons.
10:50I keep that level of fitness where I can run a marathon if I want.
10:54I can do an Ironman if I want.
10:55If there's a mountain, I can climb that mountain.
10:58My wife can climb with me, you know.
11:01So, I like to keep that level, that maintain that level of fitness.
11:07So, people think that, oh, to be fit, you have to do so.
11:10Maybe you have to have a trainer and dietitian.
11:12You have to have a team.
11:13And then you have to spend so much money.
11:15And then you have to spend so much time.
11:17I exercise about 10 to 12 minutes a day.
11:21Literally.
11:21I run, of course, a lot.
11:23And I swim like you just said.
11:25But that's not every day.
11:26It may not even be every week.
11:28You know.
11:28So, whenever I can, it's about the opportunity.
11:31Again, if I have the opportunity, I will run.
11:33If I have the opportunity, I will swim.
11:35I will cycle also.
11:36But it's not every day.
11:37But every day, I will take out some time.
11:4110 minutes.
11:4212 minutes.
11:43To do exercises that I feel I need to do.
11:46And that is something that, because of my experience, I know what I need to do.
11:49I don't need to ask somebody.
11:52Right.
11:52Absolutely.
11:52And when you do those things, you will look better.
11:57Yeah.
11:58Right.
11:58Yeah.
11:58You look your age.
12:00You look your age.
12:01I mean, whatever age it is.
12:02I mean, look at my mother.
12:03She is 86.
12:05She still skips.
12:06She can skip, you know, with a skipping rope.
12:09She can hop.
12:10She is hiking.
12:12You know.
12:12She can walk 20, 30 kilometers very, very comfortably.
12:16So, people say that, oh, your mother is so amazing.
12:18I said, yes.
12:20But that is normal.
12:22Everybody at her age should be able to do this.
12:24If they take care of themselves.
12:27Right.
12:27Like, everybody at my age should be able to do the things that I do very comfortably.
12:31If they have taken care of themselves.
12:33Right.
12:33Absolutely.
12:34Yeah.
12:35Sir, you have been a part of the entertainment industry for almost, I mean, almost more than
12:39three decades now.
12:40Right.
12:40Yeah, I started modeling in 1989.
12:43So, I just want to know that also with social media influence, right, in today's era, it's
12:49booming.
12:50Yes.
12:51I want to know, being a public figure, how, it was a time when we had our freedom, our
12:56whatever thoughts we had, we could express it freely.
12:58Yes.
12:59And there was no social media, right?
13:00Yes.
13:01People took you seriously because you were exclusive.
13:03Yeah.
13:05But you look at even the television series or movies that are produced today, you can't
13:09talk freely.
13:10You look at Seinfeld, very, very famous comedy series with Jerry Seinfeld, or you look at
13:17even Friends, which is one of the most popular series ever made.
13:20The kind of things that they used to say in the series, you cannot say today.
13:25Even they can't say it.
13:26In America, they can't say it.
13:29Forget in India.
13:31So, it's changed all over the world, not just today.
13:34There are people who object, no, no, you can't say things like this.
13:37No, this is not funny.
13:38This is not a joke.
13:40You know?
13:40Correct.
13:41So, it is different.
13:42Today, you have to think about those things because the people who will be offended, and
13:46people may have been offended at that time also, but they didn't say anything.
13:49Now, they will say it.
13:50So, you know it.
13:52They are being offended.
13:53So, if you feel, don't offend them.
13:55That is there.
13:56Right.
13:57But do you not feel that that has restricted your freedom of speech as an individual?
14:02It's up to you.
14:03There are still people who talk whatever they want.
14:06There are still people who say whatever they want, and they don't care.
14:10So, a lot of people now care because they can see the people who are offended, and they
14:13are offended.
14:14People are saying something.
14:15But there are still some people who don't care.
14:17Oh, you're offended?
14:18Too bad for you.
14:19There are people like that.
14:21So, it's still, the choice is still yours.
14:23Their choice also to be offended, their choice to make their offense, the fact that they're
14:28offended known, and your choice also to, whether you want to say those things or not.
14:33You can think them, but to say them, it's your choice.
14:36Yeah.
14:37Absolutely.
14:38You know, for people, for millennials like us, who were born in the 90s, from Captain
14:45Vyom, to Made in India, to FOMO Shotspies, all this entire trajectory of work that you
14:51have done, right?
14:52But I had a time ago, when you were famous with kids, as well as you were famous with
14:58their moms.
14:58So, I mean, this kind of, that attention that you have enjoyed, right?
15:04And you still enjoy.
15:05I really don't know how secure is Ankita when she sees so much of female attention around
15:10you all the time.
15:13She says she's very secure.
15:16I think she is, because I'm, she knows me.
15:19I mean, we've been together 13 years now.
15:21You know, we've been married for eight years.
15:23So, she's seen the way I am.
15:27I don't think she would have married me if she felt insecure.
15:30I think so.
15:31In fact, I'll tell you what, you mentioned four more shots, please.
15:34I was reading the script.
15:35We were in a plane, and it had just come to me, and I read the first scene, and I
15:39was
15:40like, oh.
15:41And she said, what happened?
15:42I said, okay, just read this.
15:43So, she read it.
15:45She said, oh, nice, nice.
15:46Very nice.
15:48So, I said, what do you think I should do it?
15:50She said, definitely you should do it.
15:52I think it's a very good scene.
15:54So, the first scene.
15:57So, she's very, like, usually, what kind of fitness, what kind of conversations do you
16:07and Ankita have?
16:09How does she react?
16:11She doesn't really, she gives me so many compliments herself, you know?
16:17She watches all of that.
16:18I mean, she's seen it.
16:19Like, even when you say about the Pinkathon, for example, which I started in 2012, which
16:23is a, it's a woman's run, and biggest woman's run in the country.
16:27So, thousands and thousands of women, wherever we go, we do an event, like we just did the
16:32Delhi Pinkathon on Sunday.
16:346,000 women were there.
16:36And, the way they will respond to me, it's been the same, you know, throughout the years.
16:43And, she's seen it.
16:45She started running with Pinkathon, her first 10 kilometers, her first 21 kilometers.
16:51Now, she's done the Ironman.
16:52So, her journey, she has seen everything that has to be seen.
16:56You know, the way I am, the way people are, when they're with me, the way I treat people,
17:00the way people treat me.
17:01She's seen all of it.
17:03And, she's comfortable, which is great.
17:05Yeah.
17:06Sir, you've been a Dadar boy.
17:08I mean, this typical Maharashtrian area, you know, for years.
17:14I mean, since childhood, I'm not all.
17:16All your life.
17:18Yes.
17:19I wanted to know, if Bombay, Mumbai, if you look at Mumbai, if you look back then, Dadar
17:28back then, and now, what difference is that we have a lot of heritage, a lot of social
17:34media pages of heritage in Mumbai.
17:36Right.
17:36So, when he said, it was in the 90s of Bombay, the 80s of Bombay, we'll be so surprised.
17:40Yes.
17:40You're right, thrilled.
17:41He said, it was so much traffic-free, so much pollution-free.
17:45You have lived that era.
17:46Yes.
17:47So, I've lived the era, but I've also seen pictures from the 1800s, when it was just
17:53a village, and the bridges were not even built, so they were the islands.
17:57So, things change.
17:59I mean, and things have changed.
18:01Of course, Shivaji Park, where I live, it's not the same, but the park is still there.
18:05So, the park is a fantastic place, and traffic has increased.
18:11To me, that is the biggest change, that the traffic has increased.
18:15The number of cars, and that's across the country and across the world.
18:18You know, people are buying cars every day.
18:22They've gone three cars, four cars, five cars, and there's just too much traffic.
18:27But that's the way development is.
18:30That's the way progress is.
18:31You can't stop people from buying cars and building houses.
18:35I mean, you can't stop them.
18:36You say, you want to build a house?
18:37No, no.
18:38That's the dream that people have.
18:40We want our own house.
18:41We want our own car.
18:42It's the first two things that people think of.
18:45When they're going to college, what are you going to do with your money?
18:47I'm going to buy a car.
18:49And then I'm going to build a house.
18:51You can't take that away.
18:53I mean, something else needs to be thought of.
18:55Now, in fact, a lot of people are moving out of the city.
18:58Whoever can.
18:59They're buying land.
19:00They're starting farming.
19:01You know, and because of the internet and because of the whole virtual world,
19:07they're able to work from remote areas, and they're taking advantage of that.
19:10That is a huge opportunity for anybody who wants to live in a congested place,
19:15unless you enjoy it.
19:16If you love the traffic and you love the whole vibe, there are people who like that also.
19:21Like, for example, going to a nightclub.
19:23I don't like going to a nightclub.
19:25So much crowd and loud noise and music.
19:29But the people love it.
19:31There are people who love it.
19:32So I know people who love living in Mumbai because it's crowded,
19:37because it's exciting, because there's so much energy.
19:40But a lot of people who feel that, no, I want my, you know, garden and I want trees.
19:45Those people move out.
19:48So there are choices there.
19:50People have that choice.
19:51Then in the 90s, you're a supermodel, right?
19:55And models, I mean, everyone knows that you're a supermodel.
19:58You're a supermodel.
19:59Yeah.
20:01But now, when we look at it,
20:03if there's a model or a supermodel,
20:06you don't know.
20:07If only if you keep fashion in the aspect,
20:10you're a very rich person.
20:11Right.
20:34They're worth it to people who enjoy it.
20:37But what I feel is that that whole era is over,
20:40not only in fashion modeling,
20:42not even internationally,
20:43everywhere,
20:45even if you see actors,
20:47they always talk about these are the last superstars.
20:50Whether it's in Hindi movies,
20:52whether it's in English movies,
20:54these are the last superstars.
20:55You will not see a star like Clint Eastwood anymore
20:58or Arnold Schwarzenegger anymore
21:00or Tom Cruise.
21:02Who is the next?
21:03Where are they?
21:04So you look here and you say,
21:05okay, Amitabh Bachchan was there.
21:07There's nobody like Amitabh Bachchan anymore.
21:09And in every field, it's like that.
21:11You look at music.
21:12Where is Michael Jackson?
21:14Anybody to take over?
21:15Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, Madonna.
21:19There's nobody who has achieved that kind of stardom,
21:23that iconic presence.
21:26It's not there because the audience doesn't want it.
21:28It's so fragmented today
21:29that everybody likes their own genre of whatever it is.
21:33I listen to only this kind of music.
21:36I watch only these kind of movies.
21:37I see only that kind of series.
21:39I like only this fashion
21:40because everything has become fragmented today.
21:44And the more fragmented it gets,
21:46the smaller the stars will be
21:48because they're all niche.
21:50Nobody is overarching everything else anymore.
21:53There's only one Rajni Rajnikanth and one Amitabh Bachchan.
21:56That's it.
21:56Right, right.
21:58And last question,
21:58I mean, next month,
22:00I'm not on your anniversary.
22:02I'm not wrong.
22:03You celebrate with promoting fitness.
22:11Yes.
22:12It's not promoting.
22:13It's just that that's our way to enjoy.
22:15We just love doing that.
22:16Like when I turned 50
22:18and people were asking me,
22:19you know, where's the party?
22:21Because when you're 30,
22:22it's a milestone,
22:2240 milestone,
22:2350 is a big milestone.
22:24So I was thinking,
22:25what do I do?
22:26I don't party.
22:26I don't go out in the night.
22:28I stopped when I was in my 20s.
22:30I used to go and then I stopped.
22:32So I said, okay, 50,
22:33what should I do?
22:34And somebody suggested Ironman,
22:36which is the triathlon.
22:37And I said, okay, let me do Ironman.
22:39I think that'll be a great celebration
22:41of my 50th year.
22:43And I did that.
22:44And of course,
22:44that became a big milestone
22:46even with my public presence
22:48that everybody was saying,
22:49you're at 50,
22:50you did the Ironman.
22:51That is incredible.
22:51How did you do it?
22:52And there was a big shift
22:54that was happening
22:55in the public perception at that time.
22:56Everybody was getting interested in fitness.
22:58Everybody was getting interested in health.
23:01And suddenly it was like,
23:02oh, Milinsomer is 50
23:03and he did Ironman.
23:03How did he do it?
23:05And I saw that shift.
23:06It was tangible.
23:08Yeah.
23:09People were just calling me
23:10every day after that,
23:11saying, how did you do this?
23:11How did you do this?
23:12How did you do this?
23:13How can you be 50?
23:14How can you be 50?
23:15Yeah.
23:16Yeah.
23:21For 22nd of April,
23:22I think we are in,
23:27I'm really not sure,
23:28in Spain, I think.
23:29There is something,
23:30but I can't tell you what it is.
23:35Yeah, 100%.
23:36One last question.
23:38Why would you want fans to watch?
23:43Well, fans of Vijay Sethupati for sure,
23:46I mean,
23:46they will love the series,
23:48definitely.
23:48I think it's,
23:49I think it's very,
23:51very well made.
23:52I think the whole fact
23:54that it is a mystery
23:55and that the whole thing
23:55is going to be a revelation
23:56is something that's very,
23:57very interesting.
23:58And I think even fans of series
24:03that have to do with mystery
24:04and suspense and thrill
24:05would love to watch it.
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